The Washington State Department of Commerce has issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Resiliency Planning Program. This funding opportunity aims to support planning efforts that enhance community resilience in Whatcom County, Washington, against future flooding events of the Nooksack River. The program is designed to identify and prioritize mitigation projects that will reduce long-term risks and vulnerabilities due to flooding, particularly in response to events such as the atmospheric river event in November 2021.

The primary goal of this grant is to support comprehensive planning activities that identify feasible flood mitigation measures without transferring risk to downstream communities. Funded projects should include detailed cost estimates for each mitigation project and explore alternative analyses to determine necessary actions for advancing projects through design, property acquisition, and construction phases. A multi-jurisdictional approach to planning activities is strongly encouraged, as proposals incorporating collaboration between multiple local governments and organizations will receive higher technical evaluation scores.

Eligible applicants must demonstrate their ability to conduct thorough planning activities, provide realistic cost estimates, and engage with stakeholders to develop a comprehensive strategy for mitigating flood risk in Whatcom County. The grant is federally funded under the CDBG-DR Resiliency Planning program, ensuring that selected projects align with federal disaster recovery and mitigation objectives.

Key dates for this funding opportunity include a Q&A period from February 4, 2025, to February 18, 2025, and a pre-proposal conference on February 11, 2025. The final deadline for proposal submissions is March 19, 2025. Applications will be evaluated based on their technical proposal, including their ability to effectively address flood mitigation and planning objectives.

For further details, applicants are encouraged to review the full NOFO document and its amendments, which outline specific application requirements, eligibility criteria, and scoring methodologies. The primary point of contact for this opportunity is Seamus Davis, Project Manager at the Washington State Department of Commerce. He can be reached at Seamus.Davis@Commerce.wa.gov for any inquiries related to the application process.