Cal OES Awards Over $15 Million in State Funding Through Prepare California ‘Match’ Program

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Graphic of the counties receiving Prepare California 'Match' funding, with the hazard type the grant will address.

Infrastructure Improvement Projects Intended to Protect Communities from Future Disasters

Sacramento – As part of the state’s ongoing efforts to increase community resilience in areas of the state more prone to natural disasters, the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) today announced the first round of awardees for the Prepare California ‘Match’ Program amounting to over $15 million in state funding.

“This innovative, proactive funding opportunity opens the door for the most vulnerable, at-risk communities to receive federal dollars aimed at improving local infrastructure,” said Ryan Buras, Deputy Director of Cal OES Recovery Operations. “These projects will save lives and property, at no cost to the community.”

For this first round of grants, Cal OES awarded over $15 million in state funding to 15 applicants through the ‘Match’ portion of the Prepare California Program, which allocates a total of $85 million in state funding for eligible communities and projects applying for federal Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants.

Prepare California ‘Match’ unlocks state funding to cover the required local match (non-federal cost share) portion of these grants that are intended to support communities considered socially vulnerable with a high hazard risk. Under the ‘Match’ program, the federal government covers 90 percent of the project cost, with the state providing the remaining 10 percent of the funding.

The first round of Prepare California ‘Match’ funding awardees ranges from cities and counties to Tribal Governments situated all over the state.

Examples of projects receiving Prepare California ‘Match’ funding:

  • Hoopa Valley Tribe, Humboldt County (Wildfire): Address wildfire protection through a two-pronged approach: create defensible space around 890 tribal housing parcels and reduce hazardous fuels on approximately 573 additional acres.
  • City of Dinuba, Tulare County (Flood): Modify the city’s existing stormwater system infrastructure to increase stormwater retention, conveyance, and groundwater infiltration capacity by employing nature-based solutions.
  • Nevada County (Wildfire): Reduce hazardous fuels on an estimated 800 acres of private properties located in the South Yuba Rim.
  • East Valley Water District, San Bernardino County (Earthquake): Perform seismic retrofits to seven potable water tanks in the same pressure zone representing nearly half of the potable water for the district.
  • Lassen Municipal Utility District, Lassen County (Wildfire): Reduce fire damage to critical infrastructure and minimize the need for public safety power shutoffs by clearing an additional 20 feet of vegetation under two transmission lines that span a combined 48 miles on either side of Highway 36 between Susanville and Westwood. Utility poles with fire-related damages will also be replaced with steel, ignition-resistant/non-combustible poles.
  • City of Watsonville, Santa Cruz (Flood, Earthquake, Heat): Increase the resilience of critical water treatment infrastructure from flooding and earthquake by relocating critical parts of the facility outside of the flood zone and constructing the facility to modern seismic building codes. Install a green roof on the new facility to absorb rainfall and protect the facility from heat events.

The state identified these disaster-vulnerable communities by prioritizing California census tracts according to their estimated hazard exposures and social vulnerability. Hazard exposure is based on the State Hazard Mitigation Plan which includes an analysis of several datasets related to wildfire, flood, earthquake, drought, and heat wave frequencies. Social vulnerability is based on the CDC Social Vulnerability Index.

For more information about the Prepare California ‘Match’ program, click here.

Cal OES will announce additional awardees for the Prepare California ‘Match’ Program in the coming months. Additionally, Cal OES is currently offering Match funds for eligible communities applying for FEMA’s 2022 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grants.

Complete list of statewide projects receiving Prepare California ‘Match’ funding:

Applicant County Hazard Project Description Project Cost
City of Watsonville Santa Cruz Multi-Hazard Install infrastructure improvement measures and nature-based solutions to protect a critical wastewater Treatment Facility from seismic, flood, and extreme heat hazards.

 

$16,912,774
Hoopa Valley Tribe Humboldt Wildfire Create defensible space around 890 tribal housing parcels and reduce hazardous fuels on approximately 573 additional acres.

 

$7,079,817
City of Dinuba Tulare Flood Modify the city’s existing stormwater system infrastructure to increase stormwater retention, conveyance, and groundwater infiltration capacity by employing nature-based solutions.

 

$3,000,000
Northern Sonoma County Fire Protection District Sonoma Wildfire Reduce hazardous fuels along 43 roads that serve as evacuation routes and create defensible space around 610 structures along these roads.

 

$7,462,800
Yolo County Yolo Flood Fortify the levee system along the Sacramento River to protect residents of Knights Landing from potential flooding.

 

$37,028,168
City of Escondido San Diego Flood Improve drainage capacity and green stormwater infrastructure to protect over 600 homes and other businesses from flooding.

 

$34,690,116
City of Oakland Alameda Earthquake Complete Seismic Retrofitting to 76 soft-story residential buildings containing 866 units. The proposed retrofits will convert collapse-prone “Pre-Code” soft-story buildings to a moderate- to high-code classification.

 

$13,169,520
City of Banning Riverside Wildfire Mitigate wildfire risks by completing utility hardening activities, which include replacing 75 poles with new fire retardant-treated poles and installing fire retardant wrapping on new poles.

 

$2,189,128
East Valley Water District San Bernardino Earthquake Perform seismic retrofits to seven potable water tanks in the same pressure zone representing nearly half of the potable water for the district. $6,222,311
San Bernardino Flood Control District San Bernardino Flood Complete drainage improvements to reduce winter storm, run-off, and flash flooding along Devil’s Creek by widening the earthen channel with 8’ high reinforced concrete.

 

$8,900,000
Lassen Municipal Utility District Lassen Wildfire Reduce fire damage to critical infrastructure and minimize the need for public safety power shutoffs by clearing an additional 20 feet of vegetation under two transmission lines that span a combined 48 miles on either side of Highway 36 between Susanville and Westwood. Utility poles with fire-related damages will also be replaced with steel, ignition-resistant/non-combustible poles.

 

$13,465,078
Nevada County Nevada Wildfire Reduce hazardous fuels on an estimated 800 acres of private properties located in the South Yuba Rim.

 

$4,240,838
City of Yucca Valley San Bernardino Multi-Hazard The Town of Yucca Valley will update its single jurisdiction multi-hazard mitigation plan; the current plan will expire on 5/2/23.

 

$45,000
City of Maywood Los Angeles Multi-Hazard The City of Maywood will prepare a new, single-jurisdiction multi-hazard mitigation plan; the city doesn’t currently have a plan.

 

$121,890
City of Lindsay Tulare Multi-Hazard The City of Lindsay will receive funding under the 5% initiative as a phased project to install seven backup power generators as safety elements for critical community services at their wastewater treatment plant, sequoia lift station, hickory lift station, two potable water wells, 911/Fire/Police/Emergency Medical dispatch at their public safety building, and the functioning of the emergency operation center at City Hall.

 

$1,170,300
TOTAL

$155,697,740