20 states sue FEMA for canceling grant program that guards against natural disasters

Twenty Democratic-led states filed suit Wednesday against the Federal Exigency Management Agency challenging the elimination of a long-running grant operation that helps communities guard against damage from natural disasters The lawsuit contends President Donald Trump s administration acted illegally when it broadcasted in April that it was ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities plan FEMA canceled certain projects already in the works and refused to approve new ones despite funding from Congress In the wake of devastating flooding in Texas and other states it s clear just how critical federal tools are in helping states prepare for and respond to natural disasters revealed Attorney General Andrea Pleasure Campbell of Massachusetts where the federal lawsuit was filed By abruptly and unlawfully shutting down the BRIC initiative this administration is abandoning states and local communities that rely on federal funding to protect their residents and in the event of tragedy save lives FEMA did not right now respond Wednesday to a request for comment It disclosed in April that the effort was wasteful and ineffective and more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters The project established by a law provides grants for a variety of mishap mitigation efforts including levees to protect against floods safe rooms to provide shelter from tornadoes vegetation management to reduce damage from fires and seismic retrofitting to fortify buildings for earthquakes During his first term Trump signed a law shoring up funding for mishap threat reduction efforts The campaign then got a billion boost from an infrastructure law signed by former President Joe Biden That law requires FEMA to make available at least million annually for accident mitigation grants for the - fiscal years the lawsuit says The suit contends the Trump administration violated the constitutional separation of powers because Congress had not authorized the scheme s demise It also alleges the scheme s termination was illegal because the decision was made while FEMA was under the leadership of an acting administrator who had not met the requirements to be in charge of the agency The lawsuit says communities in every state have benefited from federal mishap mitigation grants which saved lives and spared homes businesses hospitals and schools from costly damage Specific communities have already been affected by the decision to end the undertaking Hillsborough North Carolina had been awarded nearly million to relocate a wastewater pumping station out of a flood plain and make other water and sewer system improvements But that hadn t happened yet when the remnants of Tropical Storm Chantal damaged the pumping station and forced it offline last week In rural Mount Pleasant North Carolina town authorities had hoped to use more than million from the BRIC effort to improve stormwater drainage and safeguard a vulnerable electric system thus protecting investments in a historic theater and other businesses While the region largely supports Trump assistant town manager Erin Burris noted people were blindsided by the lost funding they had spent years pursuing I ve had downtown property owners saying What do we do Burris revealed I ve got engineering plans ready to go and I don t have the money to do it Associated Press reporters Jack Brook Michael Casey and Gary D Robertson contributed to this review Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press Overview for America Statehouse News Initiative Account for America is a nonprofit national facility plan that places journalists in local newsrooms to assessment on undercovered issues