A federal court has issued a permanent injunction blocking the Trump Administration’s attempt to terminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. The decision follows legal action led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and a coalition of 20 states.
The BRIC program, which began in 2020, allocates billions of dollars to help communities prepare for disasters before they occur. California stands as the largest recipient, with potential access to over a billion dollars in grant funding for projects that had already been selected prior to the attempted shutdown.
“FEMA’s BRIC program provides critical funding that helps communities prepare for disasters before they strike,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The BRIC program has bipartisan support. It saves taxpayers money. It improves our infrastructure, and it protects our communities. It’s a win-win. That’s why we went to court to protect this program when the Trump Administration attempted to unlawfully shut it down. Today, the court ruled in our favor, issuing a final ruling that ensures this funding continues to flow to climate resilience projects across our state.”
Following Hurricane Katrina, Congress required FEMA to focus on mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery functions. The BRIC initiative is central to FEMA’s efforts at disaster mitigation and emphasizes cost-effective projects; research shows each dollar spent on mitigation can save six dollars in post-disaster expenses.
BRIC supports various infrastructure improvements such as evacuation shelters, flood walls, utility grid protection against wildfires, water system security measures, and fortification of bridges and roadways.
Over four years, nearly 2,000 projects nationwide have received about $4.5 billion through BRIC grants. In California specifically:
– Rancho Palos Verdes secured funds for landslide risk reduction affecting residents and vital infrastructure.
– Sacramento obtained support for flood mitigation covering major highways, an airport runway, local streets, and thousands of homes.
– Kern County received grants for seismic retrofitting of its regional hospital serving remote populations.
The court found that FEMA’s effort to end the BRIC program violated Congressional intent regarding appropriated funds and contravened both separation of powers principles and administrative law requirements. As a result of the ruling, FEMA must restore previously allocated funds so affected communities can continue their disaster preparedness work.
Attorney General Bonta was joined by attorneys general from Massachusetts, Washington State, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico,
New York,
North Carolina,
Oregon,
Rhode Island,
Vermont,
Wisconsin;
the governors of Pennsylvania
and Kentucky;
and officials from the District of Columbia.
