RICHMOND—On behalf of the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) today announced more than $10 million in Homeland Security Grant Awards to enhance emergency preparedness and security throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. Each year, VDEM coordinates an annual stakeholder-driven review process to allocate and administer these funds that support a wide array of emergency preparedness and security operations, equipment replacement, training, planning and exercise programs by local governments and entities. Grant allocations will be made available tomorrow, September 17, 2020.
“I am proud of this substantial investment in emergency preparedness, training, and security processes across the Commonwealth,” said the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security Brian J. Moran. “VDEM continues to successfully engage with local stakeholders and federal agencies to bring in the resources necessary to protect the health and safety of all Virginians.”
Competitive Grants
The State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) is one component of six programs announced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in June. VDEM received 153 grant requests totaling nearly $14.4 million for the competitive portion of these federal funds. Sixty-four projects were awarded a total of $3.7 million from competitive SHSP funds. The Virginia Modeling and Simulation Center (VMASC) at Old Dominion University manages a peer-review process conducted by Virginia’s public safety stakeholders for competitive grants, and scores proposals based upon benefit-cost ratios. Awards fund a diverse group of programs such as community outreach and preparedness programs, interoperability efforts, sheltering, equipment enhancement, and exercises.
Emergency managers throughout Virginia have worked to become more strategic about allocating our limited funding to meet the greatest needs with VDEM support. Nearly 200 local leaders from the fields of emergency management, law enforcement, fire and rescue, and emergency medical services, representing communities throughout Virginia, participated in evaluating potential projects to allocate this limited funding that seeks to provide the most benefit.
FEMA has implemented four national priority services areas for the FY2020 funding cycle. The new federal requirements necessitate a 5% contribution from each of the following four national priority investment areas:
Enhancing protection of soft targets/crowded places – 5%
Enhancing information and intelligence sharing – 5%
Addressing emergent threats (such as unmanned aerial systems and weapons of mass destruction) – 5%
Due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, FEMA made accommodations to states during the application submissions, but have placed a hold on funding for projects that are identified as meeting a national priority in the project portfolio in the total of $1.7 million for SHSP. This hold is anticipated to remain until the Spring of 2021.
Non-Competitive Grants
Public safety stakeholders will be allocated $2.5 million in non-competitive grants from this year’s SHSP program to fund 28 projects sustaining 12 hazardous materials teams, seven technical rescue teams, four incident management teams, five radio communications caches, and the Virginia Fusion Center.
Hampton Roads Urban Area Security Initiative (HR UASI)
$2.8 million was awarded to HR UASI to address the unique needs of this high-threat, high-density urban area. As with SHSP funds, UASI funds of $700,000 will be placed on hold for projects that are identified as meeting one of the four national priorities.
Non-Profit Security Grant
This grant provides funding support for target hardening and other physical security enhancements and activities to eligible nonprofit organizations that are at high risk of a terrorist attack in Virginia. VDEM received 26 project applications from both the statewide and Hampton Roads program totaling just over $1.3 million, with $991k million being funded by FEMA.
Competitive Projects – $3.7M
Sub-recipient
Project
Award
FY20 National PriorityDesignation
Augusta County
Emergency Communications Center Portable Telecommunications
$35,750
Alexandria, City of
Enhancing Capabilities for Swift Water Response
$29,736
Botetourt County
Incident Management-Support Unit
$36,000
Botetourt County
Swift water Rescue Team Deployment Resources
$58,152
Buckingham County
Remote 911
$83,202
Richmond Regional Planning District Commission
Planning Committee Regional Recovery Exercise
$25,000
Richmond Regional Planning District Commission
Central Virginia Committee Training & Exercise Enhancement
$20,000
Richmond Regional Planning District Commission
Central Virginia Whole Community Events & Workshop
$40,000
Richmond Regional Planning District Commission
Central Virginia Mass Care Training & Exercise
$60,000
Richmond Regional Planning District Commission
Whole Community Media Campaign
$60,000
Richmond Regional Planning District Commission
Regional Emergency Management Planning Support
$74,275
Chesapeake, City of
Foam Team Flammable Liquid Firefighting Training
$74,248
Yes
Chesterfield County
Unmanned Aircraft System Equipment
$60,000
Chesterfield County
Central VA Regional Flammable Liquids Training
$65,000
Yes
Chesterfield County
Swift Water Rescue Team
$76,000
Chesterfield County
Election Cybersecurity Resiliency Governance Plan
$100,000
Christiansburg, City of
Soft Target Protection – Law Enforcement
$129,732
Yes
Commonwealth Regional Council
Regional Emergency Planning Assistance
$38,556
Commonwealth Regional Council
Election Security
$98,069
Yes
Craig County
Critical Communications System Plan
$78,500
Dickenson County
Unmanned Aircraft System Equipment
$30,805
Yes
Fairfax County
Foam Team Flammable Liquid Training
$75,000
Yes
Farmville, City of
Police Radio Upgrade
$82,261
Floyd County
Cyber Security Enhancement
$150,000
Yes
Frederick County
Fire and Rescue Department Decontamination
$28,150
Yes
Frederick County
Fire Department Protective Equipment
$60,000
Galax, City of
Public Safety Answering Point Regional Radio Interoperability Study
$60,000
Galax, City of
Public Safety Answering Point Continuity of Operations (COOP)
$81,000
Hampton, City of
Regional Citizen Corps Project Hampton and Poquoson
$45,000
Hampton, City of
Enhanced Shelter and Refuge of Last Resort Plan
$50,000
Hampton, City of
Regional Shelter Trailers and Equipment
$75,000
Hampton, City of
Peninsula Regional Family Assistance Center Plan
$75,000
Hampton, City of
Police Division Equipment Modernization
$81,450
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
Hampton Roads Metropolitan Medial Response Team Inventory Management System Enhancement
$80,850
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
Metropolitan Medical Response Team Chemical, Pharmaceutical Stockpile
$86,100
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
Metropolitan Medical Response Team Mass Care Capability Sustainment
$94,500
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
Shelter Registration and Management Equipment
$71,400
Hopewell, City of
Regional Mobile Command Unit Enhancement
$50,000
Hopewell, City of
Regional Tactical Response Capability Enhancement
$70,000
James City County
Regional Citizen Corps Project
$21,100
Lunenburg County
Public Safety Critical Communications System Planning
$89,500
Lynchburg, City of
Police Department Mobile Vehicle Barriers & Trailer
$122,990
Yes
Norfolk, City of
Community Emergency Response Team
$16,153
Nottoway County
Implementation of Cyber Security Framework
$104,538
Yes
Orange County
Medical Tents for Mass Care
$38,000
Page County
Regional Community Emergency Response Team – Page County and Warren County
$18,550
Prince Edward County
Police Department Radio Upgrade
$38,634
Pulaski County
Police Department Officer Safety Protection of Soft Targets
$68,000
Yes
Roanoke County
Elections Cyber Security
$25,900
Shenandoah County
Enhancement of Criminal Investigation Equipment
$28,891
Stafford County
Community Emergency Response Team
$15,000
Staunton, City of
Unmanned Aerial System
$43,000
Yes
Suffolk, City of
Mobile Event Security Cameras
$46,412
Yes
Smyth County
Police Active Threat Response Smyth
$27,973
Virginia Beach, City of
Emergency Management Program Enhancement & Sustainment
$15,500
Virginia Beach, City of
Police Department Tactical Communications Headsets
$22,000
Virginia Beach, City of
Police Department Replacement of the Throwable Robot
$27,000
Virginia Beach, City of
Swift Water Rescue
$76,000
Westmoreland County
Unmanned Aerial System Team
$27,928
Winchester, City of
Ballistic Equipment
$34,200
Wise County
Southwest Virginia Regional Unmanned Aircraft Systems Equipment
$35,000
Yes
Wise County
Special Response Team Equipment
$50,501
Wise County
Southwest Virginia Regional Training Facility
$58,000
York County
Life Safety Specialized Training and Equipment
$50,000
Hampton Roads Urban Area Projects – $2.8M
Sub-recipient
Project
Award
FY20 National PriorityDesignation
Chesapeake, City of
Hampton Roads Incident Management Team
$195,017
Chesapeake, City of
SkyWatch Mobile Surveillance Platform
$215,010
Yes
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
Mass Casualty Incident – Transportation Package Part I
$199,500
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
Mass Casualty Incident – Transportation Package Part II
$136,500
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
Regional Cybersecurity Implementation
$150,000
Yes
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
Cybersecurity Election Security
$25,000
Yes
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
Fusion Center Intelligence Analyst
$120,000
Yes
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
Threat Identification Training for Elections Staff
$30,000
Yes
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
Mass Casualty Incident – Treatment Tents Enhancement
$90,300
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
Regional All Hazards Emergency Planner
$100,000
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
2021 Threat Identification and Risk Assessment and State Preparedness Report
$65,000
Hampton Roads Planning District Commission
Personal Protective Equipment Replacement – Chemical Protective Clothing
$61,672
Norfolk, City of
Replace Region 5’s Bomb Squads Robots Phase 1
$450,000
Yes
Norfolk, City of
Regional Common Operating Picture (COP) Phase 3
$200,000
Yes
Old Dominion University
Mission Critical Updates for the Real-Time Evacuation
An Agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia
