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Coastal towns have until November 10 to seek share of $2.5 million resilience grants

DEQ is accepting roughly $2.5 million in applications for coastal project design and implementation, but only eligible local governments and tribes with completed preparatory work may apply.

MOREHEAD CITY – Coastal communities seeking to move flood and storm-risk projects closer to construction face a November 10 deadline for an estimated $2.5 million available under North Carolina’s Resilient Coastal Communities Program.

The state Division of Coastal Management is soliciting Phase 3 applications for engineering, design and permitting, and Phase 4 applications for construction and implementation. Eligible applicants are municipal or county governments and federally or state-recognized tribes in the 20 coastal CAMA counties, not individual homeowners.

Salt marsh vegetation at Cape Hatteras National Seashore in a National Park Service file photograph by Wendy Wright.

Eligibility is narrower than a general invitation to propose a project. The applicant must have completed the program’s first two phases, or an equivalent assessment and prioritization process, and the proposed project must already be an identified community priority.

Examples of work the program may support include wetland and stream restoration, stormwater improvements, flood mitigation and living shoreline protection. The state says projects should use natural or nature-based approaches when appropriate. A submitted application does not establish funding, a final scope or a construction start date.

The program has helped 60 communities complete resilience strategies and awarded 91 grants totaling $16.3 million over five years, according to the state. Those historical numbers do not indicate how the new funding will be divided or which 2026 applicants will succeed.

The application deadline is November 10 at 5 p.m. Coastal residents interested in a local priority project can ask municipal staff whether it has reached the design or implementation stage and whether the community intends to apply.

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