HUD prioritizes environment, economic equity in bloc grants

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has laid out new guidelines for the disbursal of $2 billion in disaster-relief bloc grants, with an emphasis on climate-change mitigation and equity for underserved communities

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Housing and Urban Development has laid out new guidelines for the disbursal of $2 billion in disaster-relief block grants, with an emphasis on climate-change mitigation and equity for underserved communities.

The new guidelines, published Monday in the Federal Register, spell out specific priorities for the use of the funds by state and local agencies that receive the Community Development Block Grants.

The funds were allocated last year to aid in relief efforts for disasters that took place in 2020 in 10 states and territories. These include: wildfires in California, a dam collapse in Michigan, Hurricane Zeta in Mississippi, and earthquakes and Tropical Storm Isaias in Puerto Rico.

These block grants traditionally come with a great deal of flexibility for local authorities and recipient agencies to decide where best to target the funds depending on the nature of the disaster. For example, wildfires tend to largely destroy buildings and residences, while storms and hurricanes often do the most damage to infrastructure like bridges, sewers and electrical grids.