Navigating the FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Program
September 16, 2022 · Insights
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently announced a new round of funding known as the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Program. For Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, FEMA will distribute up to $2.295 billion to state, local, tribal and territorial governments for hazard mitigation activities. The BRIC grant program funds state and local government’s hazard mitigation activities to protect communities from “both acute extreme weather events and chronic stressors which have been observed and are expected to increase in intensity and frequency in the future.”
The BRIC grant program provides financial assistance for the following activities:
» Capabilities and Capacity Building (C&CB) Activities: building code activities, partnerships, project scoping, hazard mitigation planning and disaster recovery strategy (pre- or post-disaster plans).
» Hazard Mitigation Projects (Construction): cost-effective projects designed to increase resilience, public safety and reduce damage and destruction of property from a multitude of natural hazards.
Communities with high Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) scores are eligible for a lower local cost share and are exempted from the Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) minimum score of 1.0 to determine cost-effectiveness of proposed projects.
» Management Costs: financial assistance to assist grantees for eligible and reasonable indirect costs, direct administrative costs and other administrative expenses associated with mitigation projects up to 5 percent of the total eligible project costs.
The application period for each state opens September 30, 2022 and closes January 27, 2023 by 3:00 p.m. (EST). The deadline for local (sub-applications) varies per state. A Notice of Intent (NOI) is usually required before a sub-application is submitted to the state.
Now is the time to prepare for the FY 2022 BRIC funding cycle to invest in your community infrastructure and mitigate against natural hazards. Here is how GMC’s team can assist you:
- Drafting your communities’ Notice of Intent (NOI)
- Drafting or updating your Local Hazard Mitigation Plan
- Project scoping, mapping assistance, and cost estimations
- Project environmental studies that are compliant with NEPA
- Assistance with procurement requirements
- Assistance with applications
- Design and construction management
- Grant life cycle management (from application to closeout)
- Exploring other eligible projects and funding opportunities
GMC’s Disaster Recovery experts are available to discuss potential projects and funding eligibility for your community to help you navigate the BRIC program. Click here to reach out to our team, or contact us at the info listed below.
For more information view FEMA’s BRIC Fact Sheet.
Robert Ramsey
Executive Vice President of Disaster Recovery
Email
Tel 229.347.2018