DuPage County is eligible to receive funding from the HUD Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) as a competitive application process under NDRC. CDBG-NDRC will award up to $1 billion to communities that have been struck by natural disasters in recent years. DuPage County submitted the Phase 1 application in March, and, in late June, the County was notified that they would be advancing to Phase 2. Locally, DuPage County identified the Village of Lisle and the broader East Branch DuPage River Watershed as having the largest amount of unmet needs from the April 2013 flood.
For Phase 1, DuPage County developed the East Branch DuPage River Watershed and Resiliency Plan. In Phase 2, the County developed conceptual projects to determine the funding request from HUD.
The County is ultimately requesting nearly $50 million from HUD for the project approach with the best and lowest overall cost, which would involve property acquisition. Is it important to note that these are conceptual projects with no formal assessments included. The County’s process for projects in a watershed plan, involves public meetings, one on one consultation with property owners affected by a potential project and a vote by the Stormwater Management Planning Committee and the DuPage County Board.
I will do my best to keep the residents of Lisle informed and alert you to any changes that may occur.
