BOSTON – Governor Maura Healey is today demanding that the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) reverse its decision to effectively cancel more than $7 million in federal disaster recovery funding from Massachusetts communities.
The funding is being used to repair coastal infrastructure that sustained significant damage in Hurricane Sandy and several other major severe winter storms, such as seawalls and stone revetments. These projects protect homes, businesses, roads, utilities and public spaces from coastal erosion, flooding and future storms while strengthening the long-term resilience of Massachusetts communities.
“Just weeks after President Trump rejected disaster relief for Massachusetts communities impacted by this winter’s storms, he’s now threatening to terminate funding that cities and towns have been relying on for years to advance critical coastal
“Public safety doesn’t begin when a storm makes landfall. It begins with preparing communities before disaster strikes,” said Public Safety and Security Secretary Gina Kwon. “These projects strengthen the infrastructure that protects residents, supports first responders and helps communities withstand increasingly severe weather. Canceling funding would make our communities less safe and put critical resilience projects at risk. Our municipal partners deserve the federal support they were promised to complete these essential public safety projects.”
“These are essential projects designed to protect people and property from increasingly stronger storms that can overwhelm aging infrastructure,” said MEMA Director Dawn Brantley. “Projects like this are particularly challenging given their locations and importance. They were approved following destructive storms in order to build more resilient communities. When legitimate project challenges occur, communities need to be allowed the time to ensure the projects are completed and are done right.”
FEMA recently notified the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) that it intends to deny additional time for disaster recovery projects related to Hurricane Sandy, the February 2013 severe winter storm, the January 2015 severe winter storm and the March 2018 severe winter storm. Without those extensions, communities could lose federal funding for projects that are still moving through the required design, permitting and construction process.
Many of the affected projects have taken years to advance because they involve repairing complex coastal infrastructure and require extensive engineering,
If FEMA moves forward with this decision, communities could lose funding they have been counting on for years. They could also be forced to repay federal money that has already been spent, leaving local taxpayers responsible for planning, engineering, design and construction costs that communities incurred while following FEMA’s own disaster recovery process.
The impacted projects include:
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Gloucester ($383,182):
Repairing the stone barrier at Cressy Beach. -
Hull ($485,102): Repairing the seawall along Gunrock Avenue at Crescent Beach.
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Marshfield: Repairing multiple seawalls and shoreline protections along Ocean Street and Foster Avenue.
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Nahant ($71,500): Repairing the seawall and beach access stairs at 40 Steps Beach.
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Quincy ($595,118): Repairing and rebuilding sections of the seawall in Hough’s Neck along Manet and Nut Avenues.
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Rockport ($2.76 million):
Repairing the seawall at Long Beach. -
Scituate ($2.89 million):
Repairing and rebuilding seawalls, stone barriers and beach access points at Surfside Road, First Cliff, Second Cliff, Third Cliff, Minot Beach and Glades Beach.
MEMA has notified the affected municipalities and will continue assisting communities with extension requests and appeals.
