FEMA and the State of South Dakota have awarded more than $3.7 million in Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds to four South Dakota cities, including the City of Madison, for the purchase of flood prone properties and their removal from the floodplain.  These acquisition projects will allow property owners to relocate away from high-risk flood areas and prevent damage from future flooding events.

The City of Madison will receive just more than one-point-one-million dollars for the purchase of twelve properties in the city.   The city of Sioux Falls is receiving more than 900-thousand dollars for the purchase of seven properties, Dell Rapids-just more than 800-thousand dollars for the purchase of ten properties, and the city of Yankton is receiving close to 444-thousand dollars for the purchase of six properties. 

The $3.3 million from FEMA represents a 75-percent cost-share of the acquisition projects. The State of South Dakota will contribute an additional more than 443-thousand dollars for the projects with the local community responsible for the remaining costs.

FEMA Federal Coordinating Officer Jon Huss said the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program funds can be used for the purchase and demolition of structures and the cost of returning the property to green space in perpetuity. The purchased lots become the property of the sponsoring community.

Tina Titze, Director of the South Dakota Office of Emergency Management, said the funding is the result of one of four presidential disaster declarations approved for South Dakota in 2019.