FEMA Restores BRIC Funding

5/1/2026 – According to FEMA, its BRIC program has been infused with $1 billion to help mitigate the impact of future disasters. The agency also immediately provided previously cancelled funds to states.

BRIC stands for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities. The program aims to reduce the cost of future disasters by awarding grants that help prevent damage.

FEMA studies show that every dollar spent on prevention avoids six dollars in future damage costs. However, FEMA had announced the termination of BRIC grants in 2025.

According to the American Flood Coalition (AFC), “The BRIC announcement came one day after former Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin was sworn in as Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Since assuming this role, Secretary Mullin has eliminated a DHS policy requiring secretarial approval for payments over $100,000.”

BRIC is BACK

After the year-long pause, FEMA has introduced several programmatic changes, including a heightened focus on infrastructure, construction-ready projects, the adoption of up-to-date building codes, and a new scoring rubric.

Key changes include:

• Smaller awards. While total funding has increased by $250 million to $1 billion, individual projects are capped at $20 million, allowing funding to reach more communities. No single applicant (e.g., state) may receive more than 15% of total available funding.
• Construction-ready infrastructure is the priority. This cycle favors projects ready to break ground, especially traditional infrastructure projects protecting transportation, utilities, water systems, communications, and public buildings, with clear design progress and risk reduction benefits. Phased projects are not permitted in this funding cycle.
• Streamlined scoring rubric. Applications are scored across six criteria (100 points total), with construction readiness (30 points), building codes (20), and risk reduction (20) weighted most heavily. New applicants receive a 15-point bonus; small, impoverished communities receive 5 points.

Applications

The application period opened on March 25, 2026. The deadline to submit applications is July 23, 2026.

Eligible applicants include states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and federally recognized Tribal Nations. Eligible subapplicants include local governments, communities, special districts and Tribal Nations applying through a state or territory. 

Interested applicants and sub-applicants may review the Notice of Funding Opportunity on Grants.gov. For more information on the BRIC program, applicants should contact their FEMA Regional Office or visit www.fema.gov/grants/mitigation/learn/building-resilient-infrastructure-communities.

Moving Money Faster, But…

Reportedly, one of the key objectives is to move money faster. FEMA intends to do this by eliminating phased projects, simplifying the National Competition scoring system and removing sub-application scoring by the National Review Panel.

However, the government shutdown affected all but essential workers at FEMA for months. At this hour, it’s not clear how the shutdown will affect the applications and deadlines. Just yesterday, Congress passed a bill that would restore FEMA funding through September.

According to a spokesperson for Representative Dan Crenshaw, the BRIC deadline would likely be extended if necessary because of staffing issues during the shutdown.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 5/1/26

3167 Days since Hurricane Harvey