RICHMOND, Va. — The City of Richmond says a nearly $12 million federal grant that would have been used for upgrades to its water treatment plant has been canceled.
The funding in question was a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program.
In an email obtained by CBS 6, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM) told city officials about the loss on Friday and said it was a part of the Trump administration's broader move to shutdown the program and canceling all grants that hadn't already been given out.
In a news release on April 4, when FEMA announced the closure of the BRIC program it said it 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."
It added about $882 million from the program would be returned to Congress to be reappropriated and over $3.6 billion would remain in the Disaster Relief Fund.
Richmond was awarded its grant in August 2023.
While the news release is no longer on FEMA's website, an archived version said the money would be used to "improve the feeder channel, concrete wall, and berms at the Richmond Water Treatment Facility,"
In a statement, Richmond Mayor Danny Avula said he was disappointed by the decision and called it short-sighted, but added it won't impact immediate operations at the plant and won't delay improvements that stemmed from January's water crisis.
"By cutting funding for critical infrastructure, the federal government is shifting significant costs directly onto our residents and ratepayers. I urge FEMA to reissue these funds, and I will work with our federal reps to advocate for our residents," Avula said.
"We saw earlier this year how critically important it is to upgrade these water facilities, how they cannot handle a natural disaster," said Rep. Jennifer McClellan, who represents Richmond in the House of Representatives.
McClellan said this decision will hurt Richmond's ability to meet the needs of its residents, especially during natural disasters. She added the administration is taking a narrow view of the program and working with Virginia's Congressional delegation to get it restored.
"They seem to only be looking at whether something is in direct response to a natural disaster, but it's much better to prevent a disaster than to respond to it," she said. "It's much cheaper, and we are, as a delegation, looking at ways to make sure the Trump administration understands that."
To that end, McClellan signed on to a letter along with Virginia's Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA-03) that was sent to Department of Homeland Security (which oversees FEMA) Secretary Kristi Noem and asked the decision be reversed.
The letter also revealed that a $24 million grant for improvements to the Lake Meade Dam in Portsmouth was also impacted by the shutdown.
While he did not sign on to the letter, Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) also responded to the decision. He represents some of the counties surrounding Richmond that also lost water service during the crisis.
"The Richmond water crisis was devastating – our community deserves safe, dependable water systems. We must secure funding for the Richmond water treatment plant’s overdue upgrades, which is why I plan to speak with the administration to highlight this urgent need in our community and work to find a solution for these critical upgrades," Wittman said.
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