FEMA Offers Every State $2 Million to Adopt Safer Building Codes
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) offers every state $2 million to adopt safer building codes. This comes after a series of reports showing that most local building codes are archaic and leave millions of people highly exposed to climate impacts.
According to Scientific American, the unprecedented funding — from the Federal Emergency Management Agency — follows a series of reports showing that most local building codes are archaic and leave millions of people highly exposed to climate impacts. It also comes after President Joe Biden launched an initiative in June 2022 to help states and localities adopt the latest building codes.
“This is the single largest investment ever at the federal level in support of hazard-resistant building codes,” said Gabe Maser, senior vice president for government relations at the International Code Council, which publishes model building codes that local officials can adopt.
“It sends an incredibly powerful message,” Maser added.
The new FEMA money comes as some state legislatures, under pressure from builders, block plans by state agencies to adopt new building codes. New codes — often criticized as costly — typically have stronger construction standards and account for the latest effects of climate change.
“The goal here is simple: Building codes save lives,” said Victoria Salinas, FEMA’s associate administrator for resilience. Salinas cited reports that partly blamed weak building codes and lax enforcement for the death of 56,000 people during an earthquake in Syria and Turkey in February.
“There are plenty of places in the U.S. where we still have a long way to go,” Salinas said. “Less than 25 percent of municipalities have adopted the latest building code.”
FEMA is offering $2 million to every state and U.S. territory — if they apply for the money and have their applications approved. The agency also is offering a total of $25 million to tribal nations.
When FEMA previously offered states annual grants for climate resilience, a few states never applied. Many others received only a portion of the available money.