The national oceanic and atmospheric administration (NOAA) is providing $900,000 in federal funding to the state of north carolina through the bipartisan infrastructure law

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded a $900,000 Cooperative Agreement to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) under the CFDA 11.473 Office for Coastal Management program. The funding will build NCDEQ's capacity to plan and implement habitat restoration and conservation projects in North Carolina's coastal regions over a 3-year period from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2027.

Specifically, the grant will support two tasks: 1) Habitat Acquisition and Restoration Project Implementation, which will fund a new Conservation Project Coordinator position to coordinate with partners and stakeholders to plan and implement habitat restoration and conservation projects, and 2) Thin-Layer Sediment Site Assessment for Coastal Wetland Restoration, which will fund a new Coastal Wetland Specialist to map areas suitable for thin-layer placement projects to aid coastal wetland restoration efforts. This federal funding aims to enhance coastal resilience, promote environmental conservation, and support the state's Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program.

This funding will build the capacity of north carolinas federally-approved coastal management program (NC CMP) located within the north carolina department of environmental quality (NCDEQ) to plan for and implement habitat restoration and conservation projects proposed through funding opportunities connected to the bipartisan infrastructure law. Specifically, NCDEQ will use these funds to support two tasks, habitat acquisition and restoration project implementation and thin-layer sediment site assessment for coastal wetland restoration. Task 1, habitat acquisition and restoration project implementation, will focus on building capacity in the areas of habitat restoration and resilience to directly support implementation of the updated north carolina coastal and estuarine land conservation program (CELCP) plan. This work will be supported through the employment of a conservation project coordinator within the NC CMP. This new position will coordinate with partners and stakeholders to plan and implement habitat restoration and conservation projects across the NC coastal area based on the updated CELCP plan, and provide capacity to support monitoring and implementation of on the ground restoration and acquisition projects. This will include the creation of a GIS tool to identify locations that support habitat acquisition and restoration priorities as specified in the CELCP plan. Task 2, thin layer sediment site assessment for coastal wetland restoration, will be supported through the employment of a coastal wetland specialist within the NC CMP. This new position will assemble an internal team to devise a strategy and protocol to map areas within north carolina where coastal wetlands are at risk of drowning and may be suitable candidate sites for thin layer placement (TLP) projects. Mapping suitable areas where TLP as appropriate will aid the NC CMP in working with permit applicants to increase the number of permitted TLP projects and will contribute to the success of coastal wetland restoration.