Grants

Pennsylvania will receive $5 million, through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to support Pennsylvania in mitigation against future damage from natural disasters.

“Pennsylvania is one of the most flood-prone states in the country,” said Gov. Wolf. “Every year we have flooding that does not meet federal thresholds for assistance, so this mitigation funding will help get people out of harm’s way and prevent future losses due to flooding.”

Properties that are covered by a policy through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and have sustained repetitive losses due to flooding are eligible for the new Swift Current initiative, made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Homeowners who are interested in this program should contact their local municipality or county emergency management agency for more information. 

The local government in which the property is located is considered the sub-applicant and will work with interested property owners to develop a sub-application. The local government will submit the sub-application to the state on property owner’s behalf, and the state will submit the application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA will select projects based on eligibility and funding available in each state.

Participation in the Swift Current initiative is voluntary. The following project types are eligible to participate in Swift Current even if an insurance claim has been filed:

• Property Acquisition and Structure Demolition/Relocation;
• Nonstructural Retrofitting of Existing Buildings and Facilities;
• Structure Elevation;
• Mitigation Reconstruction;
• Dry Floodproofing of Historic Residential Structures or Non-Residential Structures; and
• Structural Retrofitting of Existing Buildings.

Section 9106 of the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code annually provides for the allocation of $35,000,000 from the Motor Vehicle License Fund for the Dirt and Gravel Road Maintenance Program.  Of that amount, $7,000,000 is allocated directly to the Bureau of Forestry for maintaining the dirt and gravel roads in their jurisdictions.  The SCC is responsible for allocating the remaining $28,000,000 to the 64 County Conservation Districts who participate in the Dirt and Gravel Road Maintenance Program, including up to $8,000,000 for the maintenance of low-volume roads.

The Small Business Advantage Grant provides 50% matching grants, up to a maximum of $5,000 to enable Pennsylvania small businesses to purchase energy efficient or pollution prevention equipment, or adopt waste reduction processes.

The new TreeVitalize Bare Root Tree program aims to assist communities in Pennsylvania with increasing the tree canopy and commitment to urban and community forests.  This program provides up to 20 large caliper bare root trees for planting on land owned by a municipality (streets and parks) or non-profit organizations. This is a first come/first serve grant program.