11.08.13

Delegation Announces Approval of Recovery Plan Totaling $24 Million in CDBG Funds for ND, Including $20.4 Million for Minot

WASHINGTON – Senators John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp, and Congressman Kevin Cramer today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has approved two disaster recovery plans totaling nearly $24 million to help local communities in North Dakota to recover from severe storms and flooding in 2011. These disaster plans will rely on grants provided earlier this year through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program.

Last March, HUD allocated a total of $41.6 million to the State of North Dakota and the City of Minot. North Dakota requested HUD approve $3.5 million in disaster spending while the City of Minot requested HUD approve $20.4 million. Minot’s full award was $35 million and the state’s was $6.6 million. Both chose to request disbursement in portions. To date, Minot and Ward County have received federal grants, loans and direct assistance totaling $652.75 million for flood relief and recovery.

“This approval is a big step,” the delegation said. “It will enable Minot to continue their work of rebuilding the city better than ever. They can now implement recovery strategies they’ve worked long and thoughtfully on to restore and rebuild the housing, infrastructure and businesses that were severely impacted by the 2011 flood.”

The delegation worked to ensure that North Dakota communities would be eligible for disaster recovery funding under the Hurricane Sandy disaster bill to help the Minot area address unmet needs after the flood of 2011. The Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, which Congress passed in January, includes a $16 billion appropriation for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Program.

In addition to the communities affected by Hurricane Sandy, the delegation worked to make the disaster CDBG funding available for events occurring in 2011, 2012 and 2013, which made Minot and other communities that experienced flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes and wildfires eligible to apply. HUD provides these flexible grants to help cities, counties and states recover from presidentially declared disasters and, in 2011 Senator Hoeven along with Senator Kent Conrad, successfully pushed for the CDBG-DR funding to be targeted specifically to the most impacted areas, enhancing the Minot area’s chances of receiving assistance.