Oregon disaster prep hindered after FEMA cancels grant program
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Oregon's ability to prepare for disasters is at risk after the Federal Emergency Management Agency canceled a grant program, officials warn.
On Thursday, the Oregon Department of Emergency Management announced several projects in Oregon could be stalled after FEMA revealed on April 4 that it is cancelling the fiscal year 2024 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program, which helps communities across the United States prepare for disasters from wildfires to flooding.
FEMA said the agency is ending the program in an effort to eliminate “waste, fraud and abuse.”
“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,” the agency said in a statement.
Since then, FEMA issued an updated advisory on April 16, clarifying, "as the program is concluding, the Fiscal Year 2024 BRIC funding opportunity is cancelled, no applications submitted will be reviewed and no funds will be awarded. In addition, for 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 returned either to the Disaster Relief Fund or the U.S. Treasury.”
What does this mean for Oregon?
Because of the canceled BRIC funds, projects that were selected for the grant program will no longer receive the funds and ongoing projects could be delayed or stopped short of construction, according to the Oregon Department of Emergency Management.
“Without extensions or continued support, communities across Oregon will face delays or cancellations in vital infrastructure improvements designed to reduce risk and protect lives,” OEM warned, noting FEMA is reviewing active and obligated BRIC projects before further projects in Oregon can continue.
According to OEM, the federal share of BRIC projects in Oregon totaled $140 million, with local governments matching $90 million.
With the canceled grants, several Oregon emergency preparedness projects are seeing sunk costs, or funding that has been spent and cannot be returned.
OEM says eight of the 26 BRIC projects in Oregon now have a combined total of $8 million in sunk costs.
OEM noted that even if the grants are reinstated, some projects will be priced out because cost estimates were locked in years ago when inflation and tariffs were lower. Now, the locked-in prices are set to expire and the new costs could be “significantly higher.”
Projects with sunk costs are impacting communities such as Port Orford, which was set to receive a grant to upgrade its drinking water system to protect against future damage from earthquakes, drought and wildfire.
The grant would have ensured the city has enough water to meet average daily demand while maintaining emergency storage to withstand natural hazards.
The federal grant was set for over $6.5 million in federal funds, with the local share spending over $690,000. Now, OEM says the project faces sunk costs of over $270,000.
Another city impacted by the canceled grants: Medford.
Similar to Port Orford, the Medford Water Commission is working to boost resilience of the water system against quakes, wildfires and drought.
That project was set to receive over $34 million in federal funds, with the local share totaling more than $14 million. According to OEM, sunk costs for that project are over $1,875,000.
In Grants Pass, the city was supposed to receive BRIC funds for its Water Treatment Plant Relocation Project, to relocate the plant outside of a Special Flood Hazard Area, to protect the water treatment system in the event of a flood.
According to OEM, the loss of federal grants “jeopardizes the broader system project scope.”
In this case, the federal share of the project was $50,000,000, while the city was set to invest over $60,000,000. Sunk costs sit at $5,000,000, OEM said.
Other impacted projects include integrating a tsunami evacuation structure into the Columbia Memorial Hospital expansion in Astoria, emergency prep for the Burns Paiute Tribe along with Columbia and Umatilla counties, and funds for the Oregon Military Department.
“These decisions will significantly impact communities across Oregon working to reduce disaster risk and invest in safer, more resilient infrastructure,” said OEM Director Erin McMahon. “We are actively working with federal and state legislators to communicate these financial impacts and with FEMA partners to gain clarity on next steps and timelines. I have directed my team to conduct our own review to see what projects may fit within other Hazard Mitigation Assistance grants through federal partners that are currently funded like the Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) grant or other state grant programs.”
OEM also pointed to a statement from Oregon Governor Tina Kotek earlier in the week while speaking with members of the media, describing funding cuts for a water infrastructure project in Mapleton, stating, “These are bipartisan or nonpartisan community projects that everybody supports. I have not heard one rationale from the Trump Administration as to why they cancelled the BRIC grants.”