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The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management is awarding 20 grants to 19 communities for Phases 3 and 4 of the Resilient Coastal Communities Program.

The primary objective of Phase 3 of the RCCP is to provide funding to assist communities with the engineering and design of prioritized projects identified in the Resilience Strategy or other existing plans that meet the program’s Phases 1 and 2 planning criteria. Additionally, some communities will receive funds to develop or amend ordinances to enhance their resilience to coastal hazards.

A total of $4,310,350 is available to complete 15 projects in Phase 3. Most of these engineering and design projects incorporate natural and nature-based elements, such as wetland restoration and living shoreline design. Specific projects include living shoreline construction to reduce erosion along public shorelines, updating development ordinances to align with resilience strategies, and comprehensive stormwater action plans with detailed drainage studies and easement acquisitions.

Dare County received a Phase 3 grant of $234,000 for the Salvo Flood Mitigation Project, which will provide a detailed drainage study for NC 12 around Brick Creek and Wind over Waves Subdivision.

The Town of Nags Head received $500,000 for designing living shorelines to restore and protect coastal community infrastructure in the Roanoke Sound.

A total of $1,900.951 is available for Phase 4 projects, which actually implement the shovel-ready projects designed in Phase 3.

Dare County was awarded $160,000 to construct bioswales to store and filter water in Hatteras village.

The Town of Duck was awarded $144,000 to implement Teresa Court Stormwater Management Improvements.

“Community applications were reviewed based on the following criteria: project alignment with the community Resilience Strategy and priority ranking; project outcomes including environmental, social, and economic impacts; the project’s ability to reduce the vulnerability of a critical asset or population; the project’s inclusion of nature-based or hybrid components; and the project’s ability to achieve the community’s vision and goals,” states a media release.

The Resilient Coastal Communities Program receives funding from a combination of state and federal sources. The grants require no matching funds. Dare County Commissioners approved the application for the two grants June 3, 2024.

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