This bill, the Ounce of Prevention Act, would change the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974 so certain recipients of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds can use those funds for natural disaster mitigation. It adds mitigation of health and welfare threats from weather-related disasters as an eligible community development purpose. The bill defines "mitigation activities" as actions that increase resilience and reduce long-term risk of loss of life, injury, property damage, and suffering from future disasters.
The bill allows CDBG funds to be used for mitigation projects, including new construction and rehabilitation, if the grantee says in its consolidated plan that it is in a high-risk area and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) certifies that risk. HUD certification can be based on FEMA's National Risk Index or a state natural hazard risk index. The grantee must also describe how the activities will address mitigation needs.
The bill lets grantees treat housing units assisted under such mitigation activities as a single structure for meeting certain national-objective rules and exempts them from some aggregate public-benefit standards in the referenced HUD regulations. HUD must provide technical assistance to grantees that use CDBG funds for mitigation.
The bill also requires HUD to issue rules within one year to: include mitigation efforts as activities that meet urgent community development needs, include mitigation in national-objective criteria, and treat documented weather-related threats as a serious and immediate threat to community health or welfare.
No publicly available information on expected costs, changes to funding levels, or budgetary effects is included in the bill text or metadata provided.
No publicly available information.
No publicly available information.