State Asks for Input on Recovery Spending

December 9, 2020 | Local News | From The: Coastal Review

Dunes in North Topsail Beach were washed over and the sand was transported landward during Hurricane Florence, covering the road and driveways. Photo: U.S. Geological Survey

The state is looking for input from the public on how to spend recovery and mitigation funds in areas of the state impacted by hurricanes Matthew and Florence.

The state Office of Recovery and Resiliency, or NCORR, will be accepting public comment until Jan. 7 on proposed amendments to three action plans for spending U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery and Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation.

The proposed amendments would include modifications to the Hurricane Matthew, Hurricane Florence and Mitigation action plans previously approved by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, or HUD, and aim to simplify programs and spending across all three grants provided by HUD.

The total disaster recovery and mitigation grant funds total more than $947 million in federal funding for homeowner recovery, affordable housing, property buyout, and other programs.

All three action plans and the draft amendments are available for review online. Public comments are strongly encouraged to be submitted by email to publiccomments@rebuild.nc.gov. Those wishing to submit comments may also do so by U.S. Postal Service to Attn: NCORR Public Comments, P.O. Box 110465, Durham, N.C. 27709.

The Cooper administration established NCORR following the September 2018 Hurricane Florence to streamline disaster recovery programs statewide and help communities rebuild smarter and stronger. So far, the state has invested more than $3.6 billion in state and federal funding to help the state recover from damage caused by hurricanes Matthew, Florence, Dorian and Isaias.

Learn more about NCORR’s programs at https://www.rebuild.nc.gov/.