BRIC by BRIC: Building Disaster Resilience with FEMA's New Funding Initiative | Capitol Beach

November 27, 2023

Camille Crain Discusses BRIC's Resilient Vision

On The Capitol Beach, Derek Brockbank hosts Camille Crain, the⁠ Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC)⁠ section chief within the ⁠Hazard Mitigation Assistance⁠ Division at FEMA. Only authorized 5 years ago, BRIC has quickly become one of the (if not the singular) biggest federal funding programs for resilience to natural hazards, in large part due to its funding coming directly from post-disaster funding. Specifically, 6% of Stafford Act disaster funding is now set aside for BRIC to improve resilience in communities pre-disaster. Even though BRIC is too new to have a fully a constructed project to its credit, the program is evolving to better support underserved communities, implement nature-based solutions, and provide technical assistance to communities unable to fully develop their own resilience project applications. BRIC currently has a ⁠funding opportunity⁠ of $1 Billion -- together with a $800 million opportunity from its “sister program”, Flood Mitigation Assistance -- with state applications due to FEMA on Feb. 29, 2024. All community applicants need to be part of state submissions, so individual applications will be due to their states’ hazard mitigation or emergency management office earlier. The next BRIC opportunity is anticipated for fall of 2024.

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Derek Brockbank

Derek Brockbank is Executive Director of Coastal States Organization (CSO), which represents the nation’s Coastal States, Territories, and Commonwealths on ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes issues. With two decades of experience in Washington DC on coastal adaptation policy and organizational development, Derek is connecting state coastal management programs with federal agencies and resources in order to address the greatest coastal challenges facing society. He previously served as executive director for the American Shore & Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) where he led the strategic planning and outreach, government affairs, and development goals of the nation’s leading organization advocating for beach and coastal restoration. Prior to starting with ASBPA, Derek worked as campaign director for a coalition effort to restore the Mississippi River Delta and Coastal Louisiana, and was part of a gulf-wide campaign to pass the RESTORE Act, securing billions of dollars for Gulf Coast restoration. This followed up on his work with National Wildlife Federation on climate adaption. Derek grew up in New York City and got his coastal education from an early age playing on the beaches of Long Island, and kayaking and fishing in Peconic Bay.