The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is accepting public comments on the Round 7 Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF) draft manual. The purpose of this manual is to provide guidance regarding the policies, criteria, conditions, and procedures for determining project eligibility and awarding grants and loans from the Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund to eligible applicants pursuant to §§ 10.1-603.25 and 10.1-603.29 of the Code of Virginia and the Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act.

The Round 7 draft manual builds upon the policies and procedures established in previous CFPF funding rounds and incorporates legislative changes, program experience, stakeholder feedback, and updates intended to improve the administration and effectiveness of the program. Key changes include:

• Updated applicant eligibility and project administration.
• Nature-based solutions project requirements.
• Updates to resilience plan requirements.
• Community Rating System (CRS) consideration.
• Updates to project scoring and prioritization.
• Various technical and administrative revisions.
• Funding maximums across all categories.

In addition to the changes incorporated into the draft manual, DCR is seeking public feedback on the overall Round 7 program structure, including the prioritization of projects that provide community-scale flood resilience benefits, address the needs of low-income geographic areas, incorporate nature-based solutions where appropriate, and strengthen local and regional capacity to manage flood risk.

DCR encourages interested parties to review the draft manual and provide comments on the proposed changes. Following the public comment period, DCR will review comments and make any necessary and appropriate revisions before publishing the final Round 7 CFPF Manual on the DCR website.

Link to Draft Round 7 CFPF Manual:  Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund Grant Manual Round 7