The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s decision to end its Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program has town officials in Whately and Colrain going back to the drawing board to figure out how to fund hazard mitigation work in their communities.

Both Colrain’s plans to apply for roughly $30,000 to update its Hazard Mitigation Plan, as well as Whately’s existing application for $63,750 in BRIC funding to pay for flooding mitigation on Christian Lane, have been eliminated.

“We sent in the materials to apply, and then a week or two before we were supposed to take the next step, we got a notice that the BRIC funding had been taken back,” Colrain Town Administrator Diana Parsons said. “We need to probably circle up with our emergency management director and see if there’s other funding available.”

FEMA, on April 4, announced that it was ending the BRIC program, which provided grants for municipalities to plan long-term hazard mitigation projects.

In its written announcement, FEMA attributed the cuts — which totaled $882 million nationally — to choices made by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. (FEMA became part of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003, according to FEMA’s website.) It also stated that allocated, but undistributed, funds will be “immediately returned” either to FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund or the U.S. Treasury.

“The BRIC program was yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program. It was more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters,” FEMA wrote. “Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, we are committed to ensuring that Americans in crisis can get the help and resources they need.”

Of the $882 million in disaster prevention aid that was eliminated nationwide, Massachusetts saw roughly $90 million in cuts spanning 18 communities as well as a Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission, the Department of Conservation and Recreation, and the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

MEMA, according to a written statement from Gov. Maura Healey’s office, will see a nearly $2.85 million cut and DCR will face nearly $12.48 million in cuts to projects that include the Tenean Beach and Conley Street Resilient Waterfront Project in Boston.

Parsons, at a Selectboard meeting Tuesday night, said that in the absence of BRIC funding, she will pursue possible funding alternatives from the state. She noted that having an up-to-date Hazard Mitigation Plan is one of FEMA’s requirements for disaster relief eligibility. Colrain’s existing Hazard Mitigation Plan was approved by FEMA in 2020 and it expires in November 2025.

“The town might just have to try to work on updating it ourselves, because I don’t know how it’s going to work with FEMA anymore,” Parsons said. “Who knows what changes we’re going to see on the federal level?”

In Whately, the town applied for flooding mitigation funding on behalf of Christian Lane resident Jeff Kocot — who testified to the Selectboard in 2023 that stormwater frequently floods his yard. Former Whately Town Administrator Brian Domina previously said the clay pipes on the northern side of Christian Lane have been infiltrated by tree roots, causing a blockage.

“It’s unfortunate that that funding has been lost,” Whately’s current town administrator, Peter Kane, said in an interview Wednesday. “It was going to be used to investigate stormwater issues in one particular neighborhood.”

Kane added that the town will likely be responsible for the process of mitigating the Christian Lane flooding issues — a task that he expects will be costly.

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.