FRANKFORT, Ky. (Dec. 11, 2025) – Today, Gov. Andy Beshear announced that a federal judge ruled in favor of Kentucky, 21 states and the District of Columbia and barred the Trump administration from unlawfully withholding disaster funds tied to a key pre-natural disaster mitigation program administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The lawsuit, filed in the summer, set out to protect more than $21 million in funding appropriated by Congress and awarded to Kentucky projects aimed at protecting lives and communities from future natural disasters.
FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program provides crucial funding aimed at making communities safer and more able to withstand major storm damage.
“In Kentucky, we’ve faced more than our share of natural disasters and this FEMA funding is essential to our rebuilding efforts across the state, including our high-ground communities in Eastern Kentucky,” said Gov. Beshear. “Ending this program is more than just short-sighted, it’s just plain wrong. I am glad the judge agreed and ruled that Kentucky’s $21 million was unlawfully withheld.”
FEMA’s termination of the program left the commonwealth with 13 unfunded projects despite Congress appropriating over $18 million in funding. The termination also cut nearly $3 million awarded to Kentucky for management costs.
Projects that were at risk include flood control measures, emergency generators, warning sirens and more for Eastern Kentucky; as well as a $10.5 million project in Frankfort to identify the most effective flood protection for the city after its second highest flooding in history this past April.
Along with Kentucky, plaintiffs in the lawsuit included the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the District of Columbia.
A copy of the lawsuit is available here.
