On April 4, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) abruptly canceled the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. This decision directly affects several Grays Harbor area infrastructure initiatives, most notably the North Shore levee projects worth nearly $100 million in BRIC grant money.
In late April, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson sent a letter to then-acting administrator of FEMA Cameron Hamilton imploring the agency to reconsider funding the levee projects. Hamilton was replaced by David Richardson in May.
Although monies and consideration have come through for the Westport tsunami tower project, Ocean Shores and Westport have been forced to seek other funding sources for their coastal erosion and resiliency efforts while they wait for federal funding decisions, and the Hoquiam and Aberdeen levee projects remain moribund.
Yesterday, Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown announced a lawsuit against the Trump administration regarding the cancellation of the BRIC grant program.
Brown is leading a coalition of 20 states suing the Trump administration over its decision to illegally shut down the BRIC program which is designed to protect communities from natural disasters before they strike.
According to a press release issued by the Washington state Office of the Attorney General and the introduction to the complaint, for the past 30 years, the BRIC program has provided communities across the nation with resources to proactively fortify against natural disasters. By focusing on preparation, the program has protected property, saved money that would have otherwise been spent on post-disaster costs, reduced injuries and saved lives.
The impact of the BRIC program’s termination has been devastating, with communities across the country being forced to delay, scale back, or cancel hundreds of mitigation projects depending on this funding. Projects that have been in development for years, and in which communities have invested millions of dollars are now threatened. And now, Americans from coast to coast face a higher risk of harm from natural disasters.
“This illegal cut endangers the communities most vulnerable to natural disasters,” Brown said. “Communities and states face devastating consequences when the federal government doesn’t meet its obligations to the public, and I will hold the Trump administration accountable for abandoning their safety.”
The BRIC program is the core of FEMA’s pre-disaster mitigation efforts. A recent study concluded that every dollar FEMA spends on mitigation saves an average of six dollars in post-disaster costs.
Over the past four years, FEMA has selected nearly 2,000 projects for roughly $4.5 billion in BRIC funding nationwide. In Washington state, there are 27 open BRIC projects that total $182 million and nearly three quarters of that funding goes to small towns and rural communities.
This money funds projects like constructing levees and floodwalls in Aberdeen and Hoquiam and generating electricity in Klickitat County for hospitals and school districts if the power goes out during wildfires and severe weather.
This coalition of attorneys general argue that FEMA’s decision to abruptly terminate the BRIC program is in direct violation of Congress’s decision to fund it. The executive branch has no lawful authority to unilaterally refuse to spend funds appropriated by Congress.
They also assert that shutting down the BRIC program violates Separation of Powers and the Administrative Procedure Act, and violates the Appointments Clause because Cameron Hamilton, who acted as FEMA Administrator and gave the directive to terminate the BRIC program, was never appointed by the President or confirmed by the Senate and therefore was acting as an administrator unlawfully.
An April 4 FEMA advisory stated: “FEMA is ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program and canceling all BRIC applications from Fiscal Years 2020-2023. If grant funds have not been distributed to states, tribes, territories, and local communities, funds will be immediately returned either to the Disaster Relief Fund or the U.S. Treasury. … The BRIC program was yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program. It was more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters. Under Secretary (Kristi) Noem’s leadership, we are committed to ensuring that Americans in crisis can get the help and resources they need. Approximately $882 million of funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will be returned to the U.S. Treasury or reapportioned by Congress in the next fiscal year. The 2021 law made $1 billion available for BRIC over five years, $133 million to date has been provided for about 450 applications. FEMA estimates more than $3.6 billion will remain in the Disaster Relief Fund to assist with disaster response and recovery for communities and survivors.”
With this lawsuit, the coalition of attorneys general are seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the Trump administration from spending BRIC funds for other purposes and a permanent injunction to reverse the termination of the BRIC program and require the restoration of these critical funds to the communities relying on them.
Joining Washington state in filing this lawsuit are attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Washington, the Hoquiam and Aberdeen specifically, section of the complaint reads:
“Located on Washington’s rural Western coastline, Aberdeen and Hoquiam’s working-class communities have experienced decades of severe flooding caused by intense rainfall and coastal surges. As a direct response to these recurring disasters, Washington applied for BRIC funding to construct concrete floodwalls, miles of earthen levees, and raised roadways that would protect these communities from further damage. Once completed, these levees would protect 1,354 businesses, 5,100 properties, and more than 3,000 jobs located in the designated flood zone. They would also reduce construction and insurance costs, leaving more than $5 million per year in residents’ pockets, and promote economic development and future investments.”
FEMA selected the projects years ago, allocating $50 million to the North Shore Levee Project and $47.5 million to the North Shore Levee West Project. In anticipation of federal funding, state and local partners invested over $31 million of their own funds in project design, permitting, and pre-construction work.
After years of rigorous environmental review, Hoquiam’s North Shore Levee West project received a Finding of No Significant Impact from FEMA on March 25, 2025, which was the last step before the paperwork could be finalized and the project could move forward.
But just days later, defendants shut down the BRIC program, and it is now unclear if these projects will ever get built. These communities cannot fund the projects on their own, and without federal funds, they may need to cancel them entirely. If that were to occur, all the time, effort, and money the state and local partners invested in the project would be wasted, and the communities would likely continue to face recurrent severe flooding.
