The Federal Emergency Management Agency will provide $150,000 to Pennsylvania for flood mitigation efforts in Dalton related to the severe flash-flooding event of Sept. 9, 2023, that swamped parts of the Abingtons, Scranton and other areas of the region, the agency announced.
The funding will go “to conduct engineering, environmental, feasibility and benefit-cost analyses in Dalton Borough following a severe storm September 2023,” according to the April 22 announcement.
The funding is part of $250 million distributed nationwide for projects to make local communities more resilient to floods. Along with Pennsylvania in FEMA’s Region 3, other states that got funds include: Virginia, $3.8 million to elevate 13 flood-prone homes to reduce or eliminate National Flood Insurance Program claims; West Virginia, $1.8 million to acquire and demolish 11 NFIP-insured structures and have the land maintained as open space; and Maryland, $824,000 to elevate two structures above a flood plain.
These awards are distributed through FEMA’s Flood Mitigation Assistance and Swift Current programs that “empower states to take proactive action against the devastating impact of floods,” which are the most common and costly type of natural disaster, the announcement said.
“Under DHS (Department of Homeland Security) Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s leadership, FEMA is working diligently to address the backlog of funding requests,” according to the announcement.
Dalton Borough Secretary Laura Kinney, center, speaks during the Sept. 21, 2023 Dalton Borough Council meeting about the process of getting reimbursed for flooding that hit the borough Sept. 9, 2023. (TIMES-TRIBUNE / FILE PHOTO)
Meanwhile, Scranton still awaits word on the status of FEMA restoring $2.8 million for the city under a different program called BRIC to fund buyouts of 21 flood-prone properties and the razing of 17 homes in Keyser Valley and North Scranton neighborhoods that were damaged in the September 2023 flash floods and are now condemned.
The Trump administration last April eliminated FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities pre-disaster mitigation program, under which Scranton previously had the buyout funding advancing in that pipeline. BRIC began under the first Trump administration in 2018. But last year, FEMA had said ending BRIC will help ensure grant funding aligns with Republican President Donald Trump’s executive orders and then-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s direction “and best support states and local communities in disaster planning, response and recovery.”
Trump fired Noem in early March, replacing her with Mullin a few weeks later.
FEMA’s announcement of eliminating BRIC added, “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. Under Secretary Noem’s leadership, we are committed to ensuring that Americans in crisis can get the help and resources they need.”
A coalition composed of 22 states, which includes Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C., led by Democrats sued in July in federal court to get BRIC restored. In December, a federal court reinstated BRIC and issued an enforcement order last month.
But it’s still unclear whether BRIC funding will be reinstated or if Scranton will have to reapply for eligibility, as FEMA remains impacted by a partial federal government shutdown, Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti said April 17 during a media event in Scranton held by her, state Rep. Kyle Donahue, D-113, Scranton, and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency Deputy Director for Recovery Larry West to highlight a state funding program that helps fill financial gaps encountered by victims of disasters.
State Rep. Kyle Donahue, center, speaks with Scranton Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) Deputy Director for Recovery Larry West at the West Scranton Field Friday, April 17, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)