RALEIGH — Gov. Roy Cooper signed in to law Monday a bill that puts Robeson County in line to receive more than $500,000 in federal and state money to remove storm debris from river, streams and canals.
The 2019 Storm Recovery Act was approved Thursday by the General Assembly.
“This legislation helps families recovering from Dorian and previous storms, especially those left behind by the federal government. The governor pushed for this funding and the Republican leadership was willing to risk losing it by attaching unrelated political power grabs, but the governor believes helping these survivors must prevail,” Cooper spokesman Ford Porter said Monday.
The bill provides a total of $5 million for affected counties.
“I was pleased to run this amendment, which will mean a great deal to Robeson County,” said Rep. Charles Graham, a Democrat from Lumberton.
After Hurricane Florence, local governments identified nearly $56 million in stream repair needs for vegetative debris removal, sediment removal and stream-bank stabilization, according to information from the Division of Soil & Water Conservation. To date, the state has appropriated $11 million to address those needs. More than $5.6 million of that funding is pledged to provide matching funds to local sponsor agencies for stream repair projects approved for federal Emergency Watershed Protection Program through U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Robeson County Drainage District No. is projected to receive $246,078. The state match would be $27,342. St. Pauls is projected to get $20,898, with the state providing $2,322 in matching funds.
These projects are all still awaiting formal approval in Washington, D.C., according to the state Division of Soil & Water Conservation. The state funding will be allocated to local sponsors based on guidelines adopted by the N.C. Soil and Water Conservation Commission and requests submitted by local governments.
“When these additional funds become available, we will work with local sponsors to identify needs and develop an allocation strategy that addresses local priorities,” said Vernon Cox, state Division of Soil & Water Conservation director. “I anticipate that any additional funds will be allocated during the first quarter of 2020.”
To date, local soil and water conservation districts and other local sponsors in eastern North Carolina have cleared nearly 1,700 stream miles and have been reimbursed about $12.6 million for these efforts, according to the Conservation Division.
Robeson County Drainage districts Nos. 3 and 7 have been awarded $322,966, have spent $285,855 and have $37,111 left to spend. The districts had planned to clear 25.53 miles of waterways with that money, but already have cleared 26.66 miles.
Robeson Soil & Water Conservation District was awarded $925,632 and to date has spent $39,600, leaving it $886,032 of unspent funding. The Conservation District has cleared 39.09 miles of waterway in its ongoing project.
The contracts for these two projects have been extended to Dec. 31, 2020.
