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More than half of the money went to California, New Jersey and Washington State. The single biggest buyer was a $68 million flood control project in Menlo Park, California, where the average household income is more than $160,000, the typical home cost is more than $2 million, and only one in five residents is Black or Hispanic. The project will receive $50 million from FEMA.
By contrast, FEMA states that where the Cumberland and Ohio Rivers meet, St. Louis and Nashville, a town of just 240 people, Smithland, Ky. rejected applications from places such as The town has asked for $1.4 million to build an embankment along the riverbank, which has reached flood levels three times in the past 10 years.
“This is a lot of money for us,” said Garrett Gruber, the most senior elected official for Livingston County, which includes Smithland.
But he said that while the cost of the barrier is large compared to the value of the homes it will protect, it would be cheaper than erecting temporary barriers every time the river hills rise.
“I’m not sure what will happen if this grant is not eligible,” Mr. Gruber added. “As if you’d prefer me to evacuate the city.”
The rules governing the first round of the BRIC awards were set under the Trump administration. A senior Biden administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that the rules for the next prize round were changed and extra points were awarded to applications that benefit disadvantaged communities.
It’s part of the Biden administration’s “Justice 40” initiative, which calls on disadvantaged communities to receive the “overall benefits” of 40 percent of climate dollars, as defined and calculated by each federal agency. The initiative does not require a specific portion of climate finance to be spent on underserved communities.
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