The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has allocated nearly $12 billion in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds for communities across 24 states and territories. To provide guidance for the implementation of this funding, HUD also published the Universal Notice for Community Development Block Grants—Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR).
To support recovery from Hurricane Helene, HUD allocated more than $1.6 billion to communities across North Carolina, including $225 million to the city of Asheville and $1.2 billion to the state for disaster impacted communities statewide. These funds are critical–with tens of thousands of houses damaged or destroyed, more than 12,000 western North Carolinians are without safe housing.
“Over the last two years, too many communities have been impacted by devastating disasters – damaging homes, destroying infrastructure, and stretching local capacity to recover,” said HUD Agency Head, the Honorable Adrianne Todman. “This $12 billion in disaster discovery funds will help rebuild homes, develop affordable housing, assist impacted small businesses, and repair roads, schools, water treatment plants and other critical infrastructure. The impacts of these funds will be felt for years to come – especially for disaster survivors and communities in the most impacted areas.”
The Universal Notice will strengthen and improve the administration of CDBG-DR, incorporating feedback received from grantees, stakeholders, and survivors of disasters. For the first time ever, HUD requested public input through the 2022 Request for Information on CDBG-DR Rules, Waivers, and Alternative Requirements. HUD received more than 700 unique comments offering feedback on how to make disaster recovery faster and more efficient, effective, resilient, and equitable.
“As Appropriations Chair, I worked hard to ensure the passage of a bill that would deliver meaningful disaster relief for real people who need help as soon as possible. Today’s announcement is welcome news to communities across the country–including Spokane County in my home state–that have been struck by disaster and are counting on federal support to rebuild and get back on their feet,” said Sen. Patty Murray, Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “This funding will help rebuild homes for families in dire need, help rebuild schools so kids can learn, help small businesses reopen their doors, and help repair critical infrastructure that communities everywhere count on each and every day.”
This allocation of CDBG-DR funding and the guidance in the Universal Notice will enable 47 grantees–including 23 states, 15 counties, eight cities, and one territory–to recover from and build resilience to weather-related disasters. CDBG-DR funding supports disaster relief, long-term recovery, restoration of infrastructure and housing, economic revitalization, and mitigation, in the most impacted and distressed areas.
CDBG-DR funding can be used to:
- Replace damaged affordable housing and build it back more resiliently.
- Strengthen infrastructure through repairs, upgrades, and activities to increase the resilience of public facilities and infrastructure including roadways, water systems, and utilities.
- Support economic revitalization including support for small businesses, creation of jobs, and assistance for residents.
- Implement disaster mitigation measures to reduce risk of damage from future extreme weather and disaster events.
“The Universal Notice published today reflects the input of communities and professionals who have been through the process of recovery and makes dozens of survivor-centered improvements to accelerate recovery,” said Marion McFadden, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development. “I’m proud to say that we did everything we could–absent permanent authorization by Congress–to strengthen the program, reduce red-tape, and support survivors as they rebuild.”
Until HUD receives permanent authorization of the CDBG-DR program, the Universal Notice is intended to provide publicly informed, consistent guidance for communities recovering from disasters. The Universal Notice incorporates many of the public’s comments and recommendations, including updates to:
- Improve outcomes, increasing access to information, and simplifying documentation requirements for disaster survivors.
- Expand and extend eligible activities for rental assistance and disaster relief, including allowing reimbursement for these expenses.
- Create new eligible activities for local disaster preparedness and resilience.
- Align more closely with FEMA requirements for environmental reviews and community-driven relocation.
- Streamline Action Plan requirements, and encouraging broader community engagement in the Action Plan Formation process.
- Reduce administrative burden on grantees, creating greater flexibility regarding building standards, implementation requirements, and financial management procedures.
HUD will continue its partnership with FEMA on the Pre-Disaster Housing Initiative, which helps states develop plans to boost their pre-disaster housing capabilities. HUD will be announcing a Universal Notice Webinar Series that will take grantees and the public through the steps outlined in the Universal Notice and ensure they are ready to immediately begin the development of their CDBG-DR Action Plans. HUD will also provide grantees with an Action Plan Template to support their overall design and creation of the required components of the plan.
“Every community that’s been struck by a disaster needs and deserves help and that’s exactly what CDBG-DR funding provides,” said Sen. Brian Schatz, Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development. “For decades, CDBG-DR has been a lifeline for communities building back from devastation, helping survivors rebuild their homes, small businesses, and communities. This new funding will help survivors across the country, including in Lahaina, get back on their feet as quickly as possible.”
Click here for more on HUD’s latest fund allocation.
