$1.15 Million will fund federal match opportunities and development of flood plans in four 7^th District counties

WASHINGTON – Congressman Tom Rice (R-S.C.) today applauded The South Carolina Office of Resilience’s (SCOR) Disaster Recovery Office (DRO) for distributing $1,290,593 in funding across the Mitigation Funds Match and Plans & Studies programs. Both of these grants are funded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Development Block Grant Mitigation program. 

Four counties in the 7^th District will receive the majority of these funds: Chesterfield, Dillon, Florence, and Marion counties. 

“One of the most important pieces of disaster recovery is preparing for the future. The funding awarded through the Mitigation Funds Match program and the Plans and Studies program will take what we’ve learned from previous disasters and develop the best course of action forward so we can successfully navigate future disasters,” said Congressman Rice. “We worked tirelessly to ensure the release of these funds from the federal government. I’m pleased to see the state working diligently to ensure the funds continue to go out the door to help communities in the 7^th District.”

SCOR approved $181,563 in Mitigation Funds Match funding to leverage funding opportunities, while assisting communities and agencies that otherwise may not be able to meet the non- federal cost share of federally funded projects which is 25% of the total project cost. The awards include: 

• City of Dillon (Dillon County) — $60,000
  Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funded Stormwater Management Plan for jurisdictional areas of the city to be an annex to the existing Hazard Mitigation Plan for the county. 
• Dillon County — $25,000
  FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funded Stormwater Study to determine the best course of action to mitigate and alleviate flood damages to homes and businesses throughout the county. 
• Town of Cheraw (Chesterfield County)— $65,813
  FEMA Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funded Stormwater Master Plan to identify existing flooding hazards associated with stormwater and recommend hazard mitigation solutions. 
• South Carolina Emergency Management Division — $30,750
  FEMA Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) funded State Hazard Mitigation Plan update to identify a multitude of natural and non-natural hazards and consider ways to reduce vulnerability in the state. 

DRO was awarded a total of $5,000,000 in Mitigation Matching Funds for local governments to use for their match requirements for other federal mitigation funding.

SCOR approved $1,109,030 for mitigation Plans and Studies Projects to identify flood risks and feasible mitigation solutions in the following communities: 

• Marion County — $500,000
  Stormwater Master Plan to identify flooding issues throughout the county and develop flood mitigation infrastructure projects for possible future funding. 
• Town of Pamplico (Florence County) — $500,000
  Comprehensive stormwater study to provide recommendations and cost estimates for improvements to reduce future flood impacts. 
• South Carolina Emergency Management Division — $109,030
  Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment to provide goals and objectives that guide state agencies in determining mitigation actions and projects to reduce harm to life and property. 

The Plans & Studies program is designed to assist eligible local governments with identifying viable flood-reduction projects that may be eligible for funding through the CDBG-MIT Infrastructure program in the future. DRO was awarded a total of $14,078,600 in funding to assist local governments in developing studies and plans for mitigation projects.

The Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation Funds Match and Plans & Studies programs are year-round funding opportunities. Applications may be requested by email through DRO at: DROMitigation@scor.sc.gov.

Background:

On August 23, 2019, Congressman Rice announced that HUD approved the release of $162 million in mitigation funding for Hurricane Matthew and the 2015 Floods for South Carolina. Read the release here.

On March 9, 2021, The South Carolina Office of Resilience’s (SCOR) Disaster Recovery Office (DRO) Steering Committee approved the first tranche of disaster funding. $30,105,720 was approved in infrastructure mitigation grant funding for stormwater infrastructure and drainage improvements and $14,868,365 was approved for buyouts of repetitive loss properties. Read the release here.