The Department of Homeland Security cancelled the Federal Emergency Management Agency‘s Building Resilient Infrastructure Communities program.
The program funded two major projects in Richmond and Portsmouth, Virginia, as well as tens of millions of funding for other communities in the Commonwealth.
U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, and Reps. Bobby Scott and Jennifer McClellan wrote a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem urging the Department to reverse its decision.
BRIC was established by Congress through the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 to support state and local governments in reducing risks posed by natural hazards and future disasters. The bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Warner and Kaine supported and saw through final passage, included $1 billion in funding for BRIC projects over five years, including $133 million that has already been provided to applicants.
Through the BRIC program, Virginia had been set to receive tens of millions in funding for critical projects, including $12 million to make improvements to the Richmond Water Treatment Facility and $24 million to enhance the Lake Meade Dam in Portsmouth. However, DHS recently notified applicants that it was terminating the BRIC program and canceling all applications for funding through the BRIC program – including projects that had already been awarded funding.
“We strongly urge you to reverse this decision that will impact vulnerable residents, businesses and critical infrastructure in Virginia,” the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers’ letter stated that the BRIC projects in Virginia would support localities’ “work to reduce immediate hazard risks that threaten community safety. For example, the city of Richmond was awarded $11.99 million in FY2022 to address design flaws and degradation at the Richmond Water Treatment Facility. This facility serves 4,721 businesses, 360 public properties, and 780 essential community facilities. The project is intended to protect water treatment and distribution services for those within the facility’s service area, making the plant more resilient to 100-year flood events. Unfortunately, the necessity of this award was made clear earlier this year when the facility experienced a power failure that resulted in loss of water service for residents across the region. If this award is revoked, the region will be more susceptible to future water contaminations and disruptions in water delivery.”
The lawmakers highlighted how the cancelation of funding will impact vulnerable residents, businesses and critical infrastructure in Virginia, specifically underscoring projects that are already underway.
“The potential revocation of existing BRIC awards is an unanticipated shock to Virginia localities that have budgeted, planned, and in some cases begun work on these crucial projects. The city of Portsmouth received a $24.21 million BRIC award in FY2022 to protect the community’s drinking water supply by enhancing the Lake Meade Dam. The dam, which serves as a critical reservoir for drinking water and supplies residential, commercial, and industrial users in the Hampton Roads area, is at risk of instability and potential overtopping during heavy precipitation events. The project involves strengthening the dam, upgrading spillways, and improving flood protection, all of which serves to protect the more than 80 occupied residential properties and almost 30 businesses within the dam break inundation zone.”
The BRIC program was intended to build more resilient communities and prevent the need for reactive and costly disaster spending later.
“Terminating this program – and many of the awards made in recent years – will make communities in Virginia less resilient and more vulnerable to disaster events. We urge you to maintain this critical funding for localities in Virginia,” they concluded.
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Rebecca Barnabi
