Building Resilient Infrastructure & Communities Program

The Building Resilient Infrastructure & Communities program was authorized by the Disaster Recovery Reform Act of 2018 (DRRA) to assist States and local governments, and Indian Tribal governments in applying cost-effective hazard mitigation activities that complement a comprehensive mitigation program. The BRIC program provides funds to states, territories, tribal governments and communities for hazard mitigation planning and the implementation of mitigation projects before a disaster event occurs. Funding these plans and projects reduces overall risks to populations and structures, while also reducing reliance on funding from actual disaster declarations. BRIC grants are awarded by FEMA on a competitive basis, with a focus on supporting communities through capability and capacity building, encouraging and enabling innovation, promoting partnerships, enabling large projects, maintaining flexibility and providing consistency.

The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency administers this federal grant program in Georgia.

Eligible Applicants

Public agencies, including State and local governments, are eligible to apply for BRIC grants.

Applicants must participate and be in good standing in the National Flood Insurance Program. Information about participating NFIP Communities is available here. A letter of recommendation from the county emergency management agency director is recommended.

Planning Criteria

For BRIC funding consideration, local governments must have an active FEMA approved Hazard Mitigation Plan. This plan also must include mitigation actions that support the proposed project.

Eligible Activities

Those eligible per the 2015 Hazard Mitigation Assistance Guidance found here.

Additional eligible activities for BRIC grants include

  • Project scoping
  • Building code projects
  • Activities related to wildfire and wind mitigation (DRRA Section 1205)
  • Earthquake early warning (DRRA Section 1233)

Projects Must:

  • Be cost-effective
  • Reduce/eliminate risk and damage from future natural hazards
  • Meet one of the latest two consensus codes (2015 or 2018 international building codes)
  • Align with local Hazard Mitigation Plan
  • Meet all environmental and historic preservation requirements

Other Eligible Project Types

Development of State or local plans that meet requirements of the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000.

Priorities

The priorities for the program are to:

  • incentivize public infrastructure projects;
  • incentivize projects that mitigate risk to one or more lifelines
  • incentivize projects that incorporate nature-based solutions;
  • and increase funding to Applicants that facilitate the adoption and enforcement of the latest published editions of building codes.

Project Funding

The federal share of BRIC funding cannot exceed 75 percent of the total eligible project cost. For communities that meet FEMA’s definition of being a small and impoverished community, the BRIC funding cannot exceed 90 percent of the total eligible project cost. The non-federal share may be met with cash, contributions, certain other grants such as Community Development Block Grants, Increased Cost of Compliance flood insurance payments or in-kind services.

FEMA Grants Outcome is the grants management system to use for applying for the BRIC and Flood Mitigation Assistance non-disaster hazard mitigation grant programs. Interested applicants are encouraged to create an account with FEMA Grants Outcomes system here.

Technical Assistance

GEMA/HS Hazard Mitigation department offers technical assistance to local governments for project identification and application preparation. All applications start with the completion of a pre-application hich is available for download here. Additional information about BRIC is available on FEMA’s website.

Current Grant Information

Pre-applications for the BRIC program are accepted by the GEMA/HS Hazard Mitigation Department on a rolling basis. Please contact (404) 635-7522 or [email protected] for more information.