DHSEM Update ~ February 2017

Photo by DHSEM Regional Field Manager David Osborne during San Luis Valley Winter Snow Event December 24-30

Information and Update DHSEM Employee Years of Service Recognition

Each quarter the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) will recognize staff commitment and service. In January the division recognized the 2016 and 2017 first quarter accomplishments of the following staff to the State of Colorado: • 20 Years of Service o Kimberly Garcia: Contract Specialist, Office of Preparedness o Patricia Gavelda: Mitigation Program Manager, Office of Emergency Management • 15 Years of Service o Kevin Kuretich: Northeast Regional Field Manager, Office of Emergency Management

DHSEM Update

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o Sung Han Tjhan: Grant Closeout Supervisor, Office of Emergency Management o Cindy Vonfeldt: State EOC Exercise Officer, Office of Emergency Management 10 Years of Service o Kevin Klein: Director, DHSEM o Jeanne Pace: Assistant to Emergency Management Director, Office of Emergency Management 5 Years of Service o Riley Frazee: Southeast Regional Field Manager, Office of Emergency Management o Micki Trost: Strategic Communications Director, DHSEM o Melissa Arnett: Business Systems Manager, Office of Preparedness o Chris Sorensen: Operations Section Chief, Office of Emergency Management

2017 Colorado Emergency Management Conference Begins February 28

Have you registered for the 2017 Colorado Emergency Management Conference? Space is limited and pre-registration is required and can be completed online. The Conference is on February 28 – March 2, 2017 at Hotel Elegante in Colorado Springs. Walk up registrations will not be accepted this year. For more information and to register visit the Conference website. The CEMA website includes a draft agenda. The conference webpage is frequently updated; please continue to check it for conference information.

DHSEM Grant Information and Updates

Monthly updates are posted to the MARS website with the follow information: • Mitigation and Recovery Website • Mitigation and Recovery Program Report for all grant program coordinated by DHSEM • Grant Calendar with important deadlines and training events • Public Assistance Status Update posted to DHSEM website • Potential Contractor List • Early Submissions for Future Mitigation Grant Projects Sought by DHSEM

Application Period Open for 2017 Colorado Emergency Management Academy

DHSEM provides a nine month program for new and existing emergency managers throughout the State. The academy consists of training opportunities and resident courses that are developed to be Colorado specific and tailored to show Colorado processes. The academy will provide networking opportunities with emergency managers and professional across the state. It culminates with a week-long resident course with a final Emergency Operations Center based exercise. Academy details and schedule are listed on the DHSEM website. The Academy Application is due before March 1, 2017.

CY2017 Consumer Price Index (CPI) Adjustments

FEMA shared the following information on the Consumer Price Index. The Calendar Year (CY) 2017 Consumer Price Index adjustment to the statewide per capita impact indicator for recommending cost share adjustments for major disasters. Notice is hereby given that the statewide per capita indicator for recommending cost share adjustments for any major disaster declared on or after January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017, is $140 per capita of the state’s population.

DHSEM Update

Pursuant to 44 CFR 206.47, the statewide per capita indicator that is used to recommend an increase of the federal cost share from seventy-five percent (75%) to not more than ninety percent (90%) of the eligible cost of permanent work under section 406 and emergency work under section 403 and section 407 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act is adjusted annually. The adjustment to the indicator is based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published annually by the U.S. Department of Labor. For disasters declared on January 1, 2017, through December 31, 2017, the qualifying indicator is $140 per capita of state or tribal population. This adjustment is based on an increase of 2.1 percent in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the 12-month period that ended December 2016. The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor released the information on January 18, 2017.

Notice of Funding for Pre-Disaster Mitigation and Flood Mitigation Grant Programs

Every year, FEMA releases a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) and Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant programs. The FEMA NOFO is published annually in either the second or third Federal fiscal quarter (January – June). The Colorado Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) is the designated Applicant for these grant programs and is responsible for soliciting sub-applications from eligible subapplicants. In this role, DHSEM assists in the preparation, review, and submission of eligible and complete applications to FEMA. In an effort to encourage increased participation from stakeholders in the State, DHSEM is encouraging early submission of Notice of Interest (NOI) forms. The goal is to allow more time for the State to assist in the application preparation and review process in an effort to help sub-applicants develop complete and competitive applications. These complete applications will be advanced to FEMA when the funding is announced and based on the funding priorities for the Fiscal Year (FY) PDM and FMA. Projects will also be added to a bank of readily identified projects in the event of a Presidentially Declared Disaster with Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funding. To qualify for a PDM, FMA, or HMGP grant, the sub-applicant must have a current FEMA-approved local or Tribal Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) by the application deadline and be valid at the time of Federal obligation of the grant funds. Applications for a new Mitigation Plan do not have to meet this requirement. Please review the 2015 Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Unified Guidance and Addendum thoroughly to determine if your project idea is eligible; whether match requirements can be satisfied; and what environmental and historic preservation requirements will be necessary. Federal funding is available for up to 75 percent of the eligible activity costs. The remaining 25 percent of eligible activity costs must be derived from local match sources. Follow the links below for information on the Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Programs: • •

Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program Flood Mitigation Assistance Program

Please be aware that there is no funding available at this time and that funding priorities has yet to be determined at the Federal level. In FY 2016, the funding announcement was published in March 2015 and the deadline to submit an application was June 15, 2015. It is anticipated that similar dates will be used to announce the FY 2017 PDM and FMA funding. If you are interested is pursuing grant funding the State is currently soliciting NOI’s from eligible sub-applicants. For additional information, please contact your regionally assigned State Mitigation Specialist. If you do not know who is assigned to your region, please visit https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/mars/mitigation for a regional map and project listings.

DHSEM Update

SAFER Grant Program Application Period is Open

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released the Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The NOFO document provides applicants with the details of the requirements, processing, and evaluation of an application for financial assistance for both of these activity areas. The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2016 provides $345,000,000 for the SAFER Grant Program for the Department to assist fire departments and volunteer interest organizations to increase the number of trained, "front line" firefighters available in their communities. SAFER grants provide financial assistance to help fire departments increase frontline firefighters. SAFER offers grants to support activities in two categories- Hiring of Firefighters and Recruitment and Retention of Volunteer Firefighters. The authority for SAFER is derived from the Federal Fire Prevention and Control Act of 1974, as amended (15 U.S.C. §2229a et seq.). The NOFO and technical assistance documents for this program are available at www.grants.gov, and at http://www.fema.gov/staffing-adequate-fire-emergency-response-grants. The application period will close on Friday, February 10, 2017 at 5 p.m., EST.

Kudos and Job Well Done •

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A note of thanks was received from David Osborne, DHSEM’s San Luis Valley Regional Field Manager, expressing appreciation to the DHSEM staff and partnering agencies activating in the State EOC to support the region during an extreme snow and winter weather event from January 24-30. Kudos from Valeria MacDonald, Pitkin County Emergency Manager, to the DHSEM Strategic Communication Team Communications Team and the Colorado Virtual Operations Team (COVOST) for their support of the XGames in January. Congressman Ed Perlmutter’s Office thanked Director Kevin Klein for a visit to their youth program. “We had a wonderful meeting last night with Director Klein …The students were very appreciative of his time and discussion. … BIG “Thank you” to Director Klein for attending and giving his time! Welcome to new DHSEM Mitigation Planning Specialist Gail Leek. She will be working primarily on the Enhanced State Hazard Mitigation Plan (E-SHMP) Update project. Leek has been writing various Emergency Management (EM) plans for several Florida counties over the last nine years. Her email is [email protected]. DHSEM welcomes Gina Choi as an Accounting Technician. She worked as a Research coordinator at CTB/ McGraw Hill prior to branching out into world of Finance / Accounting. More recently, she has completed a couple of long-term contracting Accounts Payable analyst work for ReMax and Arrow Electronic. Her email is [email protected].

DHSEM Update

Job and Volunteer Opportunities • • •

NFPA: Wildfire Division Associate Project Manager DCJ: Director Division of Criminal Justice [closes Feb. 6] Huerfano County: Emergency Manager[closes Feb. 15]

Educational Resources • • • • •

Public education and safety materials from the U.S. Fire Administration called “Put a Freeze on Winter.” FEMA Webinar: Tribal Declarations Pilot Guidance. Register for the February 2 or 27 webinar online. The Federal Trade Commission has shared Tax Identity Theft Awareness messaging for use by public safety agencies. Use the FTC link to provide information through tax season. ADA National Network/FEMA Webinar: Emergency Management and preparedness – Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities on February 9. Register online. Mountain West VOAD Conference on April 23-25, 2017. Information available at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/mountain-west-voad-conference-2017-tickets-29799115958?aff=eivtefrnd.

Training and Exercise Information DHSEM Training Courses

View all DHSEM training courses on the DHSEM website Training page or click the “Training Courses” image on the home page to be redirected to the course calendar. Highlighted DHSEM Courses • Benefit-Cost Analysis Entry Level Training [April 11-12, 2017] • FEMA G291: Joint Information System/ Joint Information Center Course [February 16] • FEMA G290: Basic Public Information Officer [May 23-24, 2017]

DHSEM Update

FEMA Courses and Other Opportunities • • • • •

FEMA: E0143 Advanced Situational Awareness/ Common Operating Picture [March 20-23, 2017] FEMA: L0675 Basic Interagency Logistics Course [April 3-6, 2017 in Colorado State EOC] NDPTC: Tornado Awareness [March 1 at CU Denver] NDPTC: Winter Weather Hazards: Science and Preparedness [March 2 at CU Denver] FEMA: V-0005A – virtual Tabletop Exercise Series – Tornado

Important Reminders

Current Fire Restriction Levels Do you have changes in your current fire restriction levels? Please send me any new information that you have to Micki Trost at [email protected] and it will be added to the Colorado Fire Restriction map and information page posted at COEmergency.com can be updated. The map and the links were updated in mid-December.

County Emergency Management Contact and Emergency Notification Links

DHSEM Strategic Communications will be completing the quarterly updates of the emergency notification registration links located on COEmergency and DHSEM websites. Please help us ensure the information is correct. If you have a change in staff or a new emergency notification web link please email [email protected] with current contact information for inclusion on our COEmergency webpages. Thank you for your assistance in keeping these community resources up to date.

Share Information in the Next DHSEM Update

Do you have information that would benefit other agencies in Colorado including job or volunteer opportunities? Simply send an email to [email protected] with your information and it will be included in the next Update. The DHSEM Update will be published at the end of each month.

WebEOC Link

I have been asked to include a link to WebEOC in the DHSEM Update. It will remain on all future newsletters at the end of the document for your use. The link can also be found on the DHSEM website under the “Quick Links” tab called State EOC.

Also, please be aware that a link to WebEOC is posted to the homepage of our DHSEM website.

DHSEM Update