Sanford's Porte enthused about potential for low-interest loans
Sen. Peters highlights infrastructure mitigation act
Michigan U.S. Sen. Gary Peters along with the Federal Emergency Management Agency on Tuesday highlighted an effort to strengthen the federal disaster preparedness and response with the STORM Act, which became law on Jan. 21, 2021.
In an online forum, Peters explained more about the Safeguarding Tomorrow through Ongoing Risk Mitigation (STORM) Act, through which he secured $500 million in low-interest loans to be made available to communities to strengthen their infrastructure and make it more resilient.
The bipartisan legislation was authored by Peters, who is chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
The effort seeks to establish community disaster resilience zones to designate the communities across the nation that are most in need of mitigation projects – and help them access federal funding and support to plan for mitigation and resilience projects, according to Peters.
He said that damage from extreme weather events continues to cause millions of dollars in damages that taxpayers must cover. The STORM Act helps communities make investments, such as hardening roads, bridges and other infrastructure and building seawalls, thus helping mitigate the damages caused by floods, storms, and other tragic events.
“Identifying which areas in Michigan and across the country are most affected by disasters will help drive private and public sector investments toward those communities so they can build resilient infrastructure that can withstand extreme flooding, storms, wildfires and other disasters,” Peters said when the legislation passed the Senate.
“This is something we will be proud we invested in,” Peters said Tuesday.
The STORM Act is a revolving fund, so once loans are paid back, more money can be loaned out.
With Sanford having been devastated by flooding in May 2020 when the Sanford Dam breached, Village President Dolores Porte said Wednesday she is anxious to learn more about the funding available.
She remembers when the STORM Act became a law, but then there wasn’t more released about it. She is happy to see it back in the spotlight.
“This is serendipitous,” Porte said. “I was just wondering when they were going to roll out the details. I will be checking into it.”
According to FEMA representatives, the low-interest loans allow jurisdictions to reduce vulnerability to natural disasters while fostering greater community resilience and reducing suffering caused by disasters.
The application period for the grant will open Feb. 1, 2023 and run until April 28, 2023. A link to the application will be available at https://bit.ly/3HU4Zil
