More on New FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructures and Communities (BRIC)

Information is still emerging as to what BRIC will be and how it will be administered. First of all, it is going to be focused on "pre-disaster mitigation." It will likely be sometime in 2020 before the grant process is fully defined and grant funding becomes available. The comment process was just finished on July 15.

We do know that the program will focus on reducing the nation’s risk by funding public infrastructure projects that increase a community’s resilience before a disaster affects an area. As a federal disaster mitigation program, BRIC allows for funding that can be invested in areas such as infrastructure mitigation projects; hazard mitigation planning; building codes and enforcement; and risk informed funding.

The funding formula for providing the funds means totaling all federal disaster costs for the previous six months and then allocating 6 percent of that total to pre-disaster mitigation. Which should end up being as significant amount of annual funding.

With every grant, there are strings attached. What is being considered now is what those sticks and incentives will be. 

Stand by for news and further federal instructions on how to access these funds.