S. 3875: Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act of 2022
In December of 2022, President Biden signed S.3875, the Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act, into law. The statute is an amendment to the Stafford Act, which provides the statutory authority for most disaster relief and assistance programs.
The Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act designates zones in disadvantaged communities that are “most at risk to natural hazards.” The new designations apply FEMA’s National Risk Index to determine the risk of exposure to natural disasters. The FEMA National Risk Index is a tool demonstrating a community’s risk and resilience to natural hazards assessed based on net annual economic loss, social vulnerability, and community resilience.
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The Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act makes special consideration for frontline disadvantaged communities. The Act’s assessment of 50 census tracts factors social vulnerability indicators such as net annual economic loss and community loss to population equivalence to assess which needs the most relief. If selected, the disadvantaged community will receive targeted funding with greater proportions of federal share, making the relief more affordable. |
Under the Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act, the President defines the targeted zones. The targeted zones are the 50 census tracts that are assigned the highest individual hazard risk rating under the new statute. These risk ratings are assessed by reflecting the community’s loss to population equivalence, building value, agriculture value, high social vulnerability rating, and low community resilience ratings. The 50 targeted zones are also required by the statute to be diversified across the United States by geography and urban profile. The designations will be updated no later than every five years.
If the President designates a community as high-risk, it will receive targeted federal funding for projects that reduce the impacts of natural hazards and climate change. If approved, the federal share of the financing for projects within these zones increases, making it more financially feasible for state/local entities to apply for federal grants.
Publication Date: December 20, 2022
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