A coalition of cities, counties, and fire agencies from across California, Washington, and Arizona has filed suit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, challenging new requirements tied to federal disaster preparedness and emergency management grants.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, includes more than two dozen plaintiffs, including Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County Consolidated Fire Protection District, San Diego County, the City of San Diego, Santa Clara County, the City and County of San Francisco, the City of Oakland, the City of Berkeley, the City of Sacramento, the City of San José, Sonoma County, and the City of Tucson.

According to the complaint, fire and emergency agencies across the country depend on FEMA and DHS grant programs to fund critical operations. These grants pay for staffing, training, and specialized equipment; support bomb squads, hazmat units, and search and rescue teams; and provide resources for fire prevention, disaster planning, and mitigation projects. Programs identified in the complaint include the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG), Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER), and Fire Prevention and Safety Grants (FP&S), along with broader programs such as the Emergency Management Performance Grant (EMPG), Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP), and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP).

The lawsuit alleges that DHS has imposed new conditions on federal disaster grants. According to the complaint, the new “Standard Terms and Conditions” require:

• grant recipients and subrecipients to agree to and certify compliance with an interpretation of antidiscrimination law that is contrary to statutory and decisional law
• agree to use their limited resources to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal immigration enforcement activities and certify that use, and
• agree in advance to comply with all executive orders the President has issued and might in the future issue to advance and impose his domestic political agenda on them

The plaintiffs argue these new conditions are vague, overbroad, and unlawful, and would force local fire and emergency agencies into an “untenable choice”: accept the conditions or lose millions in federal funding.

The potential impact on fire service operations is significant. For example:

• Santa Clara County uses EMPG funds to staff emergency managers, purchase equipment for Emergency Operations Centers, and connect fire and community organizations into disaster response networks.
• San Diego County relies on HSGP dollars to staff and operate its Emergency Operations Center, fund regional alert and warning systems, and equip hazmat teams, firefighters, and EMS personnel.
• Los Angeles and Bay Area jurisdictions use UASI funding to support SWAT, canine, and bomb squad units, fusion centers, and large-scale regional emergency planning.

The lawsuit seeks a court order preventing DHS and FEMA from enforcing the contested conditions. Until then, fire departments and local governments may face uncertainty about the future of federal funding that many view as essential to staffing, training, and equipping emergency response operations. Here is a copy of the complaint.