State Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Plan to Administer American Rescue Plan Act’s Funding for Stormwater Projects

 PRESS RELEASE (05-04-2022)

NC DEPT of ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

RALEIGH- The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Infrastructure is accepting comments until June 3, 2022 on the proposed plan to administer approximately $100.5 million in federal funds appropriated in the state budget for stormwater projects.

The Division will administer grants for stormwater projects through its competitive funding process from the Local Assistance for Stormwater Infrastructure Investments fund. Funds are available for cities and counties and their regional councils of government and nonprofit entity partners for projects that will improve or create infrastructure for controlling stormwater quantity and quality.

The proposed plan describes how the funds will be administered, eligibility requirements, and draft priority rating systems for both stormwater construction projects and stormwater planning projects. It is anticipated that applications for these funds will be accepted during the Division’s fall funding round, with a deadline of Sept. 30, 2022. Future application funding rounds will be used to award any remaining funds. The funds are subject to federal statutory and budgetary requirements and all funds must be expended by December 31, 2026.

The proposed administration plan is available here: https://deq.nc.gov/media/29093/download?attachment

Interested parties are invited to provide comments on the proposed plan by June 3, 2022 at 5:00 p.m.  Comments can be submitted:

• by email to dwi.publiccomments@ncdenr.gov with subject line Comments on Division of Water Infrastructure Proposed Plan for Stormwater Funding
• by mail to: Cathy Akroyd, Division of Water Infrastructure, 1633 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27603

The funding is part of the $1.69 billion appropriated by the North Carolina General Assembly from the state’s allocation of the American Rescue Plan Act for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater investments in Sections 12.13 and 12.14 of the Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2021 (S.L. 2021-180).  

Information about the drinking water, wastewater and stormwater funding administered by the Division of Water Infrastructure is available at: https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-infrastructure