Amid historic flooding, WA scores win over Trump administration on federal disaster funds

While the Skagit Valley and other areas across Western Washington were being inundated with floodwaters, a federal judge ruled Thursday against the Trump administration’s efforts to shut down an emergency program to protect infrastructure against natural disasters.

Washington, with several other states, sued the federal government over its attempt to shut down a Federal Emergency Management Agency program that funded levees around the coastal cities of Aberdeen and Hoquiam to protect residents from future flooding. After the federal grant program was slashed early this year, the program ground to a halt.

“The devastating flooding hurting communities across Western Washington right now underscores why these kinds of mitigation grants are so vital,” Washington Attorney General Nick Brown said in a news release Thursday. “This administration illegally canceled a longstanding bipartisan program, leaving communities more vulnerable because they have been unable to fortify against disasters.” 

In Washington, about two dozen projects funded by the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program were left in limbo. The court ruled Thursday that Trump’s termination of the program violated Congress’ decision to fund it, violating the separation of powers. Under the ruling, FEMA must reverse the termination of the BRIC program and make the funds available once more.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns wrote, “This is a case about
unlawful Executive encroachment on the prerogative of Congress to
appropriate funds for a specific and compelling purpose, and no more than
that.”

The end of FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program threatened to dry up nearly $195 million in federal funds destined for 27 projects across the state, according to the Washington Military Department. The projects include building a tsunami evacuation structure in Westport, adapting to sea level rise in the lower Duwamish Valley and updating hazard mitigation planning for counties including King and Snohomish.