September, 2024
Volume 18 Issue 9
**Best viewed on a computer browser or horizontally if you are on a smartphone**
**Disaster declaration and request information below is current as of September 6, 2024 at noon**
President Biden Approves Federal Disaster Declaration for July 9-11 Storm
President Joseph Biden has approved Governor Phil Scott’s request for a FEMA major disaster declaration for Vermont to assist individuals and communities in recovering from flooding that occurred from July 9 to 11, 2024.
This FEMA major disaster declaration provides funding for individuals in Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, and Washington counties to apply to FEMA for assistance. The Individual Assistance (IA) program helps people impacted by the disaster seek some reimbursement for necessary expenses and serious needs that cannot be met through insurance or other forms of assistance. Eligible expenses include rental assistance, home repair, home replacement, lodging, and other expenses.
To apply for IA funds, impacted Vermonters in the eligible counties should register at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or call 1-800-621-3362. Even if you have previously reported damage to 2-1-1, you must register with and apply to FEMA.
The declaration also includes funding to help cities and towns in Addison, Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex, Lamoille, Orange, Orleans, and Washington counties repair and restore public infrastructure damaged by the floods. The Public Assistance program allows communities to receive 75% reimbursement for emergency storm repairs to public infrastructure. Town applicant briefings will be scheduled and announced soon.
It is important to note this declaration does not include damage to private and public property caused by storms on July 29 to 31 and June 23. Separate FEMA major disaster declaration requests have been made for those storms.
Individuals and municipalities that suffered damage in all recent storms should continue to clean up and make repairs. Take photos and thoroughly document expenses.
The State will continue to provide updates to help eligible individuals apply for FEMA Individual Assistance, including the availability of Disaster Recovery Centers for in-person support.
June 23 Storm Request: Public Assistance for Lamoille County
US Department of Agriculture Secretarial Disaster Declaration
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack has approved Governor Phil Scott’s request for a Secretarial Disaster Designation for six Vermont counties in response to this July’s rain and flooding events. Caledonia, Essex, Orange, Chittenden, Lamoille, and Washington counties were recognized as part of the declaration.
This Secretarial disaster designation from USDA makes farm operators across Vermont eligible to be considered for Farm Service Agency (FSA) emergency loans, provided eligibility requirements are met. Farmers in eligible counties have eight months from the date of a Secretarial disaster declaration to apply for emergency loans.
For more information, visit: www.fpr.vermont.gov/forest-flood-resources.
Mitigation Funding Application Deadline and Future Funding
The deadline for pre-applications for Hazard Mitigation funds from DR-4720 (July 2023 flooding) has closed. Those communities that missed the deadline will have another chance to apply as more grants are coming from DR-4801 (July 2024 flooding). The pre-application form is still accessible, and towns can fill one out anytime for future grant opportunities.
Vermont Emergency Management received approximately $387 million worth of applications for the $88 million available for mitigation projects. Pre-applications will be evaluated for eligibility, feasibility, and cost-effectiveness. Projects found to meet these requirements will then be invited to apply, provided technical assistance (if requested), and submitted to FEMA once completed by late 2024.
Eligible project types include:
Buyouts
Structural Elevations & Mitigation Reconstruction
Natural resource projects such as floodplain restorations or dam removals
Infrastructure projects such as upsizing bridges or culverts
Floodproofing of municipal or commercial buildings
Road relocation, elevation, or soil stabilization
For information on Hazard Mitigation, please visit the VEM Hazard Mitigation Page.
VEM is Hiring! Three Regional Coordinators
Vermont Emergency Management is expanding its team of Regional Coordinators, looking to hire three individuals to fill these positions. Are you interested in providing direct emergency management assistance to towns, cities, and organizations in Vermont? Are you excited to deliver training and exercises and assist with developing plans? Do you live within one hour of one of the regions below? Please consider applying for one of our Regional Coordinator positions before September 24th.
• VEM Regional Coordinator (#50922) for Franklin, Grand Isle, and Lamoille counties.
• VEM Regional Coordinator (#50914) for Bennington and Rutland counties.
• VEM Regional Coordinator (#50920) for Caledonia, Essex, and Orleans counties.
To apply and find more information on all three positions, visit the state Careers page.
2024 Governor’s Annual School Safety Conference
The 2024 Governor's School Safety Conference will be held on September 30th at the Doubletree Hotel in Burlington.
The conference includes keynotes and breakout sessions presented by several of the country’s foremost school safety experts and advocates. This year's event will include presentations from Michele Gay, co-founder of Safe and Sound Schools, and Don Hough, Deputy Associate Director of the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), among many others.
Register by Friday, September 20, at https://education.vermont.gov/weekly-field-memo/volume-18-issue-25-0#safety
Training
Most trainings require a Learning Management System(LMS) account. If you don’t have an account, you can register for one at the following link: https://vermont.csod.com/selfreg/register.aspx?c=%255e%255e%255eQGm2wxcSUvINsXvXjRYs1A%253d%253d
For a complete listing of trainings go to the Events Calendar in the LMS: https://vermont.csod.com/LMS/catalog/EventsCalendar.aspx?tab_page_id=-10&tab_id=20000513#m=2&d=03/08/2023
VT- Alert Manager Training: This training is now an anytime training in the LMS. We will still host the virtual live training. You can take this training at the following link on the LMS: https://vermont.csod.com/ui/lms-learning-details/app/video/588bdf66-6e68-490e-aa8b-18ccdd115184
September 2024
2024 Vermont Emergency Preparedness Conference
LOCATION: Lake Morey Resort, Fairlee, VT
DATE/TIME: September 10-11, 2024
https://vem.vermont.gov/conference
State Emergency Operation Center Orientation
The purpose of this training is to provide an overview of the State Emergency Operations Center. This course is ONLY available to those who staff the Vermont State Emergency Operations Center.
LOCATION: DPS Headquarters, Waterbury, VT
DATE/TIME: September 17, 2024, 1:00 p.m.- 3:30 p.m.
PREREQUISITES: ICS-100 and WebEOC Sate User Training
REGISTRATION: State Learning Management System
Vermont Arts and Culture Disaster and Resilience Network Day of Learning
Whether you are an artist, an event organizer, or a keeper of cultural artifacts and records, the VACDaRN Day of Learning will provide inspiration, a sense of community, and practical tips for building disaster resilience. The day will include a variety of sessions, including:
Tours of Barre cultural institutions and a behind-the-scenes looks at their flooding response and mitigation efforts
Practical training on topics including emergency planning and collections salvage
Panels on arts and culture programming for disaster recovery and equity in response and recovery
LOCATION: Barre, VT (Primary Venue: Elks Lodge #1535, 10 Jefferson St.)
DATE/TIME: September 17, 2014, 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024
REGISTRATION/INFORMATION: https://www.vermontartscouncil.org/programs/disaster-resilience-network/
October 2024
Mental Health First Aid Training
DPS Headquarters, Waterbury, VT
October 25, 2024, 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Registration required via State Learning Management System
November 2024
L0146 Homeland Security Exercise & Evaluation Program (HSEEP)
The Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) course provides a comprehensive overview of exercise design along with practical skill development. Using the same terminology and processes, this course will provide activities that will give participants an opportunity to interact with many of the templates and other materials that are provided by the National Exercise Division to ensure exercises are conducted in a consistent manner. Anyone who will be a member of an exercise design team or fulfill a role in one of the following areas of the exercise design process: design, development, conduct, evaluation or improvement process for exercise. The primary audience for the course is training officers, exercise managers, persons that will utilize the exercise and evaluation system and persons interested in becoming an HSEEP Evaluator for Vermont Emergency Management.
LOCATION: DCF Office, Brattleboro, VT
DATE/TIME: November 12-13, 2024, 9:00 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.
PREREQUISITES: IS-120
REGISTRATION: State Learning Management System
State Emergency Operation Center Orientation
The purpose of this training is to provide an overview of the State Emergency Operations Center. This course is ONLY available to those who staff the Vermont State Emergency Operations Center.
LOCATION: DPS Headquarters, Waterbury, VT
DATE/TIME: November 26, 2024, 1:00 p.m.- 3:30 p.m.
PREREQUISITES: ICS-100 and WebEOC Sate User Training
REGISTRATION: State Learning Management System