Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 108 Part 3.djvu/518

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108 STAT. 2270 PUBLIC LAW 103-325—SEPT. 23, 1994 SEC. 553. MITIGATION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM. (a) IN GENERAL,—Chapter III of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 4101 et seq.), as amended by the preceding provisions of this title, is further amended by adding at the end the following new section: "M ITIGATION ASSISTANCE 42 USC 4104c. "SEC. 1366. (a) AUTHORITY.— The Director shall carry out a program to provide financial assistance to States and communities, using amounts made available from the National Flood Mitigation Fund under section 1367, for planning and carrying out activities designed to reduce the risk of flood damage to structures covered under contracts for flood insurance under this title. Such financial assistance shall be made available to States and communities in the form of grants under subsection (b) for planning assistance and in the form of grants under this section for carrying out mitigation activities. "(b) PLANNING ASSISTANCE GRANTS.— "(1) IN GENERAL. —The Director may make grants under this subsection to States and communities to assist in developing mitigation plans under subsection (c). "(2) FUNDING.— Of any amounts made available from the National Flood Mitigation Fund for use under this section in any fiscal year, the Director may use not more than $1,500,000 to provide planning assistance grants under this subsection. " (3) LIMITATIONS.— "(A) TIMING. —^A grant under this subsection may be awarded to a State or community not more than once every 5 years and each grant may cover a period of 1 to 3 years. "(B) SINGLE GRANTEE AMOUNT.— A grant for planning assistance may not exceed— "(i) $150,000, to any State; or "(ii) $50,000, to any community. " (C) CUMULATIVE STATE GRANT AMOUNT.—The sum of the amounts of grants made under this subsection in any fiscal year to any one State and all communities located in such State may not exceed $300,000. "(c) ELIGIBILITY FOR MITIGATION ASSISTANCE.— To be eligible to receive financial assistance under this section for mitigation activities, a State or community shall develop, and have approved by the Director, a flood risk mitigation plan (in this section referred to as a 'mitigation plan'), that describes the mitigation activities to be carried out with assistance provided under this section, is consistent with the criteria established by the Director under section 1361, and provides protection against flood losses to structures for which contracts for flood insurance are available under this title. The mitigation plan shall be consistent with a comprehensive strategy for mitigation activities for the area affected by the mitigation plan, that has been adopted by the State or community following a public hearing. " (d) NOTIFICATION OF APPROVAL AND GRANT AWARD.— "(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall notify a State or community submitting a mitigation plan of the approval or