Trump cuts money meant to relocate people from flood-prone area of Pierce County
The Trump administration’s decision to cut an infrastructure and community grant program from the Federal Emergency Management Agency this month has upended Pierce County’s plans to demolish and relocate 45 mobile homes in a flood-prone valley near Tacoma, to the joy of its residents.
The Pierce County Planning and Public Works Surface Water Management department was awarded a $10 million FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant in 2022 for the acquisition and demolition of the Valley Brook Village Mobile Home Park off River Road East near the Tacoma city limits.
Pierce County was notified that FEMA had canceled the grant mid-April, according to public information specialist Amanda Smith. The grant was meant to fund the relocation of tenants whose homes were at risk of flooding from Clear Creek and the Puyallup River. It was also meant to help the county acquire the land to restore it into a natural floodplain, Smith said.
The FEMA BRIC grant program was canceled because the “program resulted in a lack of concrete results and a majority of funding [was] awarded to only a few states,” according to an April 16 memo from FEMA shared with The News Tribune. “FEMA is working to develop a new approach to mitigation that is more responsive to state and local requirements, achieves clear mitigation goals and results in more-timely obligation of funding.”
According to a description of the project, which has been deleted off FEMA’s website and was found saved in the internet archive Wayback Machine, seven major flooding events have affected the Valley Brook Village community since the 1960s. The grant Pierce County received would have allowed the county to acquire and demolish the 41 structures on the site and give “holistic relocation support” to 40 families.
“By returning the floodplain to its natural function, this project provides a nature-based solution to reduce flooding by reconnecting roughly seven acres of floodplain. It will also create a critical intertidal refuge habitat for salmon,” FEMA had said on its website. “The project will safeguard community-wide environmental and public health as flooding of Valley Brook’s septic system could cause water quality issues.”
Smith said the county planned to remove up to 45 mobile homes, two recreational vehicles and one duplex from the flood plain. As of Thursday it was unclear how or if Pierce County would be able to continue with the project. Smith said the county is determining whether the project could move forward without the BRIC grant funds. Smith said the county might still receive $2.5 million from FEMA to acquire the parcel, but that along with the county’s local match aren’t enough to acquire the parcel at today’s market rates.
“Pierce County will meet with the Emergency Management Division of Washington Military Department to discuss potential strategies that might allow the project to move forward, either partially or fully,” Smith said. “The use of alternate funding sources may be identified. The county will keep this project as a high priority for acquisition as it is in the highest Repetitive Loss Area in the county and will significantly reduce flood risks for vulnerable community members.”
Residents interviewed by The News Tribune on Thursday celebrated the cancellation of the grant, saying flooding has not been a big issue for them in recent years. All of the residents are retirement age and low-income, a requirement to live in the community, many said.
A few residents said they wished the FEMA grant hadn’t been terminated the way it was by the Trump administration, but all said they had expected to live the rest of their days in the neighborhood, had invested in their mobile homes and could not afford to live anywhere else.
Smith said in a statement to The News Tribune April 28 that should the project move forward, “Pierce County will provide residents with vital support at each step to secure affordable housing and lessen the emotional and financial impact of moving. No decisions or actions will happen before more conversation and dialogue with the residents.”
“The county will follow the Uniform Relocation Act to provide wraparound support services that help community members in this transition and host community engagement events to keep Valley Brook Village residents informed and involved with future decisions,” she said in an email. “We understand the impact of relocating families, particularly in tight-knit communities like Valley Brook Village. Our top priority is the safety and well-being of Pierce County residents, and relocation is only discussed when life-threatening risks are present. The Valley Brook Village community has repeatedly experienced significant flooding issues over the decades, most recently in 2006 and 2009. It is not a matter of if this neighborhood will flood again, but when.”
As reported by the Seattle Times, the end of FEMA’s BRIC grant program could dry up nearly $195 million of federal funds destined for 27 projects across the state, including tsunami-evacuation efforts, sea level rise adaptations and hazard-mitigation planning. President Donald Trump has openly stated his desire to withhold disaster aid from Democrat-led states like California that do not implement policies he supports and has floated the idea of getting rid of FEMA altogether.
On April 4, FEMA ended the BRIC program and canceled all its applications from fiscal years 2020 through 2023. Funds that had not been distributed were required to be “immediately returned” to the Disaster Relief Fund or the U.S. Treasury. The BRIC program was established in 2018 during Trump’s first administration.
Earlier this month Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called the program “yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program … more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters.”
Mobile home park residents relieved by grant’s demise
Sandie McNaughton has lived in the mobile home park for 12 years and enjoys its tranquility, small community and easy access to the freeway. When she first moved to the neighborhood, McNaughton said, nearby Clear Creek flooded the bottom of a small bridge leading into the complex, which is the only way in and out.
Since then a mitigation area was formed near the complex and trees were planted, which has reduced flooding, McNaughton said. Residents who live higher up on the hill don’t have issues, but some whose homes are on the lower side have seen flooding in their backyards, she said.
One couple who said they have lived on the lowest side of the complex for about five years said they remembered hearing of severe flooding more than a decade ago but have only encountered “a little bit of water” in their backyard from the creek during heavy rains.
Thursday was the first time any of the six residents The News Tribune spoke to had heard the FEMA grant was canceled. Many residents said Pierce County hasn’t communicated much with them, except for advertising public meetings. All said they were happy to hear the grant was canceled and that they wouldn’t have to move for the time being.
“I’m retired here. I don’t ever plan on leaving here,” said McNaughton, who noted she just finished work on her backyard, put in new flooring and installed a new heat pump. “We’ve been kind of living on pins and needles.”
Neighbor Cindy Williams said many of the residents aren’t able to afford housing elsewhere. Williams has lived there for 20 years and said she’s established friendships in the neighborhood, including on the nearby Puyallup reservation. She said she was happy the FEMA grant was canceled because it means she gets to stay in her home but is concerned about the Trump administration rolling back so many environmental protections and grants.
“I have mixed feelings about it,” Williams said. “I’m a two-time cancer survivor, and I want to have my life here. This is where I planned on living it out. And I think a lot of people are that way here.”
Barbara Droettboom has lived at the complex for eight years with her husband and as guardian of her sister in a three-bedroom, two bathroom mobile home she has renovated. She’s struggled to find another place large enough to accommodate her family on her fixed income. Droettboom said some of her neighbors would end up homeless if they were forced to leave by the county.
“It would be quite devastating if we all had to move,” she said. “It would uproot us at the end of our lives.”
This story was originally published April 28, 2025 at 5:30 AM.
