The lawyers of 20 states have joined forces to challenge Trump’s decision to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency Program that funds projects to protact the cities and coasts of flash floods, storm tests and other natural disasters associated with extreme climate.
In a lawsuit filed on July 16 at the Boston Federal District Court, state officials claim that the acting administrator of Fema, Cameron Hamilton and his successor, David Richardson, had no legal authority to close unilaterally in April of the Resistant Infrastructure and Communities building (Bric). Demand argues that they violated the United States Constitution by not spending funds approved by Congress for the program and trying to find other uses for the funds. He is asking the court to prevent FEMA to use these funds elsewhere and to return Bric funding to the recipients.
Founded by Congress in 2018 through the Law on Disaster Recovery Reform, the program has distributed more than $ 5 billion for disaster mitigation projects since its inception.
The impact of the elimination of the Bric program has been “devastating”, arguing the states in their brief legal. United States communities “ are forced to delay, climb or cancel hundreds of mitigation projects based on this funding. Projects that have been developing for years, and in which communities have invested millions of dollars to plan, allow and environmental review are now threatened.In the meanwhile, North -Americans throughout the country have a higher risk of damage by natural disasters ”.
The states of demand include Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Pensilvania.
In California, $ 1.26 billion had resisted for danger mitigation and disasters through the Bric program, but only $ 73.5 million had been forced before the program was eliminated. In New York, 38 projects worth more than $ 380 million can be at risk, Letitia James, New York Attorney General.
Texas, where the floods devastated more than 120 people in the Hill country earlier this month did not join the demand. Of $ 667 million for the Bric program in Texas, about $ 157 million have already been obliged, according to their database.
