Flood Mitigation Assistance – Under this program, FEMA is making available up to $600 million for states, local communities, Tribal Nations, and territories to reduce or eliminate the risk of repetitive flood damage to buildings insured under the National Flood Insurance Program. The April 30 announcement reflects the amended FY 2024 funding opportunity. Applications are due by Aug. 6, 2026. Communities should contact their state mitigation office for state-specific deadlines for submission, which will be earlier. 

The FMA funding includes:  

• Capability and capacity building activities subtotal: $60 million
• Localized flood risk reduction projects subtotal: $420 million
• Individual flood mitigation projects subtotal: $120 million

Learn more on Grants.gov  

Swift Current – As a part of the FMA program, Swift Current provides funding after Presidentially declared flood disasters to expedite the delivery of mitigation awards. FEMA is making available up to $500 million for individual flood mitigation projects and scoping efforts that result in submission of individual flood mitigation projects for Repetitive Loss (RL), Severe Repetitive Loss (SRL), or Substantially Damaged (SD) properties. Structures eligible for individual flood mitigation projects must have an NFIP policy (including a Group Flood Insurance Policy, or GFIP) in effect prior to the opening of the application period and the policy must be maintained throughout the life of the structure. The availability window closes Dec 30, 2026 and application submission deadlines vary depending on FEMA activation, determined by the date of the major disaster declaration for the flood related event. As with other grants, communities should contact their state mitigation office for any state deadlines.  

Learn more on Grants.gov

The post FEMA Releases $1.1 Billion in Flood Mitigation Funding Opportunities first appeared on Association of State Floodplain Managers.

The announcement follows a federal court order earlier this month requiring FEMA to restart the BRIC program after nearly a year of uncertainty.

According to FEMA, this new BRIC funding opportunity (DHS-25-MT-047-00-98) is specifically designed to:

• Prioritize infrastructure resilience by funding construction projects that are ready to implement and incentivizing the adoption of the latest hazard-resistant building codes. 
• Move money faster by eliminating phased projects, simplifying the National Competition scoring system and removing subapplication scoring by the National Review Panel. 
• Shift responsibility and authority to states, territories and Tribal Nations by removing funding for hazard mitigation planning and non-financial direct technical assistance provisions.   

Eligible applicants include states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and federally recognized Tribal Nations. Eligible subapplicants include local governments, communities, special districts and Tribal Nations applying through a state or territory.

Breaking down the numbers

For the Fiscal Years 2024-25 funding cycle, these are the available categories: 

• $112 million for states and territories (up to $2 million federal cost share for each applicant).
• $50 million Tribal Set-Aside (up to $2 million federal cost share for each applicant).
• $56 million for State or Territory Building Code Plus-Up (up to $1 million federal cost share per applicant) and $25 million for Tribal Nation Building Code Plus-Up to carry out eligible building code adoption and enforcement activities.
• $757 million for National Competition (up to $20 million federal cost share per subapplication).

Learn more on Grants.gov  

As an additional update, President Trump has extended the FEMA Review Council’s term through May 29, or until 10 days after the council submits its report—whichever comes first. 

The post BRIC Funding Alert: $1 Billion NOFO Now Open first appeared on Association of State Floodplain Managers.

In the March 6 ruling, U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns addressed the ongoing delays in restoring the program, giving FEMA a strict 21-day-deadline to issue BRIC’s Notice of Funding Opportunity for Fiscal Year 2024. The order means the agency has to unfreeze the roughly $750 million in grants that have been in limbo since the original NOFO was cancelled in April 2025. 

In addition, FEMA has 14 days from the date of the order to communicate the status of current BRIC projects to the plaintiff states and file status reports with the court outlining remaining steps to reverse the termination of the BRIC program, including a schedule for the FY2025 and FY2026 BRIC funding cycles.  

“We are encouraged by the court’s clear timeline for restoring the BRIC program. Mitigation is a race against time, and this ruling provides the necessary framework for the agency to honor its commitments to the state and local partners who are on the front lines of disaster resilience,” said Chad Berginnis, ASFPM Executive Director. “We look forward to working closely with FEMA as they resume this vital program, ensuring that proactive investments in community safety remain a top priority.”

How the Legal Battle Reached This Point

This latest judgment will hopefully bring to an end a long legal battle between the 23-state coalition and the administration. On July 16, 2025, the coalition filed a lawsuit to prevent FEMA from terminating its BRIC program. On December 11, 2025, the court ruled in favor of the states, declaring the termination of the congressionally appropriated program unlawful and ordering FEMA to take all necessary steps to reverse course.

In February, the coalition filed a motion asking the District of Massachusetts to enforce its December 11 order, saying FEMA had offered no indication that it had complied with the order at that point.

“The uncertainty and ongoing delay continue to threaten the very existence of the states’ projects, leaving state emergency management agencies and local municipalities scrambling to fill funding gaps,” the states said in the motion. “Ultimately, plaintiff states continue to face the loss of an urgently needed program designed to protect against natural disasters and save lives.”

In response to that most recent filing by the states, the administration argued in a March 3 filing that “FEMA is currently reviewing the BRIC program” and “the goal of this review is to improve the BRIC program—not terminate it.” The agency also said the process has been slowed by staffing shortages and lapses in funding but added that it is working to comply with the court’s order.

In his March 6 decision, Judge Stearns acknowledged the tangible steps FEMA has taken toward compliance with the December 11 ruling but noted that several requirements remain unimplemented. He also recognized that some delays may stem from staffing shortages and the current budget freeze at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. However, he concluded that the court’s directives are “reasonable steps” the agency can—and must—take even while leadership transitions at the DHS are underway.

“The judge’s order in this case was unequivocal: FEMA must restore the BRIC program,” Washington state Attorney General Nick Brown said in a press release. “We will keep fighting to make sure FEMA stops wasting time and carries out the program as Congress intended.”  

The lawsuit was co-led by attorney generals from Massachusetts and Washington and joined by the following states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin.

A copy of Judge Stearns’ March 6 “Order to Enforce” is available here

The post FEMA Ordered to Restart BRIC Program first appeared on Association of State Floodplain Managers.

Previously, requests were submitted through a paper mail-in process. Now, requests can be made online, helping to avoid delays, reduce manual data entry, and improve accessibility, accuracy and security.

Through this website, users can request Flood Insurance Studies. These studies include data about watercourses, lakes and coastal flood hazard areas, such as hydraulics, hydrology, levees and topography.

Users can also request other important flood information, including Letters of Map Changes, Letters of Map Revisions, Letters of Map Amendments, elevation certificates and final map products. 

The website can be accessed at Archived Flood Data | FEMA.gov. Users making requests on behalf of the Federal Emergency Management Agency should use their existing Risk Analysis & Management Access Portal accounts to maintain their fee exemption status. 

The post New FEMA Archived Flood Data Website Available first appeared on Association of State Floodplain Managers.

Created by executive order in January 2025, the FEMA Review Council was tasked with recommending ways to reform and streamline the nation’s emergency management and disaster response system.

The 13-member council held public meetings throughout 2025 and was expected to release and then vote on its report at a meeting on December 11. That meeting was cancelled at the last minute without explanation. The day before the meeting was to take place, CNN reported that it had obtained a copy of the report, which it said recommended FEMA remain within the DHS but with a new name, a 50% reduction in workforce, and a higher threshold for states to qualify for federal assistance. 

Parametric Triggers and Policy Shifts

New details regarding the council’s direction emerged this week. According to a Jan. 28 article from Politico’s E&E News, the 75-page “final draft report” dated Dec. 11, 2025 proposes a dramatic shift toward creating a parametric system for disbursing FEMA payments. Unlike traditional damage assessments, this model would use pre-defined data to trigger funding, with the ultimate goal of accelerating the reimbursement and recovery process as well as potentially providing savings on federal costs. 

As E&E News explained:

“For FEMA, disaster aid would be “triggered automatically,” the report says, “when pre-defined, objective event criteria are met, like wind speed or earthquake magnitude.”

“This eliminates the need for time consuming loss assessments and quickly provides a financial backstop and cashflow for rapid response and recovery,” the report adds. States seeking disaster aid would have to only show “evidence the parametric trigger occurred.”

Other notable recommendations reported by E&E News include:

• A 25% reduction in its cost-share for public assistance funding, although states could receive up to 75% by demonstrating proactive mitigation measures.
• Debt forgiveness for the NFIP, which is currently paying $700 million/year in interest on its $20.5 billion debt
• Better, more updated flood maps

ASFPM’s Advocacy and Concerns
During last year’s three public comment periods, ASFPM pressed the FEMA Review Council on key priorities of importance to the floodplain management community.  We submitted formal comments  in May, July and August consistently urging the council to improve FEMA by keeping its critical mission functions intact, enhancing hazard mitigation, and preserving the NFIP. 

In October, ASFPM submitted a detailed letter expressing our concerns to the FEMA Review Council. In our letter, we explained how a potential push toward privatization of the NFIP with a focus on insurance only, ignores the nationwide public benefits of the NFIP’s mapping, mitigation, floodplain management, and community compliance programs. More importantly, the premise rests on market assumptions that are not supported by history or current realities.

As the new March deadline approaches, ASFPM will continue to be a strong voice for sound floodplain management. We remain committed to sharing our technical expertise and perspective whenever the opportunity presents itself, ensuring that any effort to “streamline” federal policy does not come at the expense of community resilience or the long-term stability of the NFIP.

The post FEMA Review Council Term Extended as Draft Report Proposes Shifts in Disaster Aid first appeared on Association of State Floodplain Managers.

The meeting will include: 

• remarks from senior leadership; 
• remarks and updates from Council leadership;
• a presentation of the draft final report from the Final Report Subcommittee; 
• a presentation of a summary of public comments made to the Council by the Designated Federal Officer; 
• Council deliberations; 
• and a public vote on the draft final report.

Recent media reporting indicates that DHS Secretary Noem significantly reduced the original report submitted by appointed members—from more than 160 pages to roughly 20—raising concerns that many strong recommendations may not be included in the final version.

Meeting Registration: Registration to attend the meeting is required and must be received via email no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.  You can register to attend by providing your full legal name and email address no later than 5 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025, to the DFO Patrick Powers via email to FEMAreviewcouncil@hq.dhs.gov.

Public Comments: Members of the public may also provide comments on the final report using the methods outlined in the Federal Register. The deadline for comments is Dec. 31, 2025. At this time, ASFPM is not planning to submit comments prior to the upcoming meeting as the Council’s mission — to develop a report on the future of FEMA — is largely complete.   ASFPM has previously submitted comments to the FEMA Review Council in May, July and August focused on enhancing FEMA, keeping its critical mission functions intact, preserving, and enhancing hazard mitigation, and preserving the NFIP.

In October, ASFPM submitted a detailed letter expressing our concerns to the FEMA Review Council. In our letter, we explained how a potential push toward privatization of the NFIP with a focus on insurance only, ignores the nationwide public benefits of the NFIP’s mapping, mitigation, floodplain management, and community compliance programs. More importantly, the premise rests on market assumptions that are not supported by history or current realities. 

ASFPM will continue to stay engaged on this important issue as the Council’s recommendations move toward a final report and we’ll keep members informed with updates as we learn more.  

The post FEMA Review Council to Release Final Draft Report Dec. 11 first appeared on Association of State Floodplain Managers.

What are the 2025 Building Code Adoption Tracking Fact Sheets? 

FEMA publishes regional Building Code Adoption Tracking (BCAT) Fact Sheets to provide an overview of hazard-resistant building code adoption status in each state and territory within a FEMA region. The BCAT Fact Sheets show an annual percent of communities adopting hazard-resistant building codes in high-risk flood, damaging wind, hurricane wind, tornado, and seismic areas. States and territories are categorized as either “Higher Resistance,” “Moderate Resistance,” or “Lower Resistance,” and a summary of significant building code adoption information is provided. 

Explanation of the Hazard-Resistance Methodology 

The BCAT effort tracks five hazards: flood, damaging wind, hurricane wind, tornado, and seismic. The maps, definitions and provisions of the model codes and the standards underlying those codes, such as American Society of Civil Engineers, Structural Engineering Institute (ASCE/SEI) 7, Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures, and ASCE/SEI 24, Flood Resistant Design and Construction, define these five hazards and the areas where they pose the highest risk.

How to Use the Regional Fact Sheets
The fact sheets are a tool for FEMA regional representatives and other stakeholders to use in their outreach efforts to their states and territories to encourage adopting the latest consensus-based hazard-resistant building codes. These fact sheets enhance the resilience conversation and planning for:

• FEMA and state, local, tribal and territorial governments during FEMA/State Mitigation Consultations
• Updates to state, local, tribal and territorial Hazard Mitigation Plans
• RiskMAP Project lifecycle stages
• Supporting and implementing preparedness goals
• Code enforcement projects
• Loss avoidance studies
• Readiness enhancement for building code administration assistance under the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018, Section 1206 – Code Implementation and Enforcement

Access the BCAT fact sheets, organized by regions. This page also has the annual Mutual Aid for Building Department (MABD) regional fact sheets available for download.

Access FEMA’s BCAT Portal to identify which building codes your area has adopted

The post 2025 Building Code Adoption Tracking Fact Sheets Released first appeared on Association of State Floodplain Managers.

The lawsuit, filed July 16 by a coalition of states, contends that FEMA lacks the legal authority to cancel the BRIC program or redirect its funding for other purposes. The states argue that doing so undermines projects already underway, violates Congressional intent, and increases communities’ vulnerability to natural disasters. 

The 68-page lawsuit offers a compelling read for hazard mitigation professionals and provides a detailed history of FEMA’s pre-disaster mitigation programs as well as rationale for them. It also gives a powerful snapshot of the impact of stopping the program so abruptly on communities and states.

As stated in Paragraph 117 of the complaint:

“FEMA’s termination of the BRIC program has caused serious harm. Not only are States unable to move forward with many of their planned projects, they also risk wasting the substantial time, effort, and money they have already invested in these projects, and undermining the trust they have built with local communities and industry partners, which will make it harder to undertake projects like this in the future. Each day that passes causes more harm and increases the chances that these projects will not be able to go forward, as communities face expiring permits, escalating costs, and eroding stakeholder trust. And since BRIC grants account for most of the funding for these projects, if the termination is not reversed, many of these projects will have to be scaled back, delayed, or canceled entirely. That would deprive communities around the country of the economic benefits these projects will bring and, most importantly, leave them more vulnerable to natural disasters for years to come.”

The plaintiffs argue this harm is already unfolding across numerous states and localities. ASFPM encourages members to read the lawsuit as well as this excellent analysis by Andrew Rumbach, senior fellow at the Urban Institute, who outlined some of its key components.

As reported by E&E News, in its court filings dated July 25, FEMA acting administrator David Richardson contends, “FEMA has not ended the BRIC program, contrary to publicity otherwise” and that “FEMA and DHS continue to evaluate whether to end the BRIC program or revise it in a manner to achieve its original purpose.” 

However, in an April 4 press release, which has since been removed from the FEMA website, the agency announced “FEMA is ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program and canceling all BRIC applications from Fiscal Years 2020-2023” and called the program “yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program.”  

In an April 18 advisory, FEMA reiterated its plan to end BRIC. “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 his ruling last week, U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns acknowledged the states’ concern that FEMA was taking definitive steps to end the program, despite the agency’s statements to the contrary:

“Although the Government equivocates about whether it has, in fact, ended the BRIC program, the States’ evidence of steps taken by FEMA to implement the announced termination portend the conclusion that a determination has in fact been made and that FEMA is inching towards a fait accompli. The agency has cancelled new funding opportunities and informed stakeholders that they should no longer expect to obtain any unobligated funds in existing projects,” Judge Stearns wrote.

The injunction does not release the funds to states but does block the government from reallocating BRIC funds for non-BRIC purposes while the case moves forward. 

“The court’s decision is a critical step toward protecting investments in disaster resilience and the commitments made to states and local partners,” said Chad Berginnis, ASFPM Executive Director. “Mitigation programs like BRIC are essential to reducing risk, protecting lives, and saving taxpayer dollars. Pulling the rug out from under states and communities midstream not only undermines resilience—it breaks trust. We’re hopeful this injunction allows for a full and fair review of the program’s value and helps put the focus back where it belongs: on proactive investments that make our communities safer.”

The states involved in the lawsuit are: Washington, Massachusetts, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

The post Federal Judge Blocks FEMA from Diverting BRIC Funds Amid 20-State Lawsuit first appeared on Association of State Floodplain Managers.

Important Note: The application window is very short.  The application period opens at Monday, July 28 and closes on Monday, August 11 at 5 p.m. ET. All applications must be submitted in FEMA GO.

In recent years, recipients of the CAP-SSSE grant have used this funding for various projects, including: 

• Helping communities rebuild after major flooding, including the wake of hurricanes Helene and Milton.
• Training local government officials on how to assess flood damage and submit claims for assistance, empowering them to manage disaster recovery.
• Developing resources to inform the public on what to do after a flood, helping individuals and families jumpstart their recovery. 

While the timeline is tight, ASFPM is encouraged to see this long-anticipated funding announcement for a program that’s critical to strengthening state floodplain management capabilities. On June 30, ASFPM joined a coalition of organizations in urging the administration to release Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) for key preparedness grants without further delay to ensure awards can be obligated before the close of the fiscal year. We remain hopeful that additional announcements are forthcoming.

The post FEMA Publishes Notice of Funding Opportunity for CAP-SSSE first appeared on Association of State Floodplain Managers.

According to the press release from Transportation and Infrastructure Committee leaders, the Fixing Emergency Management for Americans (FEMA) Act of 2025 streamlines the federal government’s disaster response and recovery programs while also making FEMA a cabinet-level agency once again that is directly accountable to the President. The bill rewards effective state and local preparedness, protects taxpayers, cuts red tape, and ensures that relief efforts are fast, fair, and free from political bias.

“The American people need an emergency management system that works quickly and effectively, not one that makes disaster recovery more difficult,” said Chairman Sam Graves. “But time and time again, we’ve heard the same story from state and local officials, emergency managers, and disaster victims: the federal process is too slow, complicated, and disconnected from the realities on the ground. Communities trying to rebuild are forced to navigate a maze of complicated rules, conflicting timelines, and mountains of burdensome paperwork. FEMA is in need of serious reform, and the goal of the FEMA Act of 2025 is to fix it. This bill does more than any recent reforms to cut through the bureaucracy, streamline programs, provide flexibility, and return FEMA to its core purpose of empowering the states to lead and coordinating the federal response when it’s needed.”

At its core, the legislation aligns with ASFPM priorities—strengthening FEMA, expanding hazard mitigation, and building state and local capacity. In our comments to the FEMA Review Council in May, we urged restoring FEMA’s independence as a Cabinet-level agency and incentivizing state and local leadership in hazard mitigation.

ASFPM welcomes the introduction of this legislation and the chance to work toward meaningful reform that will reduce flood losses nationwide. We’ll have more details in the Aug. 15 issue of News & Views after we’ve had a chance to review the bill in its entirety. 

Read more about the bill, including a section-by-section summary and the full text.

The post FEMA Act of 2025 Would Restore Agency’s Cabinet-Level Status, Streamline Disaster Response first appeared on Association of State Floodplain Managers.