MONTPELIER, Vt. (WCAX) - Vermont and New York are among 23 states that will be able to retain disaster mitigation funding after a federal court ruled that FEMA illegally terminated a key program.

The states argued that the Trump administration acted illegally when it announced in April that it was ending the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program.

A $120,000 flood mitigation study in Brattleboro was among the projects put on hold .

But a federal judge in Massachusetts ruled Thursday that FEMA lacked authority to terminate the program and violated federal law by withholding congressionally appropriated funds. The judge also ruled that FEMA’s attempt to redirect BRIC funds to other disaster programs violated appropriations law.

In Vermont, the state has 36 projec

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