BRIC Program Updates

FEMA released the FY2024-2025 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) on Wednesday, March 25, 2026.

BRIC provides federal funds for pre-disaster hazard mitigation activities that reduce future disaster costs, protect public infrastructure, and increase community resilience against natural hazards. This cycle prioritizes investment in construction-ready infrastructure projects and the adoption and enforcement of modern building codes, while limiting capability- and capacity-building activities to those directly tied to infrastructure.

Total available funding is $1 billion. Oklahoma's State/Territory Allocation is capped at $2 million, and the State/Territory Building Code Plus-Up is capped at $1 million. The National Competition pool totals $757 million.

The application period runs from March 25 through July 23, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. ET. Oklahoma applicants will need to submit their applications by mid-June to give OEM plenty of time to review and submit the applications by the deadline. OEM will share that exact deadline date soon.

• Project cap reduced: The maximum federal share per National Competition project has decreased from $50,000,000 to $20,000,000.
• Hazard Mitigation Planning not eligible: BRIC no longer funds hazard mitigation plan development or updates. Capability- and capacity-building activities must directly support infrastructure, such as building code adoption and enforcement or project scoping for specific infrastructure projects.
• Phased projects are not eligible and construction readiness heavily weighted: Projects at 90%+ design receive 30 of 90 possible points in the National Competition. Communities should advance project designs as far as possible before submission.

Procurement must follow 2 CFR 200. Potential subapplicants should be aware that a contractor hired to develop the grant application, project plans, or project budget cannot compete for the contract to implement or construct that same project unless a single contract covering both phases was competitively procured in compliance with federal procurement standards under 2 C.F.R. Part 200. Local governments and potential subapplicants should plan their procurement strategies early to avoid disqualifying conflicts of interest that could delay or disallow project costs. Local governments and nonprofits must maintain written conflict-of-interest standards for all staff involved in contract selection and administration. All recipients must maintain procurement documentation covering method rationale, contract type, contractor selection, and price basis. All infrastructure projects must comply with the Build America, Buy America Act.

OEM will require recipients to submit their procurement policy, documented procurement process, selection rationale, and executed contract documents before OEM processes any reimbursement under a federal award.

Subapplicants must hold a FEMA-approved Local Hazard Mitigation Plan at the application deadline and at obligation. However, the FEMA Regional Administrator may grant an exception if a jurisdiction meets at least one of the following criteria:

• Qualifies as a small impoverished community
• Lacked sufficient capacity or expertise to complete the planning requirement
• Experienced significant disruption from a declared disaster
• Lacks a plan for reasons beyond its control

If granted, the jurisdiction must obtain a FEMA-approved plan within 12 months of the subaward or face termination. Subapplicants pursuing capability- and capacity-building activities are exempt from the plan requirement. I will support any jurisdiction who needs to request extraordinary circumstances. 

Review the NOFO. Verify your Local Hazard Mitigation Plan status, confirm active SAM registration, and begin developing project scope, cost estimates, and benefit-cost analyses. OEM will follow up with additional guidance and webinar opportunities. 

Please direct questions to hm@oem.ok.gov.