Before You Apply for Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Funds

Funding

Eligibility

Capability- and Capacity-Building Activities

Technical Assistance & Resources

Cost Share, Pre-Award & Management Costs

Phased Projects

Period of Performance

Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) funds may be used for:

• Capability- and capacity-building activities
• Mitigation projects
• Management costs

Existing project types detailed in the Hazard Mitigation Assistance Guidance for the Pre-Disaster Mitigation grant program are eligible under the BRIC program.

Projects must:

• Be cost-effective.
• Be designed to increase resilience and reduce risk of injuries, loss of life, and damage and destruction of property.
• Meet either of the two latest published editions of relevant consensus-based codes, specifications and standards.
• Align with the applicable hazard mitigation plan (HMP).
• Meet all criteria found in the 2023 Hazard Mitigation Assistance Program and Policy Guide (HMA Guide).
• Meet all applicable federal, state, tribal, and local floodplain and land use laws defined in the HMA Guide.
• Meet all Environmental and Historic Preservation (EHP) requirements.

Funding

For fiscal year 2023, FEMA will distribute up to $1 billion through the BRIC program in the following manner:

Eligibility

Eligible states, territories and federally recognized tribal governments can submit applications on behalf of subapplicants for BRIC funding via FEMA Grants Outcomes (FEMA GO). This is the grants management system to support FEMA grant programs.

Applicants may have their own priorities or requirements when screening their subapplications. Subapplicants cannot submit these directly to FEMA. Subapplicants must submit them to their applicant for review and submission.

Homeowners, business operators and nonprofit organizations cannot apply directly to FEMA. However, they can be included in a subapplication submitted by an eligible subapplicant.

Applicants and Subapplicants

Applicants often determine mitigation priorities. These are generally aligned with the program's visions and goals. The State Hazard Mitigation Officer (SHMO) or the equivalent representative for a federally recognized tribal government or territory can help choose which hazards pose the greatest threat and determine the best strategy for mitigation. From these broad strategies, subapplicants weigh public interest and target specific projects to benefit their communities.

Entities interested in creating BRIC subapplications may contact town/city/county managers, as well as planning and emergency management offices within local governments. These include cities, townships, counties, special districts and federally recognized tribal governments.

For local governments, please contact your SHMO to learn about the applicant’s priorities, deadlines and further requirements.

APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

• Applicants may include states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and federally recognized tribal governments under the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994.
• Each state, territory, federally recognized tribal government and the District of Columbia shall designate one agency to serve as the applicant for BRIC funding. Each agency may submit only one BRIC grant application to FEMA. An application can be made up of an unlimited number of subapplications.
• Applicants must have a FEMA-approved state or tribal Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) by the application deadline. They also must have one at the time of obligation of grant funds.
• State or territory: Must have received a major disaster declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act in the 7 years before the application period start date. All states, territories and the District of Columbia are eligible to apply in fiscal year 2023.
• Federally recognized tribal government: Must have received a major disaster declaration under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to apply. All federally recognized tribal governments are eligible to apply in fiscal year 2023. Eligibility includes:
  • The tribe received a major disaster declaration in the 7 years before the application period start date; or
  • The tribe is at least partially in a state or territory that had a major disaster declaration in the 7 years before the application period start date.

SUBAPPLICANT ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

• Local governments, including cities, townships, counties, special district governments, state agencies and federally recognized tribal governments (who choose to apply as subapplicants) are considered subapplicants. They must submit subapplications to their state, territory or tribal applicant agency.
• Subapplicants must have a FEMA-approved local or tribal Hazard Mitigation Plan in accordance with Title 44 Code of Federal Regulations Part 201 by the application deadline. They must also have one at the time of obligation of grant funds for hazard mitigation projects and capability- and capacity-building activities. Hazard mitigation planning and planning-related activities, partnerships and building codes are exempt from the plan requirement. Federally recognized tribal governments, submitting as subapplicants to a state or territory, are included in this exemption.
• Federally recognized tribal governments can choose to apply as a subapplicant to an eligible state or territory.

Capability- and Capacity-Building Activities

Capability- and capacity-building activities enhance the knowledge, skills and expertise of the current workforce to expand or improve the administration of mitigation assistance. This includes activities in the following sub-categories:

• Building codes.
• Partnerships.
• Project scoping.
• Hazard mitigation planning and planning-related activities.

FY 2023 Funding for Capability- and Capacity-Building

Capability- and capacity-building activities can only be submitted under the State/Territory Allocation and the Tribal Set-Aside. All applicants need to ensure their capability- and capacity-building activities up to $2 million are ranked in order within FEMA GO.

Technical Assistance and Resources

View the list of Program Support Material Resources or visit the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) page for more program information.

Cost Share Requirements, Pre-Award Costs and Management Costs

A cost share is required for all subapplications funded under BRIC. The non-federal cost share funding may consist of cash; donated or third-party in-kind services and materials; or any combination thereof. FEMA will provide 100% of the federal funding for management costs. Cost share amounts are as follows:

• Generally, the cost share for this program is 75% federal cost share funding/25% non-federal cost share funding.
• Hazard mitigation projects performed within, and/or that primarily benefit, a designated Community Disaster Resilience Zone are eligible for an increase in BRIC cost share up to 90% federal / 10% non-federal with the goal to lessen the financial burden on communities to perform resilience-related activities.
• Economically Disadvantaged Rural Communities (EDRCs) are eligible for an increase in funding, up to a 90% federal cost share/10% non-federal cost share. EDRCs are communities of 3,000 or fewer people, identified by the applicant, with residents having an average per capita annual income no more than 80% of the national per capita income, based on the best available data.
• For insular areas – including American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands – FEMA automatically waives the non-federal cost share for the recipient when the non-federal cost share for the entire award is under $200,000. The applicant may request the waiver when they apply.
• FEMA provides 100% federal cost share funding for management costs.

Pre-Award Costs

Pre-award costs directly related to developing the BRIC grant application or subapplication that are incurred before the date of the grant award are subject to FEMA approval at the time of award.

These are examples of costs incurred prior to the application submission: gathering National Environmental Policy Act data; developing a benefit-cost analysis (BCA); preparing design specifications; and conducting workshops or meetings related to development and submission of subapplications.

To be eligible for BRIC funding, pre-award costs must be identified in an individual line item in the cost estimate of the subapplication.

Pre-award costs may be cost shared. Applicants and subapplicants may also identify them as their non-federal cost share.

Costs associated with the execution of proposed projects in the submitted grant application or subapplication that are incurred before the date of the grant award are not allowed. Activities begun or completed before the date of the grant award are generally not eligible.

There is financial assistance to reimburse the recipient and subrecipient for eligible and reasonable indirect costs, direct administrative costs, and other administrative expenses for a specific mitigation measure or project in an amount up to 15% of the total grant award. Of this amount, no more than 10% may be used by the recipient and 5% by the subrecipient for such costs generally.

Applicant requests for management costs must be submitted in a separate subapplication in FEMA GO. Applicants may submit up to 10% of the application budget. This includes subapplicant management costs for applicants to administer and manage award and subaward activities. The subapplicant management costs (up to 5%) must be added to the subapplication total budget prior to the calculation of the applicant management costs (up to 10%).

Phased projects are allowed for complex projects for which FEMA provides funding to subapplicants. Before FEMA issues a full construction approval, these subapplicants must prepare all technical and environmental information. This includes design, engineering studies, final BCA, and permitting. Phasing is for projects that are further along in development but for which there are not enough funds to complete certain technical pieces. Phasing a project reserves funds through the same grant cycle.

Phase I funds will be awarded first. After FEMA reviews and approves the Phase I deliverables, Phase II construction funding will be awarded.

If a project is shown not to be cost effective or technically feasible after Phase I is done, FEMA still funds the costs of Phase I. Any funds allocated to the project then go back into the funding pot for the next grant cycle.

The period of performance (POP) is 36 months; it starts on the date of the recipient’s federal award. Any subsequent amendments to the federal award will not extend the POP unless explicitly stated. The applicant may submit a request for a longer POP. A longer POP must be requested, documented, reasonable and justified. Extensions to the POP are allowed.