Staff Report
Chelsea and Everett officials were notified last week that a $50 million grant to alleviate the potential for flooding along the Island End River on the Chelsea and Everett border was abruptly canceled by the Trump administration. The primary purpose of the Island End River project had been to protect the nearby New England Produce Center from flooding. The project had been in the works for the last several years.
The Island End River project was one of many coastal resilience projects in Massachusetts that were terminated by the Trump administration, altogether totaling $90 million across the state.
“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 and access to our regional supply of fresh produce, as well as a major and vital transportation corridor to the North Shore,” said Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria. “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.”
“Chelsea is an environmental justice community that supports a significant share of the region’s essential infrastructure and services,” said Chelsea City Manager Fidel Maltez. “The loss of BRIC (Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities) 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.”
For the past several years, Chelsea and Everett have been working together to make sure that the New England Produce Center is less susceptible to flooding by constructing a seawall and keeping the open culverts clear and in working condition to divert the sea water in the surrounding marsh areas.
The New England Produce Center supplies most of the fresh foods and produce to the New England region.
Governor Maura Healey criticized the Trump Administration’s cancellation of the BRIC grant program, which provides disaster prevention aid to municipalities across Massachusetts. This action revokes $90 million for 18 communities, a regional planning commission, and two state agencies.
“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 to take steps to protect against future extreme weather,” said Healey. “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.”
“As a former mayor, I know firsthand how cities and towns rely on FEMA funding to recover from disasters and prepare for the next storm. We urgently need to be making our communities more resilient, but the Trump Administration is undermining this important work,” said Lieutenant Governor Kim Driscoll. “Our administration is here to support our local leaders as much as we can, and we have impactful resilience programming underway, but we need the federal government to uphold their end of the bargain.”
“Climate change cannot be ignored. For every dollar we invest in resilience today, we save $13 in avoided damages and economic impacts,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “At DCR, we were preparing to upgrade Tenean Beach, elevate Conley Street, and restore the nearby wetlands to provide important flood protection to nearby environmental justice communities and public transit. Each BRIC award represents a neighborhood that needs support. These are real costs our communities will bear with the loss of BRIC funding.”
BRIC is an annual FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant funded by FEMA and administered through a partnership with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). BRIC makes federal funds available to states, U.S. territories, federally recognized tribal governments, and local governments for hazard mitigation activities, which have become all the more important in recent years given the severe rise in extreme weather events caused by climate change.
The following municipalities and agencies are expected to be impacted by the cancellation of this program:
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
These cities and towns have been working closely with FEMA for years to advance these projects that the federal government has already appropriated funds to support. For instance, cities and towns have moved forward with expensive permitting applications and engineering and design plans, due to FEMA’s identification of their project as a future recipient of federal BRIC funds.
These are some of the statements from officials in other impacted municipalities:
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu:
“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. 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.”
Hull Town Manager Jennifer Constable:
“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. Ending the BRIC program eliminates an important tool to coastal communities who are working diligently to build resiliency and mitigate impacts of natural disasters to its communities. Providing funding to take mitigating measures against crises realized from natural disasters is both fiscally and programmatically sound planning and governing.”