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.
For more information please visit our RCCP Communities Dashboard.
Para obtener una descripción general del programa en español, desplácese hacia abajo hasta la pestaña denominada "Resumen del RCCP en español".
UPDATE: RCCP Phases 1-4 RFAs have closed.
The 2025–2026 RCCP Application Cycle is Now Closed
Thank you to all who submitted applications for the 2025–2026 cycle of the Resilient Coastal Communities Program (RCCP), including those seeking to participate in CAMA Land Use Plan (LUP) Updates. Applications are currently under review, and staff will be in touch with final decisions as soon as feasible.
Request for Applications: RCCP Phases 1-4 & CAMA Land Use Plan Updates
To view the Applicant Webinar hosted on March 21, 2025, covering Phases 1-4 of the RCCP, including Land Use Plan (LUP) updates, please follow this link.
To download a PDF version of the Slide Deck for the presentation, please follow this link.
To apply for Phases 1 & 2 of the RCCP as a participating community or contractor in the 2025-2026 cohort, please download the appropriate RFA below. These RFAs include the opportunity to participate in Phases 1 & 2 and/or incorporate resiliency into CAMA Land Use Plan updates.
To apply for Phase 3 funding through the RCCP for the engineering and design of a project identified in Phases 1 & 2 or through an equivalent resilience planning process, please download the RFA below:
To apply for Phase 4 funding through the RCCP for the implementation of a 'shovel-ready' project identified and designed in Phases 1-3 or through an equivalent resilience planning and design process, please download the RFA below:
2. RCCP Phase 4 Budget Template
Please note: Phase 4 applicants must download, complete, and attach the provided budget template.
RCCP Information & Materials
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.
RCCP Planning Handbook-English (Updated 2025)
Mackenzie Todd, Coastal Resiliency Coordinator
Kasen Wally, Coastal Resilience Specialist
Program Email: RCCP@deq.nc.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.
- RCCP Invoice Template
If you do not have a standardized template for invoicing, please use this template for all invoices submitted to the Division of Coastal Management for the RCCP program.
2024-2025 Phase 3 & 4 Grant Awards
Phases 1 & 2: Orientation Materials, Community Resilience Strategies & Project Portfolios
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.
Phase 3: Engineering & Design
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 |
$61,480 |
Phase 4: Implementation & Construction
Community Name | Project Name | Award Amount ($) |
Belhaven | Wynne's Gut Tidal Gates and Flood Attenuation | $263,200 |
City of New Bern | Duffyfield Community Resilience-Rose Street Basin Restoration | $175,320 |
Pine Knoll Shores | Tree Street Swales | $215,000 |
Vandemere | Vandemere Drainage Improvements | $250,000 |
Washington | Jack’s Creek Floodplain and Greenway Improvements | $263,200 |