Citizen Portal
Sign In

Cancellation of BRIC awards imperils Chelsea‑Everett island and river flood‑protection project

Joint Committee on Emergency Preparedness and Management; House Committee on Federal Funding, Policy and Accountability · November 20, 2025
AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

City officials told lawmakers FEMA's termination of BRIC funding withdrew a $50M award for the Island and River Flood Resiliency Project, leaving a $120M plan without federal construction funding and forcing difficult tradeoffs between shelving the full project or phasing it with a ~$30M first phase.

Ben Cares, director of Chelsea’s Office of Housing and Community Development, and Emily Granoff, deputy director and project manager for the Island and River Project, told the committee that FEMA withdrew a $50,000,000 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) award that had been selected for Chelsea and Everett’s island and river flood‑resiliency work.

Cares said the project protects a 500‑acre flood plain that includes the New England Produce Center — a regional distribution hub he described as serving "9,000,000 people" across New England and the Canadian maritime provinces — as well as schools, health‑care facilities and critical freight and commuter corridors. He said a single catastrophic flood could inflict tens to hundreds of millions in economic losses for the region.

Granoff said the project’s full build cost is estimated at $120,000,000 and that the BRIC award represented the largest single award in FEMA Region 1 history. She said design was nearly complete when FEMA announced in April 2025 it was ending BRIC, withdrawing approximately $90,000,000 in BRIC awards across Massachusetts and leaving many projects without construction funding.

With the federal grant gone, Chelsea and Everett face two main options: complete design and permit work and shelve construction until funding returns, or break the project into phases. Granoff said a targeted first phase that would protect the New England Produce Center and nearby freight corridors could cost about $30,000,000. Both cities had previously committed a combined $10,000,000 local match and were working with the state’s Federal Funds and Infrastructure Office (FFIO) to secure approximately $45,000,000 in state matching funds; those state efforts were also jeopardized because they were structured to match the BRIC award.

Speakers urged the Legislature to consider state funding to maintain momentum and prevent years of delay on a project they described as regionally critical. "We can't afford to wait," Granoff said. "If you like being able to buy produce at the grocery store... that's heavily dependent on the New England Produce Center remaining operational and remaining dry."