Portland Cement Association Issues Public Comment on FEMA Notice

WASHINGTON, May 16 -- Sean O'Neill, senior vice president for government affairs at the Portland Cement Association, has issued a public comment on the Federal Emergency Management Agency's notice entitled "Hazard Mitigation Assistance: Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities". The comment was written on May 11, 2020, and posted on May 13, 2020:

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The Portland Cement Association (PCA) applauds your leadership in implementing the Disaster Recovery Reform Act (DRRA) and appreciates the opportunity to comment on the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) policy.

The cement industry supports the important steps the DRRA takes to proactively invest in mitigation and resiliency. Over the last several years, natural disasters have grown in intensity. Wildfires, floods and hurricanes have devastated communities. Last year was the fifth consecutive year the United States has experienced ten or more natural disasters each with a recovery cost of more than a billion dollars. The costs of natural disaster relief and recovery demonstrates the importance of pre-disaster mitigation and proactive steps to invest in community resilience.

The BRIC program authorized by the DRRA is critical to ensuring states and communities make investments that will mitigate the impacts of natural disasters and improve the resilience of the nation's infrastructure. As the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) moves forward with the implementation of BRIC, it is important to not only place greater attention on pre-disaster mitigation but also the steps to improve the resilience of infrastructure. Improving the resiliency of the nation's infrastructure will increase its durability, longevity, disaster resistance, and safety. Providing grants to states and communities to implement cost-effective mitigation projects will increase resilience and public safety and reduce injuries, loss of life, and damage and destruction of property, including damage to critical services and facilities. The BRIC program will help communities reduce the frequency and scope of rebuilding after natural disasters.

Cement is a critical building material to helping states and communities build disaster resistant infrastructure. Concrete forms when Portland cement is mixed with water and aggregate (sand and rock) and allowed to harden. Cement holds the mixture together and has a similar role to flour in cake mix.

Concrete plays an important role in improving the resiliency of infrastructure across the nation. Of all construction materials for buildings, concrete is the most disaster-resistant and is utilized in the critical aspects of a structure to improve its durability and disaster resistance. Builders, architects, and designers recognize that most durable public buildings are often built with concrete to resist damage from natural disasters. Mitigation projects funded by BRIC should ensure recipients are using building materials like concrete that have a proven track record of being able to better withstand disasters.

Strong building codes are also an important component of improving the resiliency and durability of infrastructure. For these reasons, PCA supports the BRIC policy highlighting the adoption of consensus-based codes, which include the two most recently published editions of codes, to receive funding for a mitigation project. The adoption and implementation of current building codes is a strong defense against natural disasters and a cost-effective method for protecting lives, homes and businesses. Ensuring projects funded by BRIC are built to the latest published editions of the relevant consensus-based codes, specifications and standards ensures the projects built include the latest hazard-resistant design to reduce future vulnerability to disasters and the need for future disaster recovery funding.

Finally, the cement industry supports the BRIC policy highlighting work on capability and capacity building to help grant recipients expand or improve the administration of mitigation assistance. This provides the opportunity for grant recipients to partner and learn from others who can teach them more about steps to take to improve disaster mitigation. For example, the cement industry would be interested in partnering with a grant recipient to teach them not only about the benefits of building with cement from a resiliency perspective but in designing buildings and infrastructure built to increase mitigation to future disasters.

Again, thank you for leadership in working to implement the BRIC program. PCA appreciates the steps FEMA is taking to promote greater investment in pre-disaster mitigation.

Sincerely,

Sean O'Neill

Senior Vice President, Government Affairs

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The notice can be viewed at: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=FEMA-2019-0018-0001

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