The additions bring the total entities to receive the assistance to 167.
The non-financial direct technical assistance helps support the communities that don’t have the resources to begin climate resilience planning and design on their own. It helps jurisdictions reduce disaster damage, build community resilience and sustain mitigation programs.
The BRIC program helps jurisdictions find grants that can help them develop disaster and climate resilience and then works with those communities to advance their resiliency goals and objectives.
“Due to the Biden-Harris Administration’s focus on helping historically underserved communities access the resources they need to thrive, FEMA has doubled each year the number of places receiving direct technical assistance through BRIC,” Senior Official Performing the Duties of Deputy Administrator Victoria Salinas said in a press release. “All communities should have the opportunity to understand their risks, design transformational resilience projects and successfully navigate grant processes.”
The direct technical assistance program began in 2020 and includes among its success stories Crisfield, Md., which was subsequently selected for a $36 million flood control project that will provide improved protection, stormwater management and wetland health. Eastwick, Pa., was also selected for a $2 million project to install a flood barrier.