FEMA Increases Climate Aid to Disadvantaged Communities

In announcing its FY23 grant funding for mitigating climate-driven disaster, such as wildfires, floods and extreme heat that it called the “new normal,” FEMA underscored measures to ensure that underserved communities aren’t excluded from these efforts to facilitate resiliency.

FEMA is making available $1 billion for projects that protect people and infrastructure from climate-related hazards via the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) annual grant program and another $800 million through the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program. The latter funds projects that mitigate risks facing homes and communities.

In a desire to focus more on disadvantaged communities, the BRIC and FMA projects aim to deliver 40 percent of their overall benefits to communities that are “marginalized, overburdened by pollution and underserved.”

“We’re particularly excited about building on what’s working and adding to our programs to reduce barriers to underserved communities,” said Victoria Salinas, FEMA’s associate administrator for resilience.

“Reducing barriers to both BRIC and FMA and any community that needs support with the Benefit-Cost Analysis has that support from FEMA,” she added.

Completing the Benefit-Cost Analysis has been a hurdle for some communities applying for grants. FEMA this year established streamlined cost-effectiveness determination methods for some projects to facilitate the application process and ensure that projects are cost-effective.

FEMA also announced that it was providing up to 90 percent federal cost share for FMA in disadvantaged communities, compared to the standard 75 percent cost share, and that designated Community Disaster Resilience Zones are eligible for 90 percent cost share of BRIC.