The Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA) is accepting applications for the 2023-2024 Hurricanes Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Public Infrastructure Program. The program supports eligible local governments in designated Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) areas for infrastructure projects tied to Hurricane Idalia, Tropical Storm Debby, and Hurricane Helene.
Funding
DCA has dedicated $50,000,000 to the Competitive Application Infrastructure Program. Under the approved Action Plan, infrastructure projects in HUD-identified MID areas have no stated maximum award, while State-identified MID infrastructure projects have a $5,000,000 maximum award.
Jeff Davis County HUD-MID status
HUD’s Allocation Announcement Notice originally identified Jeff Davis County by ZIP code 31539. DCA’s approved Action Plan states that, for counties HUD identified by ZIP code, Georgia elected to expand eligibility to the whole county as allowed by the Universal Notice. The same Action Plan lists Jeff Davis among Georgia’s HUD-identified MID counties. Accordingly, Atlas should treat Jeff Davis County as HUD-MID geography for this program, while still verifying every proposed project’s disaster tie-back, national objective, service area, scope, cost, and other applicant-specific requirements. DCA’s Action Plan states that HUD-identified MID infrastructure has no stated maximum award.
Match and leverage
DCA does not require applicants to provide matching funds. DCA encourages applicants to leverage additional resources, and documented leverage may strengthen an application.
Eligibility and eligible activities
DCA will accept proposals only from units of general local government located in eligible MID counties. Eligible activities must rebuild or replace storm-impacted public facilities or improvements, demonstrate a clear disaster tie-back, be CDBG eligible or covered by an applicable HUD waiver, be located in a MID county, and satisfy an applicable CDBG-DR national objective. Examples include water, sewer and stormwater systems, streets and bridges, drainage systems, and public facilities. Equipment is generally ineligible unless it falls within a specific eligible exception described by DCA.
Application and deadline
Applications must be submitted through DCA’s online grants management system. DCA’s current program page states that the deadline has been extended to October 5, 2026 at 5:00 PM EST.
Application readiness and required uploads
The controlling DCA applicant manual requires a complete online application package that includes signed civil-rights compliance certification, evidence of a current SAM registration, Language Access Plan acknowledgement/certification, applicable tribal consultation documentation, Service Delivery Strategy forms and map, a signed SDS compliance certification, Section 504 accessibility checklist, a resolution authorizing submission, survey materials and results where used, LMI and minority calculation worksheets, and documentation supporting any claimed leverage.
Where architectural/engineering or grant-management services are procured, applicants must include the applicable advertisement, Georgia Procurement Registry evidence, response summary, and local meeting minutes approving selection. DCA also calls for documentation of need, an operation and maintenance plan, required concentration/service-area maps, and the applicable preliminary engineering or architectural reports. Streets and drainage preliminary engineering reports must include preliminary hydrologic and hydraulic calculations and maps showing existing and proposed infrastructure.
Applicant qualification lead
Jeff Davis County is a materially stronger applicant-qualification lead after current source reconciliation. DCA’s approved Action Plan treats the entire county as HUD-MID after Georgia expanded the original ZIP-code designation to the whole county. DCA’s combined environmental-review notice also includes a Jeff Davis County Tier 1 package. The county’s official website identifies Jayme Crosby as County Administrator and publishes Jayme.Crosby@jeffdaviscountyga.gov as a direct business contact. These facts establish geography and recipient relevance, but they do not establish a specific Public Infrastructure project, its disaster tie-back, national-objective basis, readiness, requested amount, or all CRM/queue/send-history gates. Those project-specific facts remain ACCOUNT INPUT REQUIRED unless independently verified.
Readiness controls
Applicants must be compliant with applicable Georgia planning and financial-reporting requirements, including Qualified Local Government requirements where applicable. DCA requires recipients to expend 100% of awarded funds within 36 months unless DCA approves an extension. Applicant-specific disaster tie-back, national-objective support, project scope, engineering readiness, procurement status, and all unresolved applicant facts remain ACCOUNT INPUT REQUIRED unless independently verified.
Atlas assessment
Atlas Opportunity Score: 90/100. This is a large, current Georgia-administered federal pass-through opportunity with a verified deadline, clear local-government eligibility, no required match, and substantial infrastructure flexibility. Jeff Davis County is now confirmed in DCA’s approved Action Plan as a HUD-MID county on a whole-county basis, and HUD-MID infrastructure has no stated maximum award. Every proposed activity must still have a defensible disaster tie-back and meet program eligibility and national-objective requirements. N9+ Fit: 0/100. QC Healthcare Fit: 0/100. Do not force healthcare technology into this infrastructure program.