Federal Judge Orders FEMA to Reinstate BRIC, Unlocking Funds for Buncombe County

United States District Judge Richard G. Stearns found that FEMA unlawfully terminated the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program and, after a Dec. 11 ruling, granted motions on March 6 requiring the agency to reverse the April cancellation and restore grant application and disbursement processes. The court action could unlock roughly $200 million in BRIC grants for North Carolina and potentially return about $4.5 billion that had been allocated to roughly 2,000 projects nationwide since 2021.

Judge Stearns’ orders included tight deadlines: he gave FEMA two weeks to address problems with frozen BRIC grants and three weeks to issue a funding opportunity for fiscal 2024, according to the court actions enforcing the December judgment. Plaintiffs filed motions to enforce the earlier order after FEMA had not moved to reinstate the program following the April suspension that officials described at the time as abrupt.

BRIC was established in 2018 to fund pre-disaster mitigation and, since 2021, had selected about 2,000 projects to receive an estimated $4.5 billion. Projects eligible for BRIC funding include evacuation shelters, flood walls, wildfire-hardened utility grids, wastewater and drinking-water infrastructure protections, and bridge, road and culvert upgrades. State officials and local governments have said many communities spent years meeting FEMA requirements to qualify for those awards before the program was halted.

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, a named plaintiff, said communities had been left waiting after FEMA’s decision. Jackson wrote, “The court was clear when it ruled on this case in December. FEMA already broke the law once and lost in court. It cannot be allowed to continue evading the law. Towns and cities are waiting for the money they’re owed so they can be ready for the next storm.” Jackson also said the reinstatement restores funds for projects that keep water systems working and homes out of floodwater: “Keeping water systems working and keeping homes out of floodwater isn’t politics — it’s basic safety. This ruling puts the money back where it was promised so these communities can be ready for the next storm.”

In Buncombe County, a stop-work order affected a watershed vulnerability and resilience program that received a $202,000 BRIC infrastructure grant in 2021 to identify flood, landslide and wildfire risks around critical facilities such as government buildings and hospitals. State filings and motions to enforce say other North Carolina projects in limbo include sewer upgrades, riverbank maintenance and wastewater system protections; photos from local recovery work cite damage along the Swannanoa River after Hurricane Helene.

FEMA has responded that the agency and the Department of Homeland Security are “fully complying with all court orders regarding BRIC funding. These baseless assertations are simply incorrect. FEMA will continue to follow all legal requirements and court directives as we work to deliver funding and support for disaster resilience,” the agency wrote in an email to plaintiffs and stakeholders. The April cancellation occurred under the leadership of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and the administration has argued it was “reviewing” the program even as states pressed for enforcement.

Counts of states involved in the litigation vary across filings and reports, with figures cited as 19, 21 or 22 states joining North Carolina in challenges and motions to enforce. Court dockets will provide definitive lists and the precise allocation of the $200 million reported for North Carolina. If FEMA meets Judge Stearns’ deadlines, local officials say BRIC-funded work including Buncombe County’s watershed study and other infrastructure projects could resume, releasing funds Congress appropriated for mitigation.