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Water and Land Resources Division (WLR), King County, Washington

River and Floodplain Management Grants Program

Grants from a variety of sources are pursued to fund flood hazard reduction projects and programmatic activities that mitigate flooding problems throughout the county. The majority of grant-funded projects target repetitively-flooded areas. Each grant program is slightly different and contains its own unique set of guidelines.

The Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) is only available following a presidential disaster declaration. The State of Washington became eligible for this program following the December 2007 severe storm and flooding disaster, and King County recently submitted two HMGP applications for funding consideration. One of the applications proposes to elevate structures located within flood hazard areas on the lower Snoqualmie River in the vicinity of Snoqualmie River Road and on Kimball Creek in the vicinity of the City of Snoqualmie. The second grant seeks to acquire, from willing sellers, repetitively-flooded homes on the South Fork Skykomish River, the Cedar River, and Kimball Creek. Both grants include seventy-five percent federal funding and require a twenty-five percent local fund match, half of which will be covered by the State of Washington.

We will be in direct communication with property owners included in our grant applications, but you may also check this website periodically for updates related to our active grant applications.

2008 HMGP

  • June 30, 2008 – Applications submitted to Washington State Emergency Management Division (EMD) for preliminary review
  • December 7, 2008 – Applications recommended for funding by EMD must be sent to FEMA for final review by this date
  • Mid – Late 2009 – Grants awarded

2007 FMA

The Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) Program offers grant funding to reduce or eliminate flood claims under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). King County submitted an FMA grant in February 2007 to elevate structures in three repetitive loss areas. The status of this grant is outlined below: 

  • One home elevation completed
  • Two home elevations under construction
  • Two home elevations and one barn elevation under permit review
  • One home elevation in plan preparation
  • Grant being revised to add two alternate projects
  • March 1, 2009 – Grant project completion deadline 

Upcoming Grant Opportunities

 In June 2008, several federal grant programs announced an application period with a submittal deadline of December 19, 2008. King County is eligible for and plans to submit applications for the following programs: 

  • Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) – Funds hazard mitigation planning and mitigation project implementation prior to a disaster event.

http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/pdm/index.shtm

  • Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) – Funds the implementation of activities that seek to reduce the long-term flood risk to buildings insurable under the National Flood Insurance Program.

http://www.fema.gov/government/grant/fma/index.shtm  

If you are interested in any of these grant opportunities, or if you simply would like to learn more about the River and Floodplain Management grants program, please contact Jason Wilkinson at Jason.wilkinson@kingcounty.gov.