Healey, local mayors rip Trump after $90M in disaster aid for 18 Mass. communities is revoked

BOSTON — Gov. Maura Healey and several local mayors blasted the Trump administration over its apparent decision to terminate $90 million in disaster prevention aid that had been earmarked for more than a dozen Bay State communities.

In an announcement on Wednesday, Healey was highly critical of the federal government’s cancellation of funds from the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program, which provides disaster prevention aid to municipalities across the state.

“In recent years, Massachusetts communities have been devastated by severe storms, flooding, and wildfires. We rely on FEMA funding to not only rebuild but also take steps to protect against future extreme weather,” Healey said. “But the Trump Administration has suddenly ripped the rug out from under cities and towns that had been promised funding to help them upgrade their roads, bridges, buildings, and green spaces to mitigate risk and prevent disasters in the future. This makes our communities less safe and will increase costs for residents, municipalities, and businesses.”

Earlier this month, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said it was ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, calling the move part of efforts to eliminate “waste, fraud, and abuse.”

“The BRIC program was yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program. It was more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters,” the agency said in a statement.

The following municipalities and agencies are expected to be impacted by the cancellation of this program, according to Healey’s office:

• Boston: $22,894,600 for Resilient Moakley Park 
• Acton: $67,500 for Jenks Conservation Land Culvert Improvements 
• Chelsea and Everett: $49,999,999 for Island End River Coastal Flood Resilience Project 
• Hull: $49,500 to enhance Hull’s Existing Adopted Codes 
• Hinsdale: $81,720 for Powering the Hinsdale Public Safety Complex 
• Wilbraham: $150,000 for Glenn Drive Pump Station Generator 
• Lynnfield: $80,302.50 for Implementation of Permitting System 
• Longmeadow: $74,156 for Building Code Activities 
• Grafton: $37,500 for Merriam Road Culvert Improvement Project Scoping 
• Rockport: $320,000 for Thatcher Road Corridor Resilient Design 
• Newburyport: $50,250 for Drinking Water and Watershed Regulations Assessment & Update 
• Northbridge: $37,500 for Permitting Process Upgrade 
• Whately: $63,750 for Christian Lane Stormwater Flooding 
• Brockton: $124,050 for Keith Field Culvert Project Scoping 
• North Adams: $144,000 for Galvin Road Culvert Improvements Project Scoping 
• Taunton: $195,000 for Cobb Brook Culvert Study Project Scoping 
• Gosnold: $75,000 for Protection of Cuttyhunk Island’s Water Supply Project Scoping 
• Rockport: $8,437.50 for Building Code Capabilities Enhancement 
• Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission: $321,021 for Regional Building Code Inspection and Training 
• Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR): $11,969,908 for Tenean Beach/Conley Street Resilient Waterfront Project in Boston and $505,516 for Building Code Higher Flood Standards 
• Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA): $675,000 for Massachusetts Building Code Access, $300,000 for Statewide Voluntary Buyout Program Feasibility Study & Pilot Program, and $1,873,013 for State Management Costs 

The impacted cities and towns have been working closely with FEMA for years to advance these projects, which the federal government had already appropriated funds to support, according to Healey’s office.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu ripped the Trump administration’s decision as “unlawful.”

“The Trump administration’s unlawful cancellation of nearly $35 million in federal grants for flood protection projects at Moakley Park and Tenean Beach will put jobs, people, and property at risk,” Wu said in a statement. “These crucial projects follow years of community planning for critical access to open space while securing vulnerable flood paths so that thousands of families in the surrounding neighborhoods would be protected from storm surge and coastal flooding. We will fight to restore this funding to protect our communities.”

Chelsea City Manager Fidel Maltez said the loss of funding puts thousands of residents at risk.

“Chelsea is an environmental justice community that supports a significant share of the region’s essential infrastructure and services,” Maltez said in a statement. “The loss of BRIC funding for the Island End River Flood Barrier project puts over $7 billion in annual economic activity—and the safety of more than 5,000 residents living in the floodplain—at risk. We urge the administration to reconsider and restore this critical investment in frontline communities.”

Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria warned that the decision could prove “crippling” to the regional economy.

“Losing the FEMA funding that was initially approved in 2018 under the Trump Administration means not being able to address critical flooding that often threatens thousands of residential homes, access to our regional supply of fresh produce as well as a major and vital transportation corridor to the North Shore,” DeMaria said in a statement. “In addition to crippling our regional economy, this flooding is expected to happen almost weekly within five years and would cause the release of petrochemicals and hazardous materials that had been isolated for public health and safety.”

Hull Town Manager Jennifer Constable criticized the Trump administration as “short-sighted.”

“The Town of Hull appreciates the support and efforts of the Healey/Driscoll Administration in response to the short-sighted and unprecedented actions of the Trump administration,” Constable said in a statement. “Ending the BRIC program eliminates an important tool to coastal communities who are working diligently to build resiliency and mitigate the impacts of natural disasters on their communities. Providing funding to take mitigating measures against crises realized from natural disasters is both fiscally and programmatically sound planning and governing.”

Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper noted that grant funds have become more important in recent years, given the severe rise in extreme weather events caused by climate change.

“Climate change cannot be ignored,” Tepper warned.

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