By Wendy Liberatore
Albany Times Union
ALBANY — New York’s attorney general has joined 18 other attorneys general and the Pennsylvania governor in a legal battle seeking to stop the administration of President Donald J. Trump from cutting $4.5 billion in promised funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for pre-approved projects intended to protect people and property from natural disasters.
State Attorney General Letitia James is seeking an injunction stopping what the states allege is the illegal shutdown of a 30-year-old bipartisan Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, a move that would pull more than $325 million from New York infrastructure projects. Those cuts include $24 million for the Vischer Ferry Dam project that was meant to mitigate ice jam flooding between Locks 7 and 8 on the Mohawk River.
“This administration’s decision to slash billions of dollars that protect our communities from floods, wildfires, and other disasters puts millions of New Yorkers at risk,” James said in a statement. “New Yorkers depend on quality roads, flood walls, and other vital infrastructure to keep them safe when disaster strikes. This administration has no authority to cut this program that has helped save countless lives, and I will continue to fight to ensure New York gets the support we need to prepare for dangerous natural disasters.”
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts on Wednesday, argues that multiple studies have shown that every dollar spent on mitigation saves an average of $6 in post-disaster costs.
“Thus, Congress has consistently funded an all-purpose, pre-disaster mitigation program … for decades,” the civil complaint reads. “All that changed when Cameron Hamilton, who the Trump administration unlawfully installed to act as FEMA’s administrator, suddenly — and illegally — shut down the program.”
James and others allege that Hamilton, who was fired by the Trump administration in May, lacked authority to cut the program as its funds are directed by Congress and that funding cannot be spent on other programs.
In April, the Trump administration ended the FEMA program, known as BRIC, diverting more than $4 billion out of FEMA’s pre-disaster mitigation fund and into funds for post-disaster grants.
“This abrupt termination has jeopardized critical projects throughout the country,” a statement from James’ office said. “Communities have been forced to delay, scale back, or cancel hundreds of projects that depend on BRIC funding. Projects that have been in development for years, and in which communities have already spent millions of dollars for planning, permitting, and environmental review are now threatened. As a result, Americans across the country face a higher risk of harm from natural disasters.”
In addition to the $326 million, Gov. Kathy Hochul said there is $56 million at stake for projects that are already underway.
“In the last few years, New Yorkers have faced hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, wildfires and even an earthquake –– and FEMA assistance has been critical to help us rebuild,” Hochul said in a statement. “Cutting funding for communities across New York is short sighted and a massive risk to public safety. Without support for resilience projects now, our communities will be far more vulnerable when disaster strikes next.”
She also said that it’s impossible for any state to backfill the proposed cuts that will also jeopardize the removal of the high-hazard Upper Minkel Dam, a Westchester County project that expected $731,000 in funding. In Buffalo, the city was approved for $284,000 in FEMA funding to improve building codes and project designs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In Clifton Park, Hochul’s office said that the state Power Authority had “no organized method for addressing ice jam formation anywhere on the state canal system.” The Vischer Ferry project would have reduced the formation of ice jam flooding and flush ice from the Vischer Ferry impoundment.
Clifton Park Supervisor Phil Barrett did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
New York City, which is particularly prone to flooding, was expected to receive federal funds for 19 different projects, James’ office said. This includes $50 million for the Central Harlem Cloudburst Flood Mitigation Project, designed to provide flood protection for more than 45,000 residents vulnerable to flash floods from the Harlem River.
Joining James in the filing are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
