Virginia lawmakers urge Department of Homeland Security to revive $12 million grant for Richmond’s water treatment plant

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Virginia lawmakers are urging the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to reverse its decision to cancel the $12 million federal grant Richmond was awarded for planned repairs to its water treatment plant.

On Monday, April 14, Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, Sen. Tim Kaine, Rep. Bobby Scott and Rep. Jennifer McClellan wrote to DHS secretary Kristi Noem urging the department to reverse its decision to cancel the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure (BRIC) program, which awarded Richmond $12 million in 2022 to repair its water treatment plant.

FEMA announced its cancelation of the BRIC program on Friday, April 4, with a spokesperson calling it "yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program."

In the letter, lawmakers noted that this cancelation of funding follows the Richmond area water crisis in January, which left residents with little to no water while under boil water advisories for six days.

Though Richmond Mayor Danny Avula said in a statement on social media that this funding cut would not impact immediate operations or delay improvements at the plant, lawmakers stated in the letter that the grant cancelation leaves the region vulnerable to the possibility of future water service disruptions and contamination.

"If this award is revoked, the region will be more susceptible to future water contaminations and disruptions in water delivery," the letter said.

Lawmakers further described the magnitude of the communities served by the treatment plant.

"This facility serves 4,721 businesses, 360 public properties, and 780 essential community facilities," the letter said.

The City of Richmond said these funds would have been used to repair the plant's feeder channel retaining wall and improve its pre-sedimentation berms, which redirect water flow.

The cancelation of funds came “in alignment with the President’s Executive Orders and under the direction of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Noem,” according to an email sent to the City of Richmond by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management.

McClellan referred to the funding cut as a "shortsighted action" following the water crisis.

"The Trump Administration’s shortsighted actions ignore the dire need to repair and update Richmond’s century-old water treatment plant, which failed miserably during January storms, cutting off access to drinking water throughout the region," McClellan said. "Without this grant, the region will undoubtedly face contamination and disruptions in drinking water service during future storms."

The following is the full letter sent to DHS:

Dear Secretary Noem:

We write regarding the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) recent decision to end the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program and cancel BRIC applications from Fiscal Years (FY) 2020 – 2023. We strongly urge you to reverse this decision that will impact vulnerable residents, businesses, and critical infrastructure in Virginia.

BRIC projects support Virginia localities as they work to reduce immediate hazard risks that threaten community safety. For example, the city of Richmond was awarded $11.99 million in FY2022 to address design flaws and degradation at the Richmond Water Treatment Facility. This facility serves 4,721 businesses, 360 public properties, and 780 essential community facilities. The project is intended to protect water treatment and distribution services for those within the facility’s service area, making the plant more resilient to 100-year flood events. Unfortunately, the necessity of this award was made clear earlier this year when the facility experienced a power failure that resulted in loss of water service for residents across the region. If this award is revoked, the region will be more susceptible to future water contaminations and disruptions in water delivery.

The potential revocation of existing BRIC awards is an unanticipated shock to Virginia localities that have budgeted, planned, and in some cases begun work on these crucial projects. The city of Portsmouth received a $24.21 million BRIC award in FY2022 to protect the community’s drinking water supply by enhancing the Lake Meade Dam. The dam, which serves as a critical reservoir for drinking water and supplies residential, commercial, and industrial users in the Hampton Roads area, is at risk of instability and potential overtopping during heavy precipitation events. The project involves strengthening the dam, upgrading spillways, and improving flood protection, all of which serves to protect the more than 80 occupied residential properties and almost 30 businesses within the dam break inundation zone.

The mission of the BRIC program is to build more resilient communities to prevent the need for reactive and more costly disaster spending. Terminating this program – and many of the awards made in recent years – will make communities in Virginia less resilient and more vulnerable to disaster events. We urge you to maintain this critical funding for localities in Virginia.

Thank you for your attention to this letter. We look forward to your response. U.S. Sen. Mark Warner, Sen. Tim Kaine, Rep. Bobby Scott and Rep. Jennifer McLellan

8News has reached out to the Office of Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) as well as Republican Congressmen Rob Wittman and John McGuire for comment. They did not respond as of the time of reporting.