March 19, 2019
Media Contact:
Scott Peterson, Director of Communications, Office of Public Information, 202-277-9412
Shaina Hernandez, Senior Advisor to the County Executive, 410-313-4200
ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Howard County Executive Calvin Ball is reminding property owners that the deadline to apply for Flood Mitigation Assistance Grants, established under Phase One of his EC Safe and Sound plan, is Friday, March 29, 2019. The grants are available to property owners in the Plum Tree, Little Plum Tree, Tiber-Hudson and New Cut watersheds for improvements to their structures only.
“We know that many homes and businesses damaged during the 2016 and 2018 floods will benefit from flood mitigation projects to protect their properties from future events,” said Ball. “The grants from this pilot program offer matching funds to pay for, or offset, the cost of these important projects.”
Examples of eligible projects could include flood doors, sealant, relocation of NVAC units, shields and drainage systems. Additional examples of eligible projects can be found in a February 2018 report by the Army Corps of Engineers, which is available at https://bit.ly/2Cq9KNX.
To be eligible for the Grant, structures must:
- Lie within the Plum Tree, Little Plum Tree, Tiber-Hudson and New Cut watersheds. These watersheds specifically include the following Ellicott City communities: Valley Mede, Chatham, Dunloggin, Historic Ellicott City as well as communities off Frederick Road, Old Columbia Pike and New Cut Road.
- Be a primary residential or commercial structure in Flood zones A, AE or Shaded X. These are designations from the FEMA flood insurance rate maps. Please visit https://bit.ly/2OeCcad. Click Effective Flood Plain Data, then Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps. Enter the street address. The structure must lie within the Flood Zone.
- Have a flood water inundation of less than six feet. Inundation is the depth of the 100-year flood water at or inside the structure. The program considers floodproofing for inundation up to six feet as feasible. Inundation greater than six feet indicates that building elevation, relocation, or acquisition would be necessary to mitigate flooding from the 100-year storm. This depth must be determined by a certified FEMA Flood Elevation Certificate. You may have an Elevation Certificate if you have flood insurance. The county can also provide an elevation certificate within approximately four weeks of a request.
Approved improvements will be eligible for a grant of 50 percent of the project cost, but no more than $5,000 per applicant. Grants will be awarded on April 29, 2019 and mitigation projects must be completed within one year of the award.
The County held two public meetings in February 2019 to inform property owners about the program and answer questions.
Complete details of the Flood Mitigation Assistance Pilot Program and an application form are available at https://www.ecsafeandsound.org/flood-mitigation-assistance-program.
Additional inquiries about the program can be directed by email to ecsafeandsound@howardcountymd.gov or by telephone to Shaina Hernandez at 410-313-4200