Qualifications
To qualify for PIER, projects must:
1. Be an activity that clearly relates to the recovery needs resulting from the 2020 Labor Day Disasters and directly or indirectly supports new housing and/or replacement of damaged housing in an affected area. This can include:
-
Economic revitalization
-
Creation of public facilities
- Rebuilding of damaged infrastructure
OR
2. Be a mitigation activity that is forward looking and that reduces the expected loss of life or property in the face of identified natural hazards. This can include:
- Developing community resilience plans
- Applying ignition-resistant materials to public facilities
- Engaging in other infrastructure projects that clearly result in increased resilience to future disasters
Types of Projects
For both recovery and mitigation activities, PIER projects must support one of three focus areas:
These encompass community, mitigation, and resilience planning projects.
- Assess housing needs and develop housing recovery plans
- Conduct hazard mitigation planning
- Prepare economic revitalization strategies
- Create infrastructure improvement plans
- Evaluate environmental effects and sustainability
- Conduct feasibility studies for public facility projects
- Implement community engagement and outreach initiatives
These include public facility and infrastructure projects that are typically provided by the government and open or used by the general public.
- Repair, replace, or relocate damaged public facilities
- Rebuild or construct new public facilities or improvements (such as water/wastewater facilities, emergency communication systems, and drainage improvements)
- Address specific current or projected hazards
- Provide a match for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Public Assistance or the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program
These projects provide recovery assistance to businesses in the form of grants or low-interest loans.
- Promote economic recovery
- Improve long-term economic resilience
- Address the needs of vulnerable populations
- Use funds for economic recovery in disaster-affected areas
- Respond to urgent community needs
- Support long-term economic development
- Attract, retain, and restore local businesses
Project Funding and Selection
The PIER program provides Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (
CDBG-DR) funds from HUD to help communities recover from major disasters. These funds are awarded to nonprofits, schools, local governments, and other qualified entities to support projects that address unmet planning, economic revitalization, and critical infrastructure needs. This ensures that communities can rebuild and be better prepared for future challenges.
To allow more local control over the administration of funds, PIER empowers regional selection committees to recommend projects to OHCS. This ensures that the specific needs and priorities of each county and community are met, and helps foster community engagement and tailored solutions for recovery and development.
OHCS allocates funds based on a HUD-approved needs assessment for the eight identified counties most affected by the 2020 Labor Day Disasters. Each of these counties formed a regional selection committee made up of various local government and non-government entities and organizations to evaluate and recommend proposed projects to OHCS.
Get Involved with PIER
Do your part to rebuild and protect our communities. Explore funding opportunities and partner with ReOregon by emailing
PIER@hcs.oregon.gov.