▶ Watch Video: FEMA backlog delays projects aimed at protecting California from natural disasters
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is behind on approving major projects to protect Southern California totaling more than $191 million, a backlog that affects projects intended to reduce damage from floods, earthquakes, fires, and landslides, according to FEMA data.
The projects are supposed to be funded by a FEMA program called Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities — or BRIC. The Government Accountability Office has been studying the BRIC program over the last year.
“Back in March of 2025, the new administration came in, and they immediately canceled the BRIC program, and what we found is there wasn’t a lot of rationale behind that,” said Chris Currie, the director of the GAO’s Homeland Security and Justice team. “They basically said that it was wasteful at the time. When we looked at it, though, they made that decision pretty haphazardly and quickly without really thinking through any of that.”
California and 19 other states sued the federal government over the cancellation of BRIC, and in the spring of 2026, a federal judge ordered FEMA to continue the program.
Despite FEMA announcing BRIC was reinstated months ago, emergency management sources tell CBS California Investigates that FEMA has not approved any pending BRIC projects in California this year, and payments on already obligated projects are slow-moving.
A GAO report released in September says the backlog of projects nationwide totals $2.2 billion.
“Inflation happened. The cost increases happened. Labor prices increased,” Currie explained. “A lot of work had to be redone. In many cases, these projects couldn’t continue because they were twice as expensive as they were going to be before.”
Emergency management sources in California echoed those concerns, telling CBS California Investigates that some communities in the state scrapped their BRIC projects altogether due to the delays.
California has the most projects pending of any state in the country, some first submitted in 2022, including a flood control project in San Bernardino with a price tag of $15 million.
San Bernardino County declined an interview for this story, but provided a written statement to CBS California Investigates.
“We maintain a positive and productive working relationship with FEMA and Cal OES. We received initial confirmation in April that the funding was moving forward, as evidenced by the issuance of the Final Public Notice,” a county spokesperson wrote in an email to CBS California Investigates. “When the County originally applied for the grant, we factored in potential cost increases five years out, and we expect the project to remain within that allocation. The project is currently in design, and we continue to advance the work, so we are positioned to move into construction once funding is received.”
Some counties with projects impacted by the delays say they’ve had limited communication since the BRIC program went back online this year about where their projects stand and if or when any next steps should be expected.
This is happening, as some counties waiting on BRIC funds are also waiting on reimbursements for hazard mitigation funds that FEMA promised following natural disasters in those communities. Delays with those checks are putting some rural counties in a real financial bind, sources tell CBS California Investigates.
Emergency management sources say FEMA’s staff covering California projects has been significantly cut down, which could cause more delays.
Currie believes the delays could leave Californians at risk.
“The longer it takes to finish a resilience project, the greater the risk, wherever that project is,” Currie said. “You have to remember, I mean, the whole purpose of these projects is to reduce risk. So, if you don’t implement them, or they’re not done, the risk doesn’t change.”
In Orange County, a BRIC grant has already funded phase one of a project to build an elevated berm and vegetated sand dunes to protect a portion of Capistrano Beach from more intense flooding.
The construction phase — the phase for which FEMA is expected to pay $9,377,094 — is scheduled to begin next year, the county says.
But with FEMA’s backlogs, some experts fear phase two for projects like the one in Capistrano Beach — and others in California — could take a lot longer to move forward, and with flooding battering the coast this year, moving quickly is critical.
In October, Orange County Parks acquired an additional grant to supplement the BRIC project.
“The $2.4 million grant from the Ocean Protection Council helps to offset the County’s expenses to construct the Nature Based Shoreline project, and is meant to supplement the federal BRIC funding, not replace it,” a spokesperson for OC Parks wrote to CBS California Investigates in a written statement.
Some homeowners in the area are hoping for as many beach restoration projects as possible.
Asked about the delays to projects nationwide, Capistrano Beach homeowner Natalie Driessen said, “it’s horrible, you know, and I don’t think it’s right, and it’s sad.”
She says the beach in front of her Capistrano Beach home has changed dramatically since she bought it three years ago. Her house is now yellow-tagged, and she’s searching for answers to protect her community from further damage.
“I think we just have to be humanitarians again,” Driessen said. “I think we need to be fiscally responsible, but we need to be humanitarian, and if there are funds, we need to help people.”
Despite this backlog of hundreds of projects nationwide sitting unpaid, FEMA just put out a call for more applications this fall.
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-San Bernardino) says he intends to get answers from FEMA about the delays.
“From the beginning, Donald Trump has played politics with disaster relief. He has continued to release money for projects in Republican-held states and districts while leaving billions in aid requests unanswered from California,” he said in a written statement to CBS California Investigates. “Nearly two years after the devastating January 2025 wildfires that ravaged Southern California, families are still left waiting for help. Disaster aid should not depend on your zip code or political affiliation.”
CBS California Investigates reached out to FEMA for a comment, but has not yet received a response.
In a letter dated September 2, 2026, Jeffrey Bobich, FEMA’s executive director of financial management and systems, wrote to the GAO concurring with the GAO’s recommendations.
“FEMA is exploring opportunities to streamline the BRIC sub application process and expedite project reviews, while maintaining appropriate program oversight and compliance with applicable statutory, regulatory, and policy requirements,” Bobich wrote. “These efforts are intended to improve the applicant’s experience, support timely award decisions, and help ensure mitigation investments are delivered efficiently to communities.”
