FEMA to provide technical assistance to Oneida County for flood mitigation

UTICA, N.Y. — The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has selected Oneida County for direct technical assistance (DTA) to support its flood-mitigation project efforts along the Oriskany Creek watershed.

“Being selected by FEMA for direct technical assistance will allow us to fast-track projects throughout the Oriskany Creek watershed that mitigate flooding and build long-term resiliency in those areas,” Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. said in a press release. “This gives us a game-changing ability to further protect our residents and businesses from the devastating effects of flooding.”

The is the second year of operation for the DTA program, with a total of 74 communities selected nationally. Oneida County was one of 39 localities, and the only one in New York state, chosen in this round.

While the DTA program doesn’t provide funding, FEMA offers no-cost access to engineers, architects, and other professionals to help identify projects and provide services. Those include resiliency-planning assistance, plan scoping, applying for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grants, finding other matching grants, engineering and architectural design, community visioning outreach, partnership building, advanced hydraulic modeling, targeted university research, and financial, budget, and grant management.

The DTA includes an assigned staff from the FEMA Region 2 office to support the program implementation in coordination with the New York State Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.

The agreement will be in place for 36 months.