May 1, 2025
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) highlighted canceled flood prevention funding for Maryland communities – including Crisfield, Maryland – at the Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee’s “Examining Insurance Markets and the Role of Mitigation Policies” hearing. Senator Alsobrooks made clear just how disastrous these cuts are to Maryland communities that rely on these grants to stay safe during floods.
The witnesses at the hearing included Mr. Robert Gordon, Senior Vice President, Policy, Research & International, American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA); Mr. Alex Epstein, President and Founder, Center for Industrial Progress; Mr. Michael Newman, General Counsel, Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS); and the Honorable Jessica Pyska, Supervisor, County of Lake, California.
“In Maryland alone, there is $150 million worth of flood mitigation projects…that are now going to be canceled as a result of the cancellation of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program at FEMA. Two of these projects, very very heartbreaking for us, are in a place called Crisfield, Maryland. Which has helped an entire town protect their residents from storm surges as high as five feet helping to ensure that they can withstand severe storms. So, I would like to ask you, Ms. Pyska, from your perspective, as someone who has been a victim of natural disasters as well, how harmful is the cancellation of the BRIC program?” said Senator Alsobrooks.
“What’s so devastating is that our towns and cities actually apply for these funds. They spend years planning and these not only make them safer through flood mitigation but it also contributes significantly to their economies. And so canceling is absolutely catastrophic in many of these areas and absolutely irresponsible,” continued Senator Alsobrooks.
“The loss of the FEMA BRIC funding for our $36M Crisfield Flood Mitigation project is absolutely devastating to our community. A community where, according to recent news reports, the majority of the residents support this Administration. I doubt they truly understand that without this funding there is a real potential for loss of life in future storms, and it is certain that our homes, our businesses, and our schools will continue to be ravaged by the increasing frequency and intensity of storm surges, tidal flooding, and changing seas. Once the seafood capital of the world, our economic mobility will continue to stall, and FEMA will continue to spend millions of dollars in property damage replacement and repairs. Instead, our $36M Flood Mitigation project is about prevention, it is a comprehensive flood plan to build a seawall around Crisfield. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity that has been snatched from our hands…without the FEMA BRIC project our small waterfront community could never have competed; we could never have conducted the research and analysis required for this highly technical application, we just don’t have the resources, or the capacity. Thanks to the FEMA BRIC Direct Technical Assistance program, the culmination of 2 years of bi-weekly multi-agency collaboration engaging coastal scientists and storm water engineers, we developed a well-engineered project that earned us the #1 application in the nation for the FY23 FEMA BRIC program. Funding that is imperative for our future existence, in fact, our very survival,” said Crisfield Mayor Darlene Taylor.
WATCH ALSOBROOKS’ FULL QUESTIONING HERE
FEMA ended the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program and canceled all BRIC applications from Fiscal Years 2020-2023. The BRIC program funded local projects that reduce damage from flooding, tornadoes, and other weather-related events.
Crisfield’s $36 million Southern Flood Mitigation Project was the highest-scoring project nationwide in the FY2023 BRIC National Competition. The two-year collaborative multiagency project, developed in close coordination with FEMA’s DTA team and their exceptional subcontractors at CDM Smith, was designed to protect the entire southern portion of Crisfield from tidal flooding, storm surge, and rising seas. FEMA’s benefit-cost analysis process, required for all BRIC submissions, confirmed that every federal dollar invested would yield significant returns in avoided disaster losses. According to FEMA, mitigation projects nationwide save an average of $6 for every $1 spent.
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