Vermont’s attorney general has joined 19 other states in suing the Trump administration over its decision this spring to shutter a multi-billion dollar federal program that helps communities prepare for natural disasters like floods.
The funds were already allocated by Congress, and the lawsuit alleges the Trump administration’s actions are unconstitutional.
“Vermont has experienced flooding that has been devastating to some communities three years in a row, and these are projects that would prevent the impact of that flooding,” said Attorney General Charity Clark in an interview Tuesday. “We're planning for the future with these projects and without the money, it's going to be very difficult and probably impossible for these projects to be put in place, which makes some of our rural communities, especially, more vulnerable.”
Until recently, the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program covered as much as 90% of the cost of projects like restoring floodplains, upgrading culverts and fortifying bridges for rural communities.
Since it was approved by Congress — and President Donald Trump — in 2018, the program has financed $4.5 billion worth of disaster preparedness projects nationwide.
In Vermont, BRIC funds have largely been used to make public infrastructure more resilient to climate change, through upgrading culverts, protecting wastewater and drinking water facilities, and raising bridges.
Clark estimates Vermont communities were due to receive about $5 million in funding through the BRIC program, to fund 36 projects across the state. That money is now in limbo.
The lawsuit Vermont joined alleges it is unconstitutional for the Trump administration to terminate a program Congress has already decided to fund. Canceling the BRIC program, the states argue, is an overreach of presidential power and violates the administrative procedure act.
Meanwhile, Trump has called the program wasteful, and argued that states should shoulder more of the cost of preparing for and responding to disasters.
FEMA’s regional office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Attorney General Clark said the loss of funding is putting some small communities in Vermont in a bind.
In Brattleboro, BRIC funds were supposed to pay for a study to look at the most cost-effective ways to prevent Lower Whetstone Brook from flooding the downtown.
During Tropical Storm Irene, Whetstone Brook flooded roughly 60 structures in Brattleboro, and caused millions of dollars in damage.
Brian Bannon, the town’s zoning administrator, worked on the community’s application for BRIC funds.
He says Brattleboro received notice from FEMA that its application was approved, but the town hasn’t been able to access the award.
He says the study would cost about $140,000, of which BRIC was supposed to cover 75%. Absent federal funding, he says, “Our budget doesn’t support it, at least in the short term.”
Vermont now sees 50% more extreme rain than it did in the early 1990s, due to human caused climate change. That in combination with the state’s historic settlement patterns and topography, make communities here increasingly vulnerable to damage from flooding, and the state is seeing more frequent federal disaster declarations, many of which are for floods.
This marks the 23rd lawsuit Vermont has filed against the federal administration since Trump took office in January.
