Apply Now for FEMA’s Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is now accepting applications for a new financing tool for state, local and tribal governments – the Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) – to make investments in mitigation projects, which includes code-related activities. The application period will close on April 28, 2023.

Authorized by Congress with passage of the Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation (STORM) Act (Public Law 116-284), and ultimately funded by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), the new program is modeled after two successful revolving loan fund programs funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and administered by the states for water infrastructure projects.

Another Tool for State, Local, Tribal and Territorial Governments to Invest in Pre-Disaster Mitigation

This new FEMA program will provide interested states with seed money to stand up RLFs, which will then be used to issue low-interest loans to fund mitigation projects at state and local levels of government.

Eligible units of local government may use a loan “to establish and carry out the latest published editions of relevant building codes, specifications, and standards for the purpose of protecting the health, safety, and general welfare of the building’s users against disasters and natural hazards.”

Additionally, loans from the RLFs may be used to satisfy a local government’s non-federal cost-share requirement for other FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) grant programs.

Since the passage of the STORM Act, Maryland, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Virginia have enacted legislation needed to ensure that they are prepared to accept these seed grants from FEMA’s newest mitigation assistance program to bolster community and national resilience.

While a Notice of Funding Opportunity was released just before the new year, the application period opened on February 1, 2023, and will close on April 28, 2023.

If you are interested in any additional information, please contact Stella Carr, the Code Council’s Energy and Resilience Project Manager, for assistance.

For more information on other available Federal Grants, please visit iccsafe.org/ federalgrants.