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One Week Remains to Request Free FEMA Help for Mitigation Planning and Project Support

Release Date:
二月 22, 2024

WASHINGTON -- A deadline is approaching for communities and Tribal Nations to receive free FEMA help with hazard mitigation planning and potential Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) project support.

Communities and Tribal Nations that lack resources to begin climate resilience planning and designing projects have until Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024, to submit forms to request BRIC Direct Technical Assistance.

“As the nation faces increasing threats from climate change, we know there are communities that need support to increase their ability to better withstand the hazards of today and tomorrow,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. “Direct Technical Assistance is the tool FEMA has to provide hand-in-hand support to these communities. We want to help as many communities as possible to advance resilience. I encourage communities to apply while the application period is still open.”

FEMA’s BRIC Direct Technical Assistance offers tailored support to communities and Tribal Nations for up to 36 months through a range of activities from pre-application to grant closeout to further explore and better understand their specific requests for technical assistance.

The agency plans to announce the community and Tribal Nation selections later this summer. FEMA has already announced a total of 74 communities and Tribal Nations to receive support from FEMA’s BRIC Direct Technical Assistance. FEMA is expecting to make 80 additional selections from the open application period.

One example of a Direct Technical Assistance selection benefiting from the program is DePue, Illinois, an economically disadvantaged rural community. DePue  was the first DTA community selected in the BRIC national competition.  

Using $23 million from the FY2022 BRIC funding cycle, local leaders plan to build a new wastewater treatment plant on property outside flood prone areas. The old plant -- overwhelmed during flooding in 2008 leading to sewage backup in homes -- will be torn down to create open space. 

Project types from past BRIC Direct Technical Assistance requests include:

  • General support in grants management, project scoping and hazard mitigation planning.
  • Technical assistance and evaluation for climate risk assessment and nature-based solutions projects.
  • Natural hazards project scoping activities, such as flooding, drought, fire, typhoon and erosion.

To be considered for selection, applicants do not need a previous BRIC grant subapplication, award or a FEMA-approved Hazard Mitigation Plan. Interested communities and Tribal Nations can apply to this program by submitting a BRIC Direct Technical Assistance Request Form to fema-bric-dta-submission@fema.dhs.gov for this cycle of selections. 

For FEMA’s fiscal year, 2023 BRIC Notice of Funding Opportunity, communities and Tribal Nations requesting BRIC Direct Technical Assistance must identify at least two ongoing or potential community partners in the request form. Identifying community partners is essential as they will work with selected communities and Tribal Nations by providing collaborative support throughout the 36-month program to plan for climate resilience or design projects.

To learn more about BRIC Direct Technical Assistance, visit FEMA.gov.   

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