FEMA PUBLISHES PUBLIC NOTICE FOR THE NEW BUILDING RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE AND COMMUNITIES GRANT PROGRAM [https://www.fema.gov/news-release/20200727/fema-publishes-public-notice-new-building-resilient-infrastructure-and] Release Date: April 15, 2020 WASHINGTON – FEMA has published a public notice of proposed policy in the Federal Register outlining the agency’s new Building Resilience Infrastructures and Communities, or BRIC, grant program. The new program will replace the existing Pre-Disaster Mitigation program. It is envisioned to support states, local communities, tribes and territories as they undertake hazard mitigation projects to reduce the risks they face from disasters while providing proactive investments in community resilience. The program is authorized as part of the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 legislation. Reforms from this legislation originated as lessons learned from the economic disruption and increased nationwide disaster costs caused by the historic 2017 hurricanes and wildfires. Stakeholders may view and provide comments on the policy for 30 days at regulations.gov [https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FEMA_FRDOC_0001-6726]. The notice was published on April 10, 2020.  Comments must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on May 11. Although FEMA recognizes there may be operational constraints for some to publicly comment during these challenging times, FEMA is proceeding with publishing the proposed BRIC policy for notice and public comment in order to keep program implementation moving forward. In developing the policy, FEMA spent months in 2019 undertaking a comprehensive stakeholder engagement effort to learn the challenges in implementing mitigation projects. Additionally, feedback was solicited on recommendations for how the new program can be responsive to the needs of all levels of government. Comments received from the 2019 engagement process can be viewed on FEMA.gov [https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/186461]. Following the review and adjudication of comments received on the proposed policy, FEMA anticipates finalizing the policy and releasing a funding notice later this fall.   ###