N.C. Resilient Coastal Communities Program

 

The N.C. Resilient Coastal Communities Program aims to facilitate a community-driven process for setting coastal resilience goals, assessing existing and needed local capacity, and identifying and prioritizing projects to enhance community resilience to coastal hazards. Participating communities will walk through a framework leading to the development of “shovel-ready” projects. Local governments throughout the 20 coastal counties will be eligible to apply for direct technical assistance to complete a community engagement process, risk, and vulnerability assessment, and develop a resilience project portfolio.

The four phases of the program include:

  • Phase 1: Community Engagement and Risk & Vulnerability Assessment
  • Phase 2: Planning, Project Selection, and Prioritization
  • Phase 3: Engineering and Design
  • Phase 4: Implementation

This initiative, funded through the N.C. State Legislature and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, will provide funding to local governments to help overcome barriers in coastal resilience and adaptation planning, boost local government capacity, and support a proactive, sustainable, and equitable approach to coastal resilience planning and project implementation.

RCCP Information & Materials

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The North Carolina Resilient Coastal Communities Program Planning Handbook provides guidance to contractors and local governments in completing Phases 1 and 2 of the N.C. Resilient Coastal Communities Program. The handbook identifies the specific program requirements, as well as existing data, tools, and resources to help communities meet these requirements.

Mackenzie Todd, Coastal Resilience Specialist

Kasen Wally, Coastal Resilience Specialist  

Tancred MillerPolicy & Planning Section Chief

Krista Early, Coastal Resiliency Coordinator

Program Email: RCCP@ncdenr.gov

For questions specifically related to land use planning and how this initiative overlaps with CAMA Land Use Plan updates, reach out to your District Planner.

 

Phases 1 & 2: Community Resilience Strategies & Project Portfolios

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The main deliverable for Phases 1 and 2 is a Resilience Strategy consisting of a combination of the deliverables developed throughout this process. While this is not meant to be a comprehensive resilience plan, the information in this Resilience Strategy may later be used to create a comprehensive Resilience Plan or be integrated into existing local plans and ordinances. Having a planning document like this helps to provide clarity of purpose, attract funding, and provide a more direct path to implementation.

Year

Community Resilience Strategy

Community Project Portfolio

Amount

2020-2022

Aurora

Aurora

$30,000

2020-2022

Beaufort

Beaufort $30,000

2020-2022

Beaufort County

Beaufort County

$30,000

2020-2022

Belhaven

Belhaven

$30,000

2020-2022

Bertie County

Bertie County

$30,000

2020-2022

Cape Carteret

Cape Carteret

$30,000

2020-2022

Craven County

Craven County

$30,000

2020-2022

Currituck County

Currituck County

$30,000

2020-2022

Dare County-Hatteras Island

Dare County-Hatteras Island 

$30,000

2020-2022

Duck

Duck

$15,000

2020-2022

Hertford

Hertford

$30,000

2020-2022

Hertford County

Hertford County

$30,000

2020-2022

Hyde County-Ocracoke

Hyde County-Ocracoke

$30,000

2020-2022

Leland

Leland

$30,000

2020-2022

Nags Head

Nags Head

$15,000

2020-2022

Navassa

Navassa 

$30,000

2020-2022

Pamlico County

Pamlico County 

$30,000

2020-2022

Pine Knoll Shores

Pine Knoll Shores

$15,000

2020-2022

Sunset Beach

Sunset Beach

$30,000

2020-2022

Swansboro

Swansboro

$15,000

2020-2022

Topsail Island (Topsail Beach, N. Topsail Beach, and Surf City)

Topsail Island (Topsail Beach, N. Topsail Beach, and Surf City)

$75,000

2020-2022

Vandemere

Vandemere 

$30,000

2020-2022

Washington

Washington 

$30,000

2020-2022

Windsor

Windsor 

$30,000

 

Phase 3: Engineering & Design

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The primary objective of Phase 3 of the RCCP is to provide funding to assist communities with the engineering and design of a prioritized project identified in their RCCP Resilience Strategy or other existing plans that meet the RCCP’s Phases 1 and 2 planning criteria. Some communities will also receive funds to develop or amend ordinances that improve their resilience to flooding and other coastal hazards or to otherwise take steps to manage stormwater and flooding. Most of the engineering and design projects feature natural and nature-based elements such as wetland restoration and living shoreline design. The 2022-2023 award recipients are below: 

 

Community

Project Name

Amount ($)

Aurora

Wetland Restoration at Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP)

$74,885

Beaufort County

Low Impact Development Site-Beaufort County Community College

$64,130

Belhaven

Wynne's Gut Tidal Gates and Flood Attenuation

$84,800

Bertie County

Cashie River Drainage System

$45,000

Cape Carteret

Cape Carteret Flood Mitigation Planning Project

$85,000

Craven County

Craven County Living Shoreline Prioritization and Engineering Design

$45,000

Currituck County Baxter Lane and Old Tulls Road Drainage  $35,000

Dare County

Hatteras Village Stormwater Improvements

$45,000

Town of Duck

Duck Neighborhood Floodwater Management Plan

$45,000

Town of Hertford

Jennies Gut Drainage Improvement Feasibility Study

$45,000

Hyde County

Ocracoke Stormwater Management Plan

$45,000

Town of Leland

Mallory Creek Drive Drainage Improvements

$20,000

Nags Head

Town of Nags Head Drainage Infrastructure Improvements

$45,000

New Bern

Duffyfield Community Resilience Improvement-Basin Restoration and Enhancement

$45,000

Pine Knoll Shores

Town-Wide Nature-Based Stormwater Solutions

$45,000

Sunset Beach

Green Infrastructure-40th Street Erosion 

$49,865

Swansboro

Water Street Rehabilitation 

$45,000

Topsail Island (Surf City, N. Topsail Beach, and Topsail Beach)

Topsail Island Roadside Stormwater Project 

$135,000

Vandemere

Improving Stormwater Culverts and Drainage 

$45,000

City of Washington

Jack's Creek Floodplain and Greenway Improvements

$61,480

Phase 4: Implementation & Construction

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The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) invites communities to apply for Phase 4 of the N.C. Resilient Coastal Communities Program (RCCP), which will fund the implementation or construction of a planned, prioritized, and engineered resilience project in the 20 coastal counties.

DCM is requesting applications from all county and municipal governments or federal and state-recognized tribes within the 20 CAMA counties. All eligible applicants must have completed Phases 1, 2, and 3 of the RCCP or equivalent, and the proposed project must have been identified as a priority project for the community.

DCM estimates that a total of approximately $1,000,000 dollars will be available for the implementation of resilience projects this round. DCM anticipates the award amounts will range from $50,000 to $250,000. Grant funds may be used for the construction or implementation of a project that improves the resilience of your community’s critical assets, people, and property, to identified coastal hazards (e.g., flooding, sea-level rise, storm surge, etc.). Project examples include wetland and stream restoration, flood mitigation, living shoreline stabilization, and stormwater management. 

Phase 4:  Grant Application (PDF)

Please submit your complete application to rccp@ncdenr.gov by April 28th, 2023, at 5:00 pm.