FMA: The Flood Mitigation Assistance Program
FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program helps Oklahoma communities reduce long-term flood risk.
FMA provides federal funding for projects that protect homes, neighborhoods, and infrastructure from future flooding. The program focuses on buildings that are insured through the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and supports solutions that prevent repeat flood damage.
OEM serves as the state applicant and works with local governments and Tribal Nations to develop projects, submit applications, and manage awarded grants.
For questions, contact HM@oem.ok.gov
Eligible FMA Activities
FMA supports three main types of activities:
- Capability and Capacity Building: Mitigation planning, project scoping, technical assistance, and other activities that help communities develop future flood mitigation projects.
- Localized Flood Risk Reduction Projects: Community-scale projects such as stormwater improvements, upsized culverts, floodwater storage, floodplain restoration, and wetland creation or restoration.
- Individual Flood Mitigation Projects: Projects that protect individual NFIP-insured structures, including elevation, mitigation reconstruction, and property acquisition and conversion to open space.
For individual flood mitigation projects, structures must have an NFIP policy in effect at the start of the application period and maintain coverage through completion of the mitigation activity and for the life of the structure.
FY26 FMA Funding Opportunity
FEMA released the Fiscal Year 2026 FMA Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on October 22, 2026. Up to $400 million is available nationwide for capability and capacity building activities, localized flood risk reduction projects, and individual flood mitigation projects.
Topic | What Oklahoma Communities Should Know |
Funds available | Up to $400 million nationwide, including $20 million for capability and capacity building, $260 million for localized flood risk reduction projects, and $120 million for individual flood mitigation projects. |
FY26 FMA Subapplicant Briefing | November 16, 2026: Virtual subapplicant briefing to review the FY26 FMA NOFO, share OEM priorities, and discuss the subapplication process. |
Notice of Intent (NOI) deadline | December 14, 2026: Submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) to OEM through EMGrants. *NOIs will be approved on a rolling basis. |
OEM subapplication deadline | January 21, 2027: Submit a complete subapplication to OEM through FEMAGO. *Check early to ensure your jurisdiction and employees have access to FEMAGO and the grant. |
FEMA application deadline | February 26, 2027: OEM submits Oklahoma’s application to FEMA. |
Eligible activities | Capability and capacity building activities, including mitigation planning and project scoping; localized flood risk reduction projects; and individual flood mitigation projects. Subrecipient management costs can be included with each activity type. |
Cost share | FEMA may provide up to 75% federal cost share for standard projects, up to 90% for FMA-defined Repetitive Loss (RL) properties, and up to 100% for FMA-defined Severe Repetitive Loss (SRL) properties. |
| Mitigation plan requirement | Subapplicants generally must have a FEMA-approved Local or Tribal Hazard Mitigation Plan by the FEMA application deadline and when funds are obligated. This requirement does not apply to subapplications to develop or update a mitigation plan. |
| NFIP requirements | Subapplicants must participate in the NFIP and not be withdrawn, on probation, or suspended. Individual structures proposed for mitigation must meet additional NFIP policy requirements. |
| Competition | All planning, scoping, and project activities are scored and evaluated nationally by FEMA. Evaluation criteria vary by activity type, and the program prioritizes SRL and RL properties as defined in the NOFO. |
| Special Considerations | All properties benefitting from FMA funds must have active NFIP flood insurance policies. Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) can support communities in identifying SRL and RL properties. |
Key Change for FY26
The FY26 NOFO includes a new eligibility requirement for localized flood risk reduction projects. These projects must meet a minimum threshold for active NFIP policies within the project benefiting area. The threshold starts at 35 active NFIP policies for projects requesting up to $5 million in federal funding and increases for larger funding requests. This requirement applies only to localized flood risk reduction projects. OEM and OWRB are available to help communities determine whether a proposed project meets the applicable policy threshold.
Hazard Mitigation Plan Extraordinary Circumstances
Subapplicants must hold a FEMA-approved Local Hazard Mitigation Plan at the application deadline and at obligation. However, the FEMA Regional Administrator may grant an exception if a jurisdiction meets at least one of the following criteria:
- Qualifies as a small impoverished community
- Lacked sufficient capacity or expertise to complete the planning requirement
- Experienced significant disruption from a declared disaster
- Lacks a plan for reasons beyond its control
If an exception is granted, the jurisdiction must obtain a FEMA-approved plan within 12 months of the subaward or face termination. Subapplicants pursuing capability- and capacity-building activities are exempt from the plan requirement. OEM can support jurisdictions that need to request extraordinary circumstances.
Procurement
Procurement must follow 2 CFR 200. Potential subapplicants should be aware that a contractor hired to develop the FMA application, project plans, or project budget cannot compete for the contract to implement or construct that same project unless a single contract covering both phases was competitively procured in compliance with federal procurement standards under 2 C.F.R. Part 200. Local governments and potential subapplicants should plan procurement strategies early to avoid disqualifying conflicts of interest that could delay or disallow project costs. Local governments and nonprofits must maintain written conflict-of-interest standards for all staff involved in contract selection and administration. All recipients must maintain procurement documentation covering method rationale, contract type, contractor selection, and price basis. All infrastructure projects must comply with the Build America, Buy America Act.
OEM will require recipients to submit their procurement policy, documented procurement process, selection rationale, and executed contract documents before OEM processes any reimbursement under a federal award.
How OEM supports subapplicants
If your community is interested in applying for FMA funds, OEM can provide support throughout the process based on your needs. Potential support includes:
- Program guidance
- Subapplication development support
- Support with benefit-cost analysis and documentation
- Guidance on environmental and historic preservation requirements
Please direct technical assistance questions to hm@oem.ok.gov.
FMA FY24 Webinar Presented by OEM's Resilience Director JJ Little and State Hazard Mitigation Officer Chylar Gibson
Thinking about applying for a FMA Grant? Watch this informative webinar from OEM's Resilience Director JJ Little and the State Hazard Mitigation Officer Chylar Gibson, walks through the updated FMA program, including key changes, eligibility requirements, and tips to help communities successfully apply. Watch the Video.
Please direct questions to hm@oem.ok.gov.
FEMA also hosted an FMA webinar that you can watch on their YouTube Channel.
