Moulton Warns of Local Danger From Federal Emergency Funding Cuts

Moulton said without federal support, Manchester might not have been able to fix the Central Street culvert before it failed, and Essex could not be shoring up the Causeway against the next nor’easter. ”

Against the stunning backdrop of Conomo Point in Essex on Monday, U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Salem), offered a dark warning:  federal cuts to emergency funding would cost lives.

Flanked by public safety and town leaders from Essex, Manchester, and multiple North Short towns, Moulton warned that proposed FEMA and MEMA emergency preparedness program cuts could have “devastating” consequences for coastal communities like Manchester and Essex that rely on competitive grants to harden their infrastructure against flooding and climate-driven storms. 

Moulton pointed to local projects already underway—including Essex’s $3 million PROTECT grant application to fortify the Causeway and Manchester’s $5 million Central Street culvert replacement—as examples of how federal dollars have real life impact.  He said the “chainsaw” reduction of those programs would leave towns shouldering costs they can’t afford. 

“Massachusetts is a donor state, so we pay more into the federal system than we take from it,” Moulton said.  “And we help other (states who need it).  We’re generous.”

“These are not luxuries — they’re lifelines,” he added, speaking to local public safety officials.  “Without federal support, Manchester might not have been able to fix the Central Street culvert before it failed, and Essex could not be shoring up the Causeway against the next nor’easter.  Pulling the rug out now puts these towns and their taxpayers in real jeopardy.” 

Flooding of the Essex Causeway has become undeniably more common, said Zubricki, which poses a real threat to human safety. 

“Flooding or failure of the bridge would split Essex in half, with 43% of our residents cut off from the town’s public safety building,” he said.

In Essex, the Route 133 Causeway is the town’s spine.  In January, after nearly two years of planning, the Boston Region Metro Planning Organization listed the “Route 133 Causeway Resilience Planning & Design Study” for a $3 million federal PROTECT grant in partnership with the MA Dept. of Transportation—the federal program created in 2021 under a bipartisan effort to help states and local governments strengthen surface transportation infrastructure against extreme weather, flooding, sea level rise, and climate change.  By the February deadline, the program closed its door to applications.

“We are a town with a $20 million annual budget.  We cannot afford $3 million to study the infrastructure’s ability to withstand flooding of a state road that supports the region’s economy.”

Manchester Town Administrator Tony Barletta echoed Zubricki’s telling of Essex’s Causeway funding halt.  Nearly two years ago, Manchester was successfully applied to securing a FEMA Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) infrastructure grant to replace the 100-year-old culvert that runs beneath Central Street, directly behind Town Hall.  Early this year, the town learned the BRIC program was being cut.

“If the culvert fails unexpectedly, we would also cut one side of the community from our police and fire response,” Barletta said. 

The Central Street Culvert project has already been thrust into the national spotlight.  Earlier this summer, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell toured the site alongside state and local officials, framing the $5 million replacement as the “poster child” in a 20-state lawsuit against the Trump administration.  The coalition alleges that cuts to the program were illegal, since only Congress can rescind congressionally approved funds. 

Earlier this month, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction, temporarily blocking FEMA from diverting BRIC funding.  It’s a win for Manchester, albeit a temporary one.

Barletta called the culvert “critical to public safety” and noted its dual role: flood management and protection of a major power line that supplies electricity to the entire Cape Ann region.  Select Board Vice Chair John Round tied the project to the local economy, noting, “If the culvert fails, that main power line goes with it.  That impacts the whole region.” 

Zubricki has called the project a matter of “basic survival” for a downtown that sits at sea level.  Every major storm brings the threat of inundation, underscoring the urgency of the PROTECT-funded work. 

Moulton pledged to fight the cuts in Washington, calling them short-sighted in an era of record flooding and intensifying storms.  “Investing in resilience saves money in the long run,” he said.  “It’s always cheaper to prevent a disaster than to rebuild after one.” 

Also standing with Moulton were Essex Board of Selectmen Alva Ingaharro and Peter Phippen.  Phippen asked Moulton what support Essex could expect with this year’s dredging of the federal channel in the Essex River by the US Army Corps of Engineers, which fell short of its goal to clear passage to a four-foot draft.  Moulton said he was aware of it and had started pursuing avenues for a solution. 

Ingaharro asked if the town’s three private marinas—which have paid more than $300,000 in permitting fees to “piggyback” onto the project to separately fund dredging of their portion of the harbor.  Moulton said he was optimistic they’d be included in the solution.