Officials from North Carolina Tour Infrastructure Locations Amidst Progressing FEMA Legal Dispute
Federal Grants for Disaster Prevention Canceled, Affecting Communities Across the US
The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, established during President Donald Trump's first term, has been terminated by FEMA. The agency cited the program as wasteful, fraudulent, and political, before canceling over $200 million in disaster prevention grants, including funds for the Hillsborough River Pumping Station in North Carolina.
The Hillsborough River Pumping Station, located in the Piedmont region, was set to receive an estimated $7 million to move its facility away from a floodplain. This funding was part of the BRIC program, which was intended to help communities prepare for and recover from natural disasters. However, FEMA's decision to terminate the program has left the town vulnerable to future floods and affected its ability to prepare for and recover from storms.
The loss of BRIC funding has jeopardized the town's efforts to relocate its main wastewater pumping station out of a floodplain and maintain emergency water connections. The project's cost was nearly double the town's entire annual budget, making it difficult to fund without federal support.
Local officials, including mayors from Hillsborough and smaller towns like Pollocksville, have emphasized that the grants were critical for ongoing recovery from past disasters and were not political or wasteful. The termination of BRIC grants thus represents a setback to community resilience and public safety infrastructure planning.
Attorney General Jeff Jackson, a Democrat, has sued over the $200 million in cuts to water, sewer, and flood protections, including those for the Hillsborough River Pumping Station. Jackson stated that FEMA broke the law by canceling the grants and plans to take the issue to court.
The Flood Mitigation Assistance program, another agency program, has also had its grants removed around the same time. FEMA acting administrator Cameron Hamilton has announced a new direction for the BRIC Program, but details are yet to be disclosed.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has stated that their long-term goal is to eliminate FEMA in its entirety. This decision comes as a concern for communities across the US that rely on federal funding for disaster prevention and recovery efforts.
FEMA had previously touted the BRIC program as a success, claiming it helps reduce hazard risk and build capacity and capability. However, the agency's recent actions have raised questions about its commitment to disaster preparedness and resilience.
State Attorney General Jeff Jackson visited the Hillsborough River Pumping Station to emphasize the state's potential losses due to the grant cancellations. The visit underscores the importance of these grants for communities like Hillsborough, which are now left to navigate the challenges of disaster preparedness without federal support.
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- The termination of the BRIC program by FEMA, a move described as political and wasteful by critics, has potentially significant implications for environmental science, as it eliminates funding for projects like the Hillsborough River Pumping Station's relocation, intended to reduce climate-change related risks.
- Amidst announcements of changes in direction for disaster prevention programs, such as the terminated BRIC program and the suspended Flood Mitigation Assistance program, the role of policy-and-legislation in shaping the nation's responses to climate-change and environmental-science challenges becomes increasingly relevant.
- As communities across the US grapple with the implications of lost disaster prevention funding, general-news outlets are reporting on the potential effects of the policy changes on war-and-conflicts, as reduced disaster preparedness capabilities could exacerbate existing social and economic instabilities.
