Dare County Awarded Grants for Coastal Resilience Projects on Hatteras Island

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) recently awarded 20 grants to 19 communities for Phase 3 and Phase 4 projects as part of the N.C. Resilient Coastal Communities Program (RCCP). Dare County was the recipient of two grants: one for a Phase 3 design project in Salvo ($234,000) and the other for a Phase 4 construction project in Hatteras Village ($160,000).

The Salvo project will cover engineering, surveys, a drainage study, geotechnical analysis and wetland delineation in order to design a project to reduce flooding along the section of N.C. Highway 12 (near the Wind Over Waves subdivision).

The Hatteras Village project will facilitate the installation of a series of swales and culverts along N.C. Highway 12 (near the Hatteras Civic Center) to collect and store ocean overwash and stormwater runoff.

Both projects were identified as areas subject to recurring flooding by Hatteras Island residents and property owners who participated in Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the RCCP, which included a risk and vulnerability assessment, as well as a public survey to determine the priority areas to be addressed.

Dare County was previously awarded Phase 3 funding for the design of stormwater improvements along Old Lighthouse Road in Buxton. Utilizing this design, Dare County obtained $770,000 in May 2024 from the N.C. Emergency Management Disaster Relief and Mitigation Fund Grant. The goal of the project is to collect stormwater and ocean overwash and to improve drainage to reduce flood depths and duration of flooding on roadways and adjacent properties.

According to Dare County Grants Administrator Barton Grover, “The Resilient Coastal Communities Program paired local knowledge with engineers to identify, design and construct projects to make Hatteras Island more resilient. We are excited to receive grants to move these three projects forward and look to continue seeking grants to address additional areas of concern identified in the risk and vulnerability assessment.“

The N.C. the 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.

For more information about the N.C. Resilient Coastal Communities Program, please click the button below. For more information about Dare County’s Resilient Coastal Communities Program projects, please contact Dare County Grants Administrator Barton Grover at Barton.Grover@DareNC.gov or 252-475-5628.