NC AG Jeff Jackson tours Fayetteville bridge project site to highlight FEMA funding cuts
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- On behalf of North Carolina, Attorney General Jeff Jackson joined a lawsuit filed by more than a dozen other states against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) after they say it canceled more than $200 million in previously approved funding for more than 60 infrastructure and climate resilience projects across the state.
One of those projects is in Fayetteville, where officials had planned to use $15.4 million from FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program to replace four bridges and restore streambanks along Blounts Creek. The goal was to stabilize the area, reduce roadway erosion, and protect water flow during storms.
Places like Fayetteville relied on FEMA's approval and only started spending money once the approval had come in. You add all that together and it's a very strong legal argument.- Attorney General Jeff Jackson
Jackson toured the Fayetteville site on Tuesday, after filing the lawsuit in July. City officials said they had already committed or spent more than $3.5 million of their roughly $6 million they planned to spend, in addition to the FEMA funding, when they were notified that the federal funds had been pulled. The initial notification about the funding being pulled did not include a justification for why the funding would no longer be available.
"Fayetteville had every reason to trust FEMA when FEMA said that they had been approved for this money," Jackson said during the visit. "Fayetteville has done everything that has been asked of them. It's only right now that FEMA step up and do their part."
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The city had planned major upgrades, including bridges on Russell Street and Person Street, along with creek widening to mitigate flooding.
A judge granted a preliminary injunction in response to the lawsuit, freezing the $200 million in question while the case moves through court.
"Congress was very clear. They told FEMA, here's how we want you to spend this money. Congress gave the money to FEMA and then told FEMA, here's how we want you to spend it," Jackson said. "Places like Fayetteville relied on FEMA's approval and only started spending money once the approval had come in. You add all that together and it's a very strong legal argument."
FEMA is contesting the lawsuit, rejecting claims made by Jackson and 22 other attorneys general that the funding was rescinded unlawfully.
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