Dauphin County seeks $197M in federal flood, disaster preparation funding

The Dauphin County commissioners on Wednesday applied for $197 million in federal funds as part of a $1 billion grant competition designed to help local communities with flood control and disaster preparation.

Dauphin County was eligible to apply for the money because of the amount of property damage sustained from Tropical Storm Lee in 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

It is one of 67 communities across the country competing for part of the funding through the National Disaster Resilience Competition.

County officials said the funding would pay for projects  that include improvements to stormwater drainage and sewer systems, bridge and culvert replacements and sanitary sewer repairs, and upgrades for municipalities throughout the county.

In June, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will announce which communities will receive funding.

Tetra Tech, which is partnering with the county to assist municipalities in flood mitigation planning, helped the county with the application. Later this year, Tetra Tech will help qualifying municipalities apply to the National Flood Insurance Program's Community Rating System.

Source: Central Penn Business Journal