RALEIGH – North Carolina environmental officials have finalized a Cape Fear River Basin strategy identifying 166 flood-resilience actions, including 44 projects and policy steps recommended for early consideration.
The Department of Environmental Quality announced the final strategy Nov. 10. It is intended to guide state agencies, local governments and other partners as they decide which flood-mitigation projects to pursue and how to seek funding.
The 166 actions include drainage and culvert improvements, roadway upgrades, protection for critical infrastructure, floodplain and stream restoration, early-warning systems, and elevation or floodproofing of vulnerable buildings. DEQ said the 44 early priorities were selected after considering local support, feasibility, capacity and potential benefit.
The strategy does not appropriate money or require any project to begin. Instead, it provides a planning framework and a prioritized list that can shape later investment decisions by the General Assembly, state agencies and local governments.
Lawmakers directed DEQ in 2021 to build a statewide Flood Resiliency Blueprint. The controlling legislation called for basin-level risk assessments, identification of data gaps, and recommendations that could lead to a prioritized set of projects and funding strategies.
WECT reported in September that the Cape Fear and White Oak plans were still in draft form and open for public comment. DEQ said the final Cape Fear strategy reflects local action plans, a basinwide vulnerability assessment, a capacity assessment and input from a technical advisory group.
DEQ said its online Blueprint tool now stores the identified actions and lets communities update local plans as needs and funding opportunities change. The agency has awarded $45 million to 86 projects across six river basins.
Strategies have also been released for the Neuse, Tar-Pamlico, Lumber and White Oak basins. A French Broad strategy is expected later. For the Cape Fear basin, the immediate political consequence is a completed state priority list that can be used in future budget, infrastructure and local planning decisions.
Sources
- North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality final Cape Fear strategy release
- North Carolina General Assembly Flood Resiliency Blueprint record
- WECT report on the Cape Fear and White Oak draft plans
Photo Credit: Blipperman via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0. Contextual file photograph of the Cape Fear River at Raven Rock State Park, not a specific project in the Nov. 10 strategy. Center-cropped and resized; adaptation distributed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Editor’s Note: This article was drafted with the assistance of artificial intelligence and was reviewed and fact-checked by a member of the NC Political News editorial team before publication.