HUD issued a historic Request for Information (RFI) regarding both the allocation formula and rules of the agency’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program in late 2022. The agency is seeking to create a universal allocation notice to better standardize program requirements, which have become more confusing and complicated with every subsequent allocation of funds due to the CDBG-DR program’s lack of permanent authorization. On February 21, NLIHC filed comments on behalf of its Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) requesting that HUD ensure that disaster assistance can effectively reach those most impacted by disasters in an equitable, transparent, and efficient manner. The comment addressing the specific RFI related to program rules was drafted collaboratively and cosigned by 18 local, state, and national members of the DHRC.
Questions provided by HUD covered a wide range of topics, from modifications needed to ensure that tribal organizations have access to long-term disaster recovery funding, to needed technical assistance for select disaster recovery contractors, to how program rules can prevent distributions of disaster recovery funds that are discriminatory. Comments reflected the wide range of experiences and knowledge of DHRC members and NLIHC’s history of working on disaster housing recovery issues since 2017.
Disaster recovery “is a system designed for middle-class people and communities – a system that does not address the unique needs of the lowest-income and most marginalized people and the communities in which they live,” reads the comment regarding program rules. “As a result, these households are consistently left behind in recovery and rebuilding efforts, and their communities are made less resilient to future disasters. The federal disaster recovery system exacerbates many of the challenges these communities faced prior to disasters, worsening the housing crisis, solidifying segregation, and deepening inequality.”
Read the Collaborative Comment on the HUD RFI on CDBG-DR Rules, Waivers, and Alternative Requirements at: https://bit.ly/3IoVN4i
Read the DHRC Comment on the HUD RFI on the CDBG-DR Allocation Formula at: https://bit.ly/3KvU7IE
Congressional and National Updates
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) has a history of pushing for urgent action related to climate change. As the new chair of the powerful Senate Budget Committee, he is expected to continue that focus through a series of hearings.
Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett (D-VI) announced plans to reintroduce the “Resiliency Enhancement Act,” a bill to extend provisions of disaster assistance for critical services such as public housing, transportation infrastructure, and medical care infrastructure to cover areas still dealing with the impact of disasters dating back to 2017.
Congressman Buddy Carter (R-GA) is planning to reintroduce the “Disaster Reforestation Act.” The bill would allow the owners of working forests to claim the loss of uncut timber as a disaster impact on tax filings.
A census poll found that over 3 million adults in the U.S. were forced to evacuate their homes in the past year due to a disaster – far exceeding previous estimates. The census data – part of its Household Pulse survey that is continuing to collect information – also reflect that those earning less than $25,000 a year had the highest evacuation rate of any economic group.
Agency Updates
President Biden appointed Xochitl Torres Small, who had previously assisted with the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon disasters as an undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), as a deputy secretary at the agency. Torres represented New Mexico in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2018 to 2020.
After being on the receiving end of several accusations of inaction by media, FEMA – which is not tasked with responding to incidents such as the East Palestine Train Derailment and does not operate programs that would offer assistance to either victims or first responders – announced a partnership with Ohio Governor Mike DeWine that would involve “deploying a Senior Response Official and a Regional Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) to support ongoing operations, including incident coordination and ongoing assessments of potential long-term recovery needs.”
FEMA is requesting feedback on a new guidance document, “Achieving Equitable Recovery: A Post-Disaster Guide for Local Officials.” Comments on the guide are due by March 15, 2023.
State and Local Updates
California
In Northern California, communities impacted by the Tubbs Fire five years ago continue to make strides to improve community resilience while progressing through the disaster recovery process.
Colorado
An analysis of watersheds impacted by wildfires in Colorado found that funding for well-water systems and water infrastructure damaged by fire was slow to appear, hampering recovery efforts.
Florida
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity announced that $63.5 million in HUD disaster recovery funds is now available for Hurricane Sally recovery to local governments in Bay, Escambia, Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, and Walton counties.
Kentucky
Local groups in Eastern Kentucky – hit hard by flooding in 2022 – are hoping to tackle housing recovery in the region in a way that is justice-focused, culturally appropriate, environmentally sound, and that recognizes that many impacted families have generational ties to the areas where they live and hope to continue living.
New Mexico
A bill introduced in the New Mexico Senate would provide $100 million in zero-interest loans to local counties and municipalities via a bridge fund, as federal funding works its way towards the state. Governments that take the loan would subsequently repay the funds when they receive federal funding.
North Carolina
Although highly touted, ReBuild NC’s modular home program is failing to quickly deploy the manufactured housing solutions it promised. Instead, the majority of Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence survivors in need of housing have been housed through stick-built homes.
Oregon
A bill currently in the Oregon House of Representatives would allow fire and disaster survivors to get a 70% buyout from their insurance company instead of having to file inventory claims to submit to insurance companies.
Louisiana
Local disaster recovery advocates – including members of NLIHC’s Disaster Housing Recovery Coalition (DHRC) – learned that FEMA plans to stop accepting appeals concerning denials of assistance after Hurricane Ida by the end of February. While disaster assistance does typically cease 18 months after a disaster, the agency typically extends provision of assistance past that date and also allow for denials of assistance to be appealed.
The editorial board at NOLA.com published a piece on the long wait for recovery aid programs in Lake Charles, which was hard-hit by Hurricanes Laura and Delta. Of issue is a requirement that applicants for HUD-funded long-term recovery assistance be rated as having received major damage by FEMA via an assessment process biased against lower-income residents.
West Virginia
With an additional flood emergency declared in the state earlier in February, a state-level bill on flooding resiliency continues to work its way through the legislative process. Senate Bill 677 would clarify the role and responsibilities of the State Resiliency Officer, a position created through numerous hearings of the Joint Legislative Committee on Flooding formed in the wake of devastating 2016 floods that hit regions of the state.