AUSTIN — Today Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush announced the release of applications for $40.2 million in Community Development Block Grants for Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds is to be awarded to non-most impacted counties affected by the 2016 flooding events. The funds will help disaster-impacted communities rebuild homes, infrastructure and mitigation efforts to better prepare for future disasters. The GLO's Community Development and Revitalization program encourages eligible 2016 disaster-impacted communities to submit their application for long-term recovery projects for funding consideration. The awarding to eligible entities in 66 Texas counties will be based on scoring and ranking of submitted project applications. Eligible entities include cities, counties and local housing authorities.

"Texas has faced several disasters affecting numerous communities over the past decade," said Commissioner Bush. "The GLO continues to partner with local communities to administer long-term recovery funds for housing and infrastructure. Use of these funds are prioritized by local leaders to help address ongoing housing needs and harden infrastructure to mitigate against future flooding events."

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) awarded Texas $238.9 in disaster recovery funds for 2016 in three separate allocations appropriated by Congress in September and December of 2016 and May of 2017. Of those funds, HUD designated that 80 percent, or $160.8 million, be awarded to the HUD declared "most impacted counties" of Brazoria, Fort Bend, Harris, Montgomery and Newton. The $40.2 million will be awarded for projects in the remaining counties not designated by HUD as most impacted. For more information regarding eligibility and application process, please visit www.TexasRebuilds.org.

 The state action plan for this round of funds, approved in June 2017, allowed the state to start working with the most impacted counties on identifying projects. Amendment 1 to the action plan, which outlines the criteria for allocating the remaining 20 percent of the funds, received approval from HUD on May 1, 2018. For more information on the long-term recovery effort and a timeline of the funding process, please visit http://www.glo.texas.gov/recovery/disasters/floods/index.html.

Each applicant may submit a total of 2 applications. Depending on demand, applicants will not be awarded a second application until all eligible applicants have been awarded at least one. GLO will accept project applications for 120 days from today and will work with impacted counties to maximize the number of long-term recovery projects that can be completed given the limited funding.

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