The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources is now accepting applications for coastal storm recovery projects such as ocean beach renourishment or artificial dunes.

The deadline to submit an application is 5 p.m. March 8.

The coastal storm recovery fund is funded by the N.C. General Assembly through Session Law 2023-134, which allocated $10 million to the DWR Coastal Storm Damage Mitigation Fund.

Funding may only be used for costs associated with beach nourishment, artificial dunes and other projects designed to mitigate or remediate coastal storm damage to ocean beaches and dune systems of the state, according to General Statute 143-215.73M and 15A NCAC 01T.0300.

Projects must be cost-shared on a one-to-one basis, per General Statute 143-215.73M.

All applications will be evaluated to determine if the proposed beach nourishment or dune project meets the minimum requirements. They will be ranked according to six criteria: environmental benefits; social benefits; economic benefits; life of the project; financial resources and project efficiency. To read more about the criteria used to select the recipients, go to the guidelines on the department’s website.

For more information regarding the application process, please contact Kevin Hart, senior environmental specialist with the Division of Water Resources, at 919-707-3607, or Kevin.Hart@deq.nc.gov.

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