Overview
- U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns declared FEMA’s termination of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program void and ordered the agency to promptly reverse it and reinstate program policies and funding.
- The decision issues a permanent injunction and finds the shutdown violated separation of powers and the Administrative Procedure Act.
- A coalition of 22 states and the District of Columbia sued after the April move to end BRIC, following an August order that had already blocked diversion of more than $4 billion.
- BRIC had roughly $4.5 billion approved for nearly 2,000 mitigation projects, and studies cited by officials estimate each dollar invested saves $6 to $13 in future disaster costs.
- A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told the Associated Press the department has not terminated BRIC, underscoring uncertainty over how the court’s order will now be implemented.