Through this Disaster NOFO, EDA will award investments in regions experiencing severe economic distress or other economic harm resulting from hurricanes, wildfires, tornadoes, floods, and other natural disasters occurring in calendar years 2023 and 2024. EDA’s goal under this NOFO is to assist communities recovering from a disaster by realizing opportunities to recover and change the economic trajectory of the community for the better. In other words, EDA funding seeks to help communities recover and set them on a path to exceed their previous pre-disaster baseline. EDA seeks projects that are responsive to community needs post-disaster by engaging all aspects of the community, with special focus on private industry partners.
This Disaster NOFO provides funding through three pathways:
Readiness Path – Standalone non-construction projects designed to increase a community’s readiness to apply for or implement disaster recovery funding from private and public sources including, but not limited to, future EDA NOFOs and the Implementation or Industry Transformation Paths under this NOFO. Projects will fund strategy development, capacity building, and/or predevelopment costs necessary for future recovery projects.
Implementation Path – Standalone construction or non-construction projects designed to address the economic challenges faced by a community recovering from a natural disaster and improve economic trajectories beyond pre-disaster economic conditions.
Industry Transformation Path – Led by a coalition of regional stakeholders, a portfolio of large-scale, multicomponent construction and non-construction projects designed to fundamentally transform the economic trajectory of a region through the development or acceleration of an industry.
Award amount
Up to $50,000,000
Total program funding: $1,447,000,000
Eligibility
Eligible applicants under the FY25 Disaster program include a(n): District organization of an EDA-designated Economic Development District (EDD); Indian tribe or a consortium of Indian tribes; State, county, city, or other political subdivision of a state, including a special purpose unit of a state or local government engaged in economic or infrastructure development activities, or a consortium of political subdivisions, institution of higher education or a consortium of institutions of higher education; public or private nonprofit organization or association acting in cooperation with officials of a political subdivision of a state; an economic development organization; or a public-private partnership for public infrastructure. EDA is not authorized to provide grants or cooperative agreements to individuals or for-profit entities under this NOFO. Applications from individuals or for-profit entities will not be considered for funding.
Who can apply: Government & Tribal, Schools & Colleges, Nonprofits
The state HOME program provides funding for housing rehabilitation, new construction, and acquisition and rehabilitation for multifamily projects; new construction and down payment assistance for single-family projects; first-time homebuyer down payment assistance, owner-occupied rehabilitation and tenant-based rental assistance programs; and predevelopment loans to CHDOs. All activities must benefit low-income renters, homebuyers or homeowners.
The HOME Program is a federal formula grant program that provides annual allocations to states to increase and preserve the supply of decent, safe, and sanitary affordable housing specifically for serving low-income [at or below 80 percent (80%) of Area Median Income (AMI)] and very low-income [at or below 50 percent (50%) of AMI] households. This NOFA is to make available unclaimed HOME 2024 NOFA Program Activities funding, on an over-the-counter basis, until the next HOME Program Activities NOFA is released or funds are exhausted. With this funding, the Department will award HOME funds to eligible applicants on a first-come, first-served basis, in the form of loans/grants to fund Program Activities including first-time homebuyer programs, owner-occupied rehabilitation programs, and tenant-based rental assistance programs.
The Cleanup and Abatement Account (CAA) funds may be utilized to fund: (1) projects that clean up and/or abate the effects of a waste on waters of the State, or (2) projects that address urgent drinking water needs.
The Cleanup and Abatement Account (CAA) was created by Water Code Sections 13440-13443 to provide grants for the cleanup or abatement of a condition of pollution when there are no viable responsible parties available to undertake the work. Water code section 13442 authorizes the State Water Board to utilize CAA funds to address an urgent drinking water need. This includes needs due to drought, contamination, or other eligible emergencies. The CAA is funded by various monies including those: appropriated by the Legislature; collected as part of criminal penalties or civil proceedings brought pursuant to Division 7 of the Water Code; collected or recovered by the State Water Board or a Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Water Board) under Chapter 6.7 of Division 20 of the Health and Safety Code; and repaid by loan recipients, including principal, interest, and fees. In some instances, a court judgment or settlement agreement specifies how collected funds are to be spent (e.g., a specific cleanup, investigation, or supplemental environmental project [SEP]). Those funds are typically set aside in the CAA for that identified purpose, consistent with statutes governing uses of the CAA. After accounting for these needs and other prior encumbrances, remaining CAA funds may be utilized to fund: (1) projects that clean up and/or abate the effects of a waste on waters of the State, or (2) projects that address urgent drinking water needs.
Community and Economic DevelopmentDisaster ReliefEnvironment and Conservation
To improve local fire prevention capacity, enhance forest health and resilience, or reduce the risk of wildfire spreading from wildlands into populated areas.
Projects funded under the Fire category must fall within Chapter 3 of Proposition 4, focused on Wildfire and Forest Resilience. To qualify, projects must meet Section 91520, and include at least one purpose listed in Section 91520(j). Eligible activities may improve local fire prevention capacity, enhance forest health and resilience, or reduce the risk of wildfire spreading from wildlands into populated areas. In addition, each project must address at least one of the following: watershed improvement, wildfire resilience, chaparral or forest restoration, or workforce development. Proposition 4 Wildfire
Senate Bill 122 added Part 4, Section 6700 to the Water Code to create a new program, the Dam Safety and Climate Resilience Local Assistance Program, within DWR for the purpose of providing state funding for repairs, rehabilitation, enhancements, and other dam safety projects at existing state jurisdictional dams and associated facilities that were in service prior to January 1, 2023.
Approximately 10 percent of the 1,236 State jurisdictional dams regulated by DWR’s Division of Safety of Dams (DSOD) have been assigned a condition assessment classification of less than “Satisfactory” (e.g., they have noted deficiencies that need remediation). In many cases, these dams pose a significant threat to communities downstream. As an interim risk reduction measure, more than 40 of these dams have had reservoir restrictions imposed. The loss of water storage from these reservoir restrictions is about 350,000 acre-feet. Many dam owners, even those with sources of funding, do not have the ability to secure funding for dam remediation or improvement projects. This program will provide much-needed grant funding for the repair, retrofit, and rehabilitation of these critical infrastructure facilities, reduce the unacceptable risks to the public, and regain lost storage capacity that is needed to face California’s climate-related water shortages.
Disaster ReliefEnvironment and ConservationClimate Change