Environment (Emergency Management)

Department of Housing and Community Development; Virginia Disaster Assistance Fund; post-disaster recovery; floodplain mitigation and resilience projects. Requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (the Department) to amend its criteria for awarding money from the Virginia Disaster Assistance Fund (the Fund) to allow for moneys from the Fund to be used for post-disaster recovery projects that are consistent with the state floodplain management standards for state-owned buildings or local floodplain standards, whichever are more stringent. The bill requires the Department to give priority to projects that use nature-based solutions or promote green infrastructure when possible. The bill also requires the Department to coordinate with the Interagency Resilience Management Team when evaluating new applications for awards from the Fund to ensure that such projects are aligned with the Commonwealth's resilience principles.

Establishing a resilience hub pilot program to assist vulnerable communities during emergency situations. Directs the Department of Emergency Management to establish a two-year resilience hub pilot program to assist vulnerable communities during emergency situations. The bill defines a "resilience hub" as a simple combination of solar panels and batteries that ensures continuous power to a publicly accessible building when severe weather events or other grid disruptions cause an electrical outage.