DENVER – May 14, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Thursday, May 14, 2015 — Gov. John Hickenlooper today announced the submittal of the Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Action Plan Substantial Amendment #2 to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The state must submit the Substantial Amendment before receiving the $58.2 million in CDBG-DR Funds that HUD allocated to flood impacted communities in Colorado. The money will help to meet needs not addressed through other sources of federal assistance, such as the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
“CDBG-DR funds continue to provide critical support to Colorado’s long-term recovery,” Hickenlooper said. “This Substantial Amendment empowers Colorado communities to continue their extraordinary recovery efforts and to build back better, stronger and more resilient.”
Colorado’s CDBG-DR Action Plan Substantial Amendment provides funding to support housing, infrastructure, watershed restoration, agriculture, economic development and planning. The announcement of this third allocation of funds brings HUD’s total support to Colorado to approximately $320 million.
In a letter to Julian Castro, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Hickenlooper thanked him and the Colorado congressional delegation for their “continued partnership and leadership” in bringing important disaster recovery funds to Colorado. Hickenlooper acknowledged the great progress that communities have made in their recovery. “While there is much still to be done, Colorado communities have have made incredible strides in been able to implement programs to building back homes, repairing and reconstructing infrastructure, restoring watersheds, and supporting affected businesses.”
HUD requires that 50 percent of the CDBG-DR funds benefit low- to moderate-income households and that 80 percent of the funds be distributed in Boulder, Larimer and Weld counties. The remaining 20 percent can be distributed among the other 11 counties in the September presidential declaration.
HUD has 45 days to review Colorado’s Action Plan Amendment #2. The Action Plan Substantial Amendment #2 program guidelines and an overview of the application process for these funds can be found online at http://dola.colorado.gov/cdbg-dr.
The letter to Secretary Castro is attached to this press release.
