ICYMI: FEMA’s Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund Program

Officials from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) joined the GLLC on August 11 to provide a virtual update on the newly formed Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund Program.

Authorized by the STORM Act signed into law in 2021, this new federal program capitalizes state and tribal government revolving loans funds to be disbursed to eligible local and tribal governments to “mitigate the impacts of natural hazards.” Qualifying projects mitigate impacts and increase resilience for weather events, such as drought, extreme heat, severe storms, wildfires, floods, and earthquakes.

However, the capitalization funding is finite and requires an application from the state or tribal government in order to be considered for the limited funding. For the first year of funding, FEMA capitalized loan funds for Michigan, New York, the District of Columbia, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, South Carolina, and Virginia. Another application process will close in spring 2024.

Participation in this FEMA program is being considered for recommendation by the GLLC Task Force on Climate Resiliency as it examines adaptation and resilience polices to guide the region.

The presentation slides can be found here.