Special Announcement: CORRECTED LINKS: FEMA Releases Updated Guide to Help Communities with Resilience Grants Process

CORRECTED LINKS: FEMA Releases Updated Guide to Help Communities with Resilience Grants Process Following valuable feedback from grant applicants, FEMA has updated the Hazard Mitigation Assistance Guide to make it more user-friendly.  The update consolidates information and eligibility requirements for Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) projects addressing air quality, drought, extreme temperatures, wildfire and wind. It also reflects recent policy changes to simplify program delivery through streamlined cost effectiveness methods and a lower benefit-cost analysis discount rate. State, local, tribal and territorial governments may use the guide to navigate the application process and manage the grant lifecycle to receive critical resilience dollars. Information in the guide includes policies and processes to enable effective and consistent implementation across all HMA programs. HMA provides funding to reduce the risk and impact of disasters such as wildfires, drought, extreme heat, hurricanes, earthquakes and flooding. Programs in HMA are Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC), Flood Mitigation Assistance, Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) and HMGP Post Fire. The update follows the update last year—the first since 2015—that incorporated climate change and future conditions, equity, building codes, capability and capacity building, nature-based solutions and community lifelines as key principles for its grant programs. It was also the first guide to cover BRIC. This aligns with FEMA’s “people first” approach and helps communities build climate resilience through reducing complexity and barriers to accessing our HMA grant funds. It also aligns with the 2024 FEMA Year of Resilience theme to build capacity to withstand tomorrow’s hazards. FEMA is offering two Office Hours sessions which provides an overview of the recent updates. Registration is now open. Session #1: Aug. 15, 2-3 p.m. ET (Corrected link) Session #2: Sept. 12, 2-3 p.m. ET (Corrected link) Visit FEMA.gov to access the guide.

History. Sundown Towns may still exist throughout the U.S. in 2024. Is a gated community a Sundown Town?

How do you address crisis\disasters, and other emergency related events in these town?

Even delivery of products and services (FedEx, UPS, Door Dash, etc.)?

Any of these towns receive Federal or State funding?

BEMA International

1. Sundown Towns by State - History and Social Justice 

            https://justice.tougaloo.edu/sundown-towns/using-the-sundown-towns-database/state-map/

2.  https://www.facebook.com/reel/463112639555519

Our New Generation Leaders. SrA Mariah L. Hayden. 2024 Outstanding Airmen of the Year.

Air Force Emergency Managers lead.

BEMA International

 

Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act August 2024

 PQC’s $7.1 Billion Price Tag

Federal agencies will need to spend about $7.1 billion in the coming years to transition their high-priority IT systems to post-quantum cryptography (PQC) that will become vital to cybersecurity as quantum science advances sufficiently to break through current data encryption methods. That’s the bottom line from a report issued last month by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which said that a large chunk of that estimated spending will be needed to cover the cost of replacing government technology that cannot support new PQC systems. OMB’s report was mandated by the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act signed into law by President Biden in late 2022, and requiring agencies to provide a prioritized inventory of cryptographic systems to the White House by May 2023. The Biden administration’s post-quantum executive order signed in 2022 calls for the transition of cryptographic systems to quantum-resistant cryptography by 2035.

EPA Releases Preliminary 2023 TRI Data

 

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EPA Releases Preliminary 2023 TRI Data Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published preliminary Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data about chemical releases, waste management and pollution prevention activities that took place during 2023 at more than 20,000 federal and industrial facilities across the country. For 2023, 21 chemicals were added to the TRI list, and facilities were required to report on these if the reporting thresholds for each were met. The chemicals included nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) added to the TRI chemical list per the requirements of the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). General Information on the 2023 Preliminary Data The 2023 preliminary data were reported by facilities in covered industries that manufactured, processed or otherwise used substances on the TRI chemical list above threshold quantities during 2023.  The public can use these data to: Identify how many TRI facilities operate in a certain geographic area (e.g., a ZIP code), Identify which chemicals are being managed by TRI facilities and in what quantities, and Find out if a particular facility initiated any pollution prevention activities in the most recent calendar year. The dataset released today contains the data as submitted by facilities and does not include any summary or trend analysis. While the preliminary data have not yet been through the complete TRI data quality process, the reporting software that facilities used to submit these data (TRI-MEweb) includes many automated quality checks that help prevent common mistakes during data entry. EPA is conducting additional quality checks to identify suspected reporting errors and follow up with facilities if data quality issues are identified. For details about the TRI data quality process, see the TRI Data Quality webpage. EPA plans to publish a revised version of the dataset this October, which will include late submissions and revisions submitted by facilities. EPA will use the October dataset to develop the 2023 TRI National Analysis, which is expected to be published in early 2025. The preliminary data are accessible on EPA's Envirofacts website. They are also available for download from the TRI website. PFAS-Related Information This is the fourth year that TRI data include reporting on PFAS added to the TRI list of chemicals under requirements established by the 2020 NDAA. EPA has received 156 TRI reporting forms for 44 discrete PFAS from 56 facilities. The preliminary data indicate facilities managed over 1,548,142 pounds of production-related waste of PFAS during 2023. In October 2023, EPA finalized a rule to improve reporting on PFAS to the TRI by eliminating an exemption that allowed facilities to avoid reporting information on PFAS when those chemicals were used in small concentrations. EPA anticipates additional reporting on the quantities of PFAS released or otherwise managed as waste to begin with the 2024 TRI data. Get the Data