Staff recommendation is to accept the $80,000.00 HazMat sustainment grant award for the years fy 2023 & fy 2024.

Since 2017, Montana Disaster and Emergency Services (DES) has provided sustainment funding for each of the six Montana Regional Hazmat Teams (Billings, Bozeman, Great Falls, Helena, Kalispell, and Missoula City/Rural). Grant dollars are used for the upkeep of each team’s equipment and training. These funds are a Governor-directed cutout from the State’s State Homeland Security Grant provided through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and FEMA and do not require matching funds from the awardee.

This year, DES has doubled our previous award to $80,000 over the two-year performance period. These funds provide for the upkeep and replacement of aging hazmat detection and mitigation equipment that the Regional Teams could not otherwise afford. In exchange for this funding, each of the Regional Hazmat Teams maintains a memorandum of understanding with DES to respond to hazmat incidents across their geographical area within the state of Montana.

Any response outside our local jurisdictional boundary must be authorized by the State and the local Fire Chief of the responding team. Such a response is compensated through a different funding mechanism beyond the sustainment funds contained in this grant award and will compensate the responding team’s local jurisdiction for their response. In this manner, the Montana Regional Hazmat Teams form the backbone of hazmat response across the state. Staff recommends approval of this grant award.

City Council may Approve; or, Not Approve accepting the $80,000.00 per year in fy 2023 & fy 2024.

No fiscal effects

To accept the HazMat $80,000.00 sustainment grant award for equipment under the fy 2023 & fy 2024 Homeland Security Grant Program.