AFG Awards: Show Me the Money!
WASHINGTON — FEMA released Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Application Guidance for 14 federal grant programs Wednesday.
The programs total more than $3 billion available in federal funding to assist state and local governments in strengthening community preparedness.
“Several years of investment have taken us largely from capability building to performance-based planning and investment,” said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. “This year’s funding priorities are consistent with last year, and reflect a mature and disciplined grants program.”
DHS also is announcing for the first time FY 2009 targeted allocations under the State Homeland Security Program and Urban Areas Security Initiative. The department will continue to use the peer review process and applicants’ effectiveness scores in determining final allocations.
The grant program allocations for FY 2009 are:
Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) – $1.7 billion. FY 2009 HSGP funding priorities are targeted for either states or urban areas, and reflect capabilities that are most critical to build in those jurisdictions. At least 25 percent of the total FY 2009 HSGP funding must be dedicated for activities involving planning, training and exercises in building or sustaining capabilities. HSGP is comprised of four programs:
- State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) – $861.3 million to strengthen and build state, territorial and local preparedness capabilities through planning, equipment, training and exercise activities.
- Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) – $798.6 million to enhance regional preparedness by strengthening capabilities in 62 high-threat, high-density urban areas across the country. The seven highest risk urban areas will compete for approximately $439 million, or 55 percent of available funds, while the remaining areas will compete for about $359 million, or 45 percent of the funds.
- Metropolitan Medical Response System Program (MMRS) – $39.8 million is divided evenly among 124 MMRS jurisdictions to enhance and sustain comprehensive regional mass casualty incident response and preparedness capabilities.
- Citizen Corps Program (CCP) – $14.6 million for states and territories to bring community and government leaders together to engage citizens in community preparedness, response and recovery activities.
State Homeland Security Program Tribal (SHSP Tribal) – approximately $1.7 million will be provided to tribal applicants to build preparedness and response capabilities, and to implement homeland security plans. This program provides supplemental funding directly to eligible tribes, pursuant to the Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Act of 2007.
Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) – $15 million to support target-hardening activities at nonprofit organizations at high risk of a terrorist attack.
Operation Stonegarden (OPSG) – $60 million to states to enhance law enforcement and border security operations. States bordering Canada (including Alaska), southern states bordering Mexico, and states and territories with international water borders are eligible for funding under FY 2009 OPSG. Previous grants were restricted to states located on a land border.
Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP) – $388.6 million to protect critical transit infrastructure from terrorism, including:
- Freight Rail Security Grant Program (FRSGP) – $15 million to target resources for security plans, vulnerability assessments, employee security awareness training and GPS tracking systems for railroad cars transporting toxic inhalation materials.
- Intercity Passenger Rail (Amtrak) – $25 million for Amtrak to protect critical surface transportation infrastructure and the traveling public from acts of terrorism, major disasters and other emergencies within the Amtrak rail system.
Port Security Grant Program (PSGP) – $388.6 million to protect critical port infrastructure from terrorism, enhance maritime domain awareness and risk management capabilities to protect against improvised explosive devices and other non-conventional weapons; to conduct training and exercises; and support implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential.
Buffer Zone Protection Program (BZPP) – $48.6 million to increase preparedness capabilities of jurisdictions responsible for safeguarding critical infrastructure sites and key resource assets, such as chemical facilities and nuclear power plants, through planning and equipment acquisition.
Intercity Bus Security Grant Program (IBSGP) – $11.7 million to assist operators of fixed-route intercity and charter bus services to support security plans, facility security upgrades, and vehicle and driver protection.
Trucking Security Program (TSP) – $7.8 million for eligible applicants to implement security improvement measures and policies that focus on the purchase, installation or enhancement of equipment and systems related to tractor and trailer tracking systems; to help develop a system for DHS to monitor, collect and analyze tracking information; and to develop plans to improve the transport and distribution of supplies and commodities during catastrophic events.
Emergency Management Performance Grants (EMPG) – $306 million to assist state and local governments in enhancing and sustaining all-hazards emergency management capabilities.
Interoperable Emergency Communications Grant Program (IECGP) – $48.6 million for planning, training, exercises and equipment to states, territories, local and tribal governments to carry out initiatives identified in Statewide Communication Interoperability Plans, and improve interoperable emergency communications for responding to natural disasters and acts of terrorism.
Regional Catastrophic Preparedness Grant Program (RCPGP) – $34 million to enhance catastrophic incident preparedness in selected high-risk, high-consequence urban areas and to support technical assistance funding in FY 2009. RCPGP supports coordination of regional all-hazards planning for catastrophic events, including the development of plans, protocols, and procedures.
Selected preparedness grants, such as the Urban Areas Security Initiative, are awarded according to a risk assessment methodology that assesses threat, vulnerability and consequence, said the DHS. The FY 2009 risk methodology has not changed from FY 2008.
TSGP, PSGP, BZPP, IBSGP, and TSP applications are due no later than Jan. 13, 2009. Applications for the HSGP programs are due no later than March 20, 2009. Other program application deadlines are listed in the program guidance.
Further information on preparedness grant programs is available at Dhs.gov and Fema.gov/grants.