Latest news with #BuildingResilientInfrastructureandCommunities
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cuts to FEMA's storm prep program hit communities that voted for Trump
A lifelong resident of Louisiana, Wade Evans has learned a lot about floods, including this: the water doesn't care about your politics. The mayor of Central — a community of about 30,000 outside of Baton Rouge — Evans and his family were forced to evacuate their home by boat in 2016 when flooding from torrential rains destroyed 60% of the structures in town. "Flood water doesn't discriminate," said Evans, a Republican and supporter of President Trump. '"Any person that flooded is shocked that it would be considered politics to do flood mitigation." So when he received word in April that FEMA was canceling a grant program that would provide nearly $40 million for a new flood control system in Central, he was angry. In a press release, FEMA said the program, which provided funding for infrastructure projects in storm-prone communities, was "wasteful" and had become "more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans recover from natural disasters." "To me, it's a brilliant business decision," said Evans, who said the drainage project in Central would have saved money in the long run by protecting houses that routinely sustain flood damage FEMA ultimately ends up covering. "And then they pulled the rug out from under us." Evans and Central aren't alone. Amid the avalanche of cuts made in the first five months of the Trump administration, none may have red state politicians more up in arms than the cancellation of the infrastructure program, which is formally known as Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC for short. The $4.6 billion initiative was launched under the first Trump administration, and a CBS News analysis of FEMA data revealed that two-thirds of the counties awarded grants voted for President Trump over former Vice President Kamala Harris during the 2024 election. Trump administration officials said they will claw back about $3.6 million that has already been awarded but not yet spent, sending it back to the U.S. Treasury. Projects that are now stalled as a result range from a plan to elevate six buildings on the main street in Pollocksville, North Carolina — population less than 300 — to a $50 million project to prevent flash flooding in New York City. "Under Secretary Noem's leadership, we are ending non-mission critical programs," a FEMA spokesperson said in a statement to CBS News, writing that the BRIC program was "wasteful and ineffective" and "more concerned with climate change" than providing help to Americans affected by storms. "We are committed to ensuring that Americans in crisis can get the help and resources they need," the spokesperson wrote. The data suggests the elimination of the BRIC program will especially deprive vulnerable communities across the Southeast. In Florida, 18 of the 22 counties that stood to benefit from nearly $250 million in grants voted for Mr. Trump. Elsewhere in North Carolina, grants were canceled in areas ravaged by Hurricane Helene last year. Spokespeople for the White House, the Department of Homeland Security, and FEMA did not comment on the data findings. The scale of the cuts in ruby-red Louisiana — 34 grants totalling $185 million — prompted the state's Republican senior senator, Bill Cassidy, to publicly condemn the decision to cancel the program. "We passed BRIC into law and provided funds for it," said Cassidy in a speech on the Senate floor in April. "To do anything other than use that money to fund flood mitigation projects is to thwart the will of Congress." Last month, Cassidy joined more than 80 members of Congress in writing a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, begging the administration to reinstate the program and arguing that not doing so "will only make it harder and more expensive for communities to recover from the next storm." In the letter, the bipartisan group of lawmakers cited research that showed every dollar invested in disaster mitigation can save up to $18 in response and recovery expenditures after a storm hits. "It was a thousand-year flood" In August 2016, it started raining in Central and did not stop for days. It rained so much, the town found itself in the center of the fourth-most costly flood event in U.S. history. Twenty-four inches of rain fell over a 48-hour period. Floodwaters cut off all roadway access and communications. "Central is located in a floodplain, so we're used to flooding, we're equipped to handle it, but this was something different," said Evans. "It was a thousand-year flood." Video from the event is staggering. Roads turned to waterways, forcing the entire town to evacuate. President Trump and then-Vice President Mike Pence toured the damage when the waters receded. "They were so gracious," said Evans. "I was left with the impression that they had our backs." Evans took a job selling cabinets, not to make money, he said, but because he saw a need. In doing so, he saw the slow pace of recovery firsthand, and his frustration motivated him to get into politics. "Many people didn't have flood insurance, and the despair in their eyes is what got me into politics," said Evans, who was elected to the city council in 2018 and then mayor four years later. "I said somebody's gotta do a better job." While in office, Evans said he has prioritized mitigation, building a new modeling system that can warn residents ahead of time of a major flood event. Yet the opportunity to supercharge Central's recovery — and ward off the next flood disaster — came with the FEMA infrastructure program. Evans enlisted the help of his GOP congressman to help secure a grant. The $39 million in funding was awarded in July 2024 and was going to be used for three new basins that could collect water when, not if, Central flooded again. "Essentially, the center of our city has a flood control problem," said Evans. "This is an area of repetitive flood losses." Earlier this month, Evans traveled to Washington, D.C., where he met with Louisiana lawmakers, including Rep. Steve Scalise and Sen. John Kennedy, to try to get the grant's cancellation reversed. And while he said he found a sympathetic audience, he was told ultimately the decision must come from the White House. "It's time to put the bomb away and pull out the scalpel," said Evans. "Don't blow a program up that's very good. This is a very good program." "We need that support" Officials from five other cities across the Southeast told CBS News they were counting on funds from the BRIC program to avoid a repeat of past storm destruction, including Conway, South Carolina, part of a county President Trump decisively won in 2024. After the city experienced extensive flooding damage from successive hurricanes in 2015, 2016 and 2018, it took small steps to mitigate flooding by demolishing properties in its most flood-prone areas. A major step forward came when Conway was awarded a $2.1 million BRIC grant in 2021 to turn a new greenspace into a stormwater storage facility. "We've plucked all the low-hanging fruit there is for flood resilience," said City Administrator Adam Emrick, who added that Conway didn't have the financial capacity to implement any larger projects without federal help. "The next step is always and has always been bigger construction projects to make us a better, more hardened infrastructure to flooding." The project was split up into two phases — an engineering and planning phase, and a construction phase. But when the Trump administration canceled the BRIC program in April, Conway had only completed 75% of the first phase, and they'd yet to break ground on the facility. According to Emrick, the future of the facility is now in flux, as the city hasn't identified a backup funding source. He said the city plans to move forward and complete the first phase without the federal funding to ensure the project is "shovel ready." That way, in case something changes with grant funding, they'll be ready to work. Following its decision to cancel the BRIC program, FEMA said it would be "reaching out and coordinating" with applicants whose projects were already underway. Yet Conway hasn't received any communication from the agency. "We need that support from the federal government to make these projects happen so that our residents can continue to live in neighborhoods, and they don't have to see this increase of potential storm water being in their homes ever again," said June Wood, a spokesperson for the city. The tiny town of Pollocksville — located in a rural North Carolina county that went heavily for President Trump in 2024 — is also facing uncertainty following the Trump administration's decision to cancel BRIC grants. FEMA had officially awarded the community a $1 million grant in June 2024 to elevate and flood-proof six commercial properties along Main Street that had been damaged by Hurricane Florence in 2018 and left vacant ever since. The administration's decision to eliminate BRIC came four days before Pollocksville officials were scheduled to sign a contract with the construction company they had hired for the work. FEMA had said projects like Pollocksville's that had completed the procurement process and were set to start construction could still receive funding, but Pollocksville Mayor Jay Bender said the town is still waiting to hear from the agency. "All we're trying to do is make our town a better place to live, work and play, and it just hurts when you've made plans and you're doing things the right way and the money or the grant stops," said Bender. Harry Chapin: Songwriter, activist and father How the U.S. Army was born Consumers warned about "gas station heroin"
The Hill
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
When wildfire season coincides with threats to federal emergency support
With peak wildfire season just around the corner, residents of California and the broader U.S. West are bracing not just for the blazes, but also for ongoing cuts to the federal programs that have long served as lifelines to a region in flames. As part of a broader effort to reduce spending, the Trump administration has slashed workforces and downsized budgets at many of the bodies responsible for managing and mitigating climate-driven weather extremes. 'The fact the matter is, the same level of federal response will not be mustered this year as has been mustered in the past, and may not be mustered at all,' Rob Moore, a policy analyst for Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), told The Hill. Chief among the entities on the chopping block has been the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which President Trump promised to overhaul. Other cuts have hit the Department of Energy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Weather Service (NWS). On the other hand, Trump on Thursday signed an executive order focused on wildfire prevention — directing the Interior and Agriculture department chiefs to 'consolidate their wildland fire programs.' The order also ordered the Defense Department to sell excess aircraft parts that could bolster mitigation and response, while calling upon agencies to loosen rules on prescribed burns and fire retardant use. An accompanying fact sheet described the directives as 'returning common sense to wildfire prevention and response,' while the order itself slammed California's response to the wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles in January. The winter wildfires, according to the order, were a testament to 'the catastrophic consequences when State and local governments are unable to quickly respond to such disasters.' 'In too many cases, including in California, a slow and inadequate response to wildfires is a direct result of reckless mismanagement and lack of preparedness,' the order stated. The order stopped short, however, of centralizing federal firefighting efforts into one entity — a controversial plan included in Trump's 2026 budget proposal. Meanwhile, Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem earlier this week announced possible intentions to eliminate FEMA 'as it exists today' and to distribute fewer funds to states experiencing disaster — with the caveat that such changes might not occur until fall, after hurricane season. About 2,000 full-time FEMA staffers have been either removed or left voluntarily since January — adding up to about a third of the agency's 6,100-person workforce, according to media reports. The agency's former acting head, Cameron Hamilton, was fired a day after telling Congress that axing FEMA wouldn't be 'in the best interest of the American people.' The Trump administration in April also ended FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, which distributed federal funding to states, tribes and local groups working on hazard mitigation projects. At the time, an agency spokesperson spoke of 'yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program.' In addition to these cuts, the agency weighed slashing billions of dollars in grants based on immigration policies of certain cities. Earlier this spring, FEMA announced that it was cancelling National Fire Academy training courses, provided for free to firefighters and other first responders. Meanwhile, NOAA has lost about 20 percent of its staff through layoffs and buyouts, while the NWS has experienced a 10 percent reduction since the beginning of the year, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, a U.S. think tank that focuses on economic and social issues. To Stuart Gabriel, director of the University of California Los Angeles's Ziman Center for Real Estate, the weather-related cuts are of particular concern ahead of peak wildfire season, since most of the country's precise forecasting comes from the federal government. 'Without the precision of weather forecasting, we're sort of walking around in the dark,' said Gabriel, who leads the advisory committee for Project Recovery — a multi-institutional effort to rebuild Los Angeles after January's catastrophic fires. Describing California firefighting efforts as a now 'year-round activity,' Gabriel stressed the need for 'a high level of preparedness and a high level of potential deployment throughout the year.' 'The withdrawal of federal resources and the lack of funding of traditional federal functions is entirely threatening to this effort,' he added. Gabriel said he finds it 'highly distressing' to watch government officials ignoring scientific data and thereby 'pushing humankind backwards.' Extreme weather events, he argued, should be confronted in a bipartisan manner, as events like tornadoes, hurricanes and wildfires 'are issues that affect everyone.' In response to efforts to downsize FEMA, Moore from NRDC argued in a recent essay that 'America's disaster safety net is unraveling,' describing the agency as 'one of the leading climate resilience agencies.' His remarks accompanied comments filed to FEMA by his organization about the 'weaponization of federal disaster assistance' and Trump threats to withhold funding from California. The administration has been increasingly at loggerheads with the Golden State, sending in the military to referee immigration protests and signing resolutions to block the state's emissions rules. Trump warned in a Truth Social post on California last month 'that large scale Federal Funding will be held back, maybe permanently' after a transgender high schooler made the state track and field championships. 'The actions that the administration is taking is really having an impact on not just federal disaster preparedness and response, but also state and local,' Moore told The Hill. 'They're doing things that are also inhibiting training of local and state first responders,' he added. Pulling out even just one component — such as FEMA — from the region's disaster response system 'causes ripples through the whole system,' according to Steven Jensen, a professor in emergency response services at California State University Long Beach. 'That entire system is going through chaotic, radical change,' Jensen told The Hill, acknowledging that the existing system has been far from perfect. 'There was a lot that needed to be done, but there's something to be said for slow, steady progress,' he said. Nonetheless, both Jensen and Moore held out some hope for California, which Jensen described as in 'a lot better position' than many other states in terms of disaster readiness. 'California is well practiced at this,' he continued. 'We figured out how to do disaster, and we will find our way through.' Recognizing that federal cuts may pose challenges to California and its neighbors as they fight wildfires in the near-term, Moore identified a 'speculative silver lining' for the long-term. 'This may help states wake up to the fact that they have a primary responsibility addressing known vulnerabilities,' Moore said. 'This will jump-start some real recognition.'
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Rhoden creates disaster preparedness task force as Trump cuts FEMA
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks to the media during a press conference on March 13, 2025, at the Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight) Republican South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden signed an executive order this week to plan for future disasters as the Trump administration works to shift the responsibility for disaster relief to state and local entities. 'We pray that the most challenging circumstances will never arise, but we are preparing so that South Dakota can face such situations with determination, resilience, and grit,' Rhoden said in a press release. President Trump has called the Federal Emergency Management Agency a 'disaster' and suggested it might 'go away.' FEMA is led by Homeland Security Secretary and former South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem. Trump signed an executive order in March titled 'Achieving Efficiency Through State and Local Preparedness,' which says 'federal policy must rightly recognize that preparedness is most effectively owned and managed at the State, local, and even individual levels.' The Trump order also instructs federal agencies to reevaluate grants, contracts, and technical assistance funding programs. FEMA has since ended the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program. The 2021 program aimed to direct $1 billion in funding toward infrastructure projects to help communities across the U.S. 'reduce their hazard risk' as they 'build capability and capacity.' According to a tally of federal cuts compiled and updated weekly by the governor's office, $8.9 million in South Dakota projects were set to benefit from BRIC grants. End of FEMA program affects drinking water, building code updates, tornado shelter in SD Critics say the shift in disaster relief responsibilities and funding from the federal government to state and local governments will leave poorer, rural states unprepared and unable to respond. Rhoden says the task force will 'support' the Trump administration's executive order. Rhoden dubbed the group the Governor's Resilience and Infrastructure Task Force, or GRIT. He said the task force will serve as an advisory body to 'develop policy recommendations, assess risks and vulnerabilities, and support long-term planning and investment in critical infrastructure systems across our state.' The task force will be chaired by Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen. Adjutant General Mark Morrell of the South Dakota National Guard will serve as vice chair. Venhuizen said the task force is more than a response to President Trump ending programs and planning to shift responsibilities to states. He said the concept of the task force has been under consideration since last year. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
$10 million in loans from state fund pledged to Ellicott City flood prevention projects
Ellicott City's Main Street has been hit hard by flooding in recent years, but the North Tunnel and Maryland Avenue Culvert projects are expected to divert tens of thousands of gallons of stormwater per second to prevent future floods. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) An effort to mitigate devastating flooding in Ellicott City is moving forward with the announcement of two $5 million loans to complete projects that will divert storm-driven flash flooding away from downtown Ellicott City businesses. The $10 million in loans are the first of from a state account created in 2021. In Ellicott City, the money will go toward two projects designed to move tens of thousands of gallons of floodwater per second off Main Street. State and county officials are already looking to other projects, even as its ability to secure federal loans and disaster recovery aid remains uncertain. 'At a time when we're watching the federal government cancel supports for emergency management and telling states and local jurisdictions that if tragedy happens, you are now on your own, in Maryland, we're choosing to move differently and actually invest in our local jurisdictions, both in preparation and also in recovery,' Gov. Wes Moore said Wednesday as he toured the site. Officials said the projects could be duplicated in other areas prone to similar floods including an area of western Maryland ravaged last month by flood waters. 'It'll be used 100% here' in Maryland, said Department of Emergency Management Secretary Russ Strickland. 'It's not dependent on federal money, which, right now, obviously, we're in a very uncomfortable situation with Washington.' In January, President Donald Trump called for eliminating the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and FEMA in April said it was canceling funding for the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities, or BRIC, program. The move hit funding earmarked for fiscal years 2020-2023, putting roughly $1 billion in projects approved in the Chesapeake Bay watershed in jeopardy. Scores of federal lawmakers — Republicans and Democrats — have called for BRIC funding to be restored. The Ellicott City projects, meanwhile, will proceed with state money. Tunneling equipment — a 300-foot long device nicknamed 'Rocky' — is expected to begin cutting a channel a mile long and 18-feet wide through granite 150 feet below ground. It will stretch from the west end of Ellicott City and terminate at the Patapsco River, with the capacity to move 26,000 gallons of water per second from downtown Ellicott City to the river. A second project, called the Maryland Avenue Culvert, will move water from the Tiber-Hudson branch to the Patapsco River. The two projects are part of a massive effort to make the historic mill city prone to flooding more resilient. The county is coupling the projects with water retention ponds. Three ponds, with a combined capacity of over 12 million gallons, are already been built. Others remain in the design phase. Howard County Executive Calvin Ball (D) called it 'the single largest public works project' in county history. 'When complete, these projects will work together to reduce the quantity and the velocity of water on Main Street during major flooding events, and make Ellicott City a national, if not international, model of resiliency,' Ball said. Moore said the projects will 'save lives … but also help save the community and will also help save the state money.' 'Because, you know, what's more expensive than preparing for the next big flood? Having to recover from the next big flood — immeasurably more expensive,' he said. Moore said every dollar spent on flood mitigation saves taxpayers 'an average of $6 in return when it comes to recovery costs.' Flood-prone Ellicott City has seen three major events since 2011, including what was called a once in a 1,000-year storm in 2016, when flooding along Main Street damaged buildings and killed two people. Two years later, another storm dumped 8 inches of rain in two hours on Ellicott City. The floods resulted in plans to make the area more flood-resilient, demolition of some buildings, debris clean up after big storms, an alert system, automated gates to high-ground areas and the stormwater retention ponds and diversion systems. Initial cost estimates of $82 million in 2019 had grown to $130 million four years later due to costs of expanding the project — most notably the north tunnel project — and 'external economic factors,' including inflation. But the project also grew more expensive as officials widened the diameter by 20% and more than tripled its length to a mile. FEMA cancels $1 billion for flood prevention projects in Chesapeake Bay region Money for the project comes from a revolving loan fund created in 2021. 'Even as we were fighting for Ellicott City, we realized that this was a bigger problem than this one town and the rest of the state could learn from us,' said Sen. Katie Fry Hester (D-Howard and Montgomery), who sponsored the Resilient Maryland Revolving Loan Fund and who was at Wednesday's event. She said the Northeast has seen 'a 70% increase in extreme rainfall since the 1950s and the Chesapeake Bay could rise by five feet, by 2050. I've seen some horrible projections where we're looking at $19 billion worth of damage if we do not invest. But that is not what we're doing, because we are being proactive.' The $10 million in loans for the Ellicott City project are about half the state's revolving account. Strickland said so far there has been little competition for the money. Jurisdictions that use the money agree to pay it back over time. Strickland said a repayment agreement with Howard County has not been finalized. Del. Courtney Watson (D-Howard) said Wednesday the projects in Ellicott City could be a model for other parts of the state. 'We were lucky enough to be the first to be able to put these policies in place, to be able to figure it out, to do something that's never been done before, to solve a tedious, complex public infrastructure project and puzzle for threats that didn't exist 20 years ago,' Watson said. 'We hope to model and assist other jurisdictions who are facing the same type of problems, such as Westernport,' she said. More than 5 inches of rain fell in Allegany and Garrett Counties on May 14, triggering flash floods that overwhelmed roads, schools and homes, and damaged utilities. Areas including Westernport and Lonaconing were some of the hardest hit. Moore declared a state of emergency in the region — an early step toward seeking aid from FEMA. Strickland said initial damage estimates could be completed as early as next week. The threshold for seeking federal aid comes in at around $12 million, he said. 'I think we're going to meet that,' Strickland said. Strickland said he's 'cautiously optimistic' that federal aid will still come through, but is also looking at contingency plans. One such plan would use money from the state's disaster recovery fund as well as a catastrophic event fund. When asked if the funds could cover the potential $12 million in damages, Strickland said: 'I think it would be very close.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
FEMA cuts costing central Florida millions in grant money to aid storm survival
The official start of hurricane season is days away, and central Florida counties are set to lose millions of dollars that could have been used for the most vulnerable people. One example is how the Office of Emergency Management in Seminole County requested funds to help people who depend on medical machines survive any storms. But the federal Emergency Management Agency canceled the program the center requested the grant money from. Now if the federal government doesn't cover it, it will fall on the counties or state - and taxpayers - to cover the costs those grant dollars typically would. Seminole County's Office of Emergency Management director, Alan Harris, described those affected as 'our most vulnerable populations.' Seminole County asked FEMA for $300,000 to add a generator to a shelter for those with special needs and those who depend on medical machines that need electricity. Marion County asked for $3.7 million while Sumter County asked for $3 million to improve electrical infrastructure to avoid outages during storms. But now that money won't be coming from FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program. It was canceled in April, as Republicans focus on handling the nation's deficit 'We're going to do everything we can,' said U.S. Sen Rick Scott. 'Now let's realize where our federal government is right now, OK? We are running two trillion-dollar deficits. How many of you want your interest rates to come down? We all do. How many of you want inflation to come down? It will not happen if we don't balance the budget.' U.S. Rep. Cory Mills says he will look for other ways to fund Seminole County's generator. These cuts are happening as FEMA's acting chief says h wants to place responsibility of hurricane recovery on states and local governments, including financial responsibility. 'It's about getting responsiveness. It is about getting funding there quicker,' Mills said. Sumter County's EMA director, David Casto, said the BRIC program could not be the only cuts. There are other grants that fund equipment and supplies that are still uncertain. The state and some local governments are reportedly prepared to dip into their reserves as FEMA tightens its belt even more this hurricane season. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
