The State of Alaska participates in the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program which provides grant funds to State agencies and local communities for the implementation of mitigation projects prior to a disaster event.

It is federally funded through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at 75% of the plan or project and requires a 25% local fund match.

The program is annual, nationally competitive and is intended to reduce overall risks to the population and structures, while also reducing reliance on funding from actual disaster declarations.

A BRIC grant is only available for communities that have a FEMA/State approved and community-adopted Hazard Mitigation Plan.

Hazard Mitigation Projects are intended to reduce risk to life and property and examples include:

• Elevation of flood-prone structures
• Structural and non-structural seismic retrofits of public facilities
• Voluntary acquisition or relocation of structures out of the floodplain
• Natural hazard protective measures for utilities, water, and sanitary sewer systems
• Localized stormwater management and flood control projects

 

- Breakdown of Funding Availability -

Important Applications Due Dates:

• Open Application Window: March 25, 2026 - July 23, 2026

• Date Application due to State of Alaska: May 15, 2026

• Date Application due to FEMA if applying Tribal Direct to FEMA: July 23, 2026

Funding Amounts Available:

• Total BRIC FY 2024 & 2025 Amount: $1 billion

• Subtotal State/Territory Allocation: $112 million

• Subtotal Tribal Set-Aside Allocation: $50 million

• Subtotal State/Territory Building Code Plus-Up Allocation: $56 million

• Subtotal Tribal Building Code Plus-Up Allocation: $25 million

• Subtotal Nationally Competitive Allocation: $757 million

• Maximum Amount Available Per State/Territory or Tribal applicant/sub-applicant: up to $2 million

New Changes for 2024 & 2025:

 Prioritize infrastructure resilience by funding construction projects that are ready to implement and incentivizing the adoption of the latest hazard-resistant building codes. This is a proven strategy to protect communities and reduce future disaster losses.

 Move money faster by eliminating phased projects, simplifying the National Competition scoring system, and removing subapplication scoring by the National Review Panel. This will enable community leaders to take swift, decisive action to bolster their resilience to disasters.

 Shift responsibility and authority to states, territories and Tribal Nations by removing funding for hazard mitigation planning and non-financial direct technical assistance provisions. The program now maximizes state and local responsibility for resilience and risk reduction rather than federal investing in a wide range of activities.

BRIC subapplicants (communities or tribes applying through the State of Alaska) are no longer required to have a FEMA-approved jurisdiction-wide hazard mitigation plan as a condition of receiving grant funds for project scoping subapplications. As such, the hazard mitigation plan exemption now applies to all C&CB activities:

(1) partnerships
(2) building codes
(3) project scoping

Federally recognized Tribal Nations submitting as subapplicants are included in this exemption. All applicants (State of Alaska if communities or tribes are applying via the State of Alaska) must still have a FEMA-approve mitigation plan.

Who is Eligible?

• State Agencies, Boroughs, Cities, and Federally Recognized Tribal Governments with a FEMA Approved and Locally Adopted Hazard Mitigation Plan as defined in 44 CFR Part 201

 

- Eligible Types of Work -

• Capability & Capacity Building Initiatives

 Project Scoping

 Risk Analysis

 Managed Retreat Plans

 Seismic Design Work

 Projects that help design, scope, identify or reduce risks from natural hazards

• Hazard Mitigation Retrofit / Protection Projects

 Structural Seismic Retrofits

 Structural Elevation and/or Relocation

 Property Acquisition & Demolition

 Soil Stabilization

 Protection of Critical Infrastructure from Natural Hazards

 Emergency Back Up Power for Critical Facilities

 High Wind Retrofit / Protection

 Critical Utility Hardening / Protection

 Wildfire / Combustible Fuels Reduction Projects

 

For More Information on BRIC or Funding Contact: (all hyperlinks are functional)

• SoA DHS&EM Hazard Mitigation Section: Updates

• SoA DHS&EM Homepage

• FEMA BRIC Webpage

 

• Rick Dembroski: Mitigation Specialist: mvamitigation@alaska.gov 

Desk Phone: 907-428-7606

 

FORMS

Notice of Interest Form

Notify State of Alaska of your intent to apply for a HMA projects  (email to mvamitigation@alaska.gov)