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Annexing and Preparing Higher Ground Receiving Areas in Princeville, North Carolina Through Post-Disaster Recovery Processes
In 2017, the Town of Princeville, North Carolina engaged experts and communities in a long-term, comprehensive planning process to annex a 53-acre parcel of land located outside of the town’s 100-year floodplain to develop a safer, higher ground area where residents, structures, and infrastructure can be relocated. After experiencing flooding impacts from Hurricane Matthew in 2016, Princeville was selected as one of six municipalities in North Carolina to receive technical and funding support from the state through the Hurricane Matthew Disaster Recovery and Resilience Initiative. Princeville provides an example for other municipalities either in a pre-or post-disaster context for how to balance the preservation of original townships while dealing with flooding vulnerabilities, while increasing the resiliency of core community assets and services through adaptation actions. As done in Princeville, local governments may consider options for relocating vulnerable residences and community facilities and services, including by annexing new land where sufficient higher ground land within existing municipal boundaries is not available to reallocate critical land uses and maintain local communities, tax bases, and economies.
Resource Category: Solutions
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Managing the Retreat from Rising Seas — Charlotte-Mecklenburg County, North Carolina: Floodplain Buyout Program
July 15, 2020
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Storm Water Services (CMSS) — a county-wide regional utility in North Carolina — has been administering a Floodplain Buyout Program to relocate vulnerable residents out of floodplains and reduce long-term flood damage. The buyout program is focused on risk reduction and flood mitigation best practices, where once bought out, properties are returned to open space uses to restore their natural beneficial flood retention and water quality improvement functions and provide other community amenities, like parks and trails. CMSS has purchased more than 400 flood-prone homes and businesses and enabled over 700 families and businesses to relocate to less vulnerable locations outside of the floodplain. CMSS has also supported a number of leaseback arrangements on a case-by-case basis with property owners to increase participation in the buyout program and reduce the county’s property maintenance costs. The program has been funded through a combination of federal and local government sources, with leasebacks also supporting the recapture of some costs. Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s Floodplain Buyout Program is an example of a nationally recognized approach to supporting voluntary retreat in a riverine floodplain. Other local governments could consider adopting a comprehensive buyout program like Charlotte-Mecklenburg’s or individual program elements, like local funding options or leasebacks, to help support voluntary retreat decisions in coastal areas experiencing sea-level rise, impacts from disaster events, and land loss. This case study is one of 17 case studies featured in a report written by the Georgetown Climate Center, Managing the Retreat from Rising Seas: Lessons and Tools from 17 Case Studies.
Resource Category: Solutions
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Duke Energy Progress Partners with RETI for Community Solar
Duke Energy Progress (DEP) worked with the nonprofit, Renewable Energy Transition Initiative (RETI), to increase access to renewable energy programs for lower-income residents. This program provides an example of how utilities can use equity considerations to inform the deployment of renewable energy programs and resources. RETI works to eliminate high energy costs and make renewable energy solutions more accessible through educational programs, community outreach, research, advocacy, and partnerships. RETI promotes income-based applications and brings awareness to this energy saving program through engaging with communities at local community events and churches. DEP and RETI also launched The Shared Solar program for its residential and non-residential customers to be able to share in the economic benefits from a single solar facility. The cost savings from this community solar program are allocated to low-income customers in the company’s territory.
Resource Category: Funding
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North Carolina 2020 Climate Risk Assessment and Resilience Plan
June 2, 2020
The North Carolina Climate Risk Assessment and Resilience Plan is the state’s first climate change adaptation plan. It includes the results of vulnerability assessments within 11 critical sectors, climate justice concerns and strategies, and recommendations for nature-based solutions to enhance ecosystem resiliency and sequester carbon in the state’s natural and working lands. North Carolina Governor Cooper’s 2018 Executive Order 80 directed state agencies to integrate climate adaptation and resiliency planning into their policies, programs, and operations; and mandated that the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) lead the development of this climate risk assessment and resiliency plan for the state.
Resource Category: Planning
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Natural Hazards Resilience: A Quick Start Guide for North Carolina Communities
April 27, 2020
On April 27, 2020, the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) launched the Natural Hazards Resilience: A Quick Start Guide for North Carolina Communities to help communities better prepare for the impacts of future natural hazards and climate change. This quick start guide creates a template from which North Carolina communities can independently build climate resilience plans to adapt to changing weather conditions. The guide outlines three components of resilience and five strategies for implementing resilience into work that is already performed everyday.
Resource Category: Planning
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Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project
The Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project (SERCAP) was established through funding from the U.S. Government’s Office of Economic Opportunity in the 1960s. The Project helps low-income rural communities in the mid-Atlantic and the Southeastern U.S. obtain water and wastewater infrastructure for running water, indoor plumbing, and wastewater treatment. Water utilities in these rural areas often lack funding to provide such infrastructure. Households that are not supplied with drinking water tend to rely on wells and septic tanks, which can get contaminated by pollution from agricultural activity and the lack of suitable wastewater treatment. SERCAP assists both individuals and municipalities, and its services include installing infrastructure, providing financing and loans, and offering technical support. In addition to providing services related to water, SERCAP also provides support on housing issues.
Resource Category: Organizations
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City of Lumberton, North Carolina: Lumberton, North Carolina Community Floodprint
2019
The City of Lumberton is a small community in North Carolina built along the Lumber River. The river and its floodplains are an integral part of the landscape and Lumberton’s history and cultural and economic identity. Meanwhile, flooding has become more frequent and severe — requiring new adaptive flood mitigation solutions. In 2016, the community was devastated by Hurricane Matthew when the river flooded hundreds of homes and businesses. Just as the city was beginning to rebuild two years later, Hurricane Florence resulted in similar compounding damages.
Resource Category: Planning
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Triangle Regional Resilience Partnership Resilience Assessment
November 2018
The Triangle Regional Resiliency Partnership (TRRP) is a joint project of municipalities and counties in the “Triangle Region” of North Carolina including the Town of Cary, Town of Chapel Hill, City of Durham, City of Raleigh, Durham County, and Orange County. The first project of the Partnership was a resiliency assessment of the area’s assets and risks - in partnership with the University of North Carolina Asheville’s National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center (NEMAC) and the Triangle J Council of Governments.
Authors or Affiliated Users: Karin Rogers, Nina Hall
Resource Category: Assessments
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NC Executive Order No. 80: North Carolina's Commitment to Address Climate Change and Transition to a Clean Energy Economy
October 29, 2018
On October 29, 2018, North Carolina's Governor Roy Cooper signed Executive Order (EO) No. 80 entitled, "North Carolina's Commitment to Address Climate Change and Transition to a Clean Energy Economy. " EO 80 calls for the state to take several actions related to climate change to improve the health and well-being of North Carolina's residents, foster innovation and growth of a clean energy workforce, prepare more resilient communities, and reduce the impacts of climate change, like more frequent and intense hurricanes, flooding, extreme temperature, drought, saltwater intrusion, and beach erosion.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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Living Asheville, North Carolina: A Comprehensive Plan for Our Future
June 2018
In June 2018, the Asheville City Council adopted an updated comprehensive plan, "Living Asheville: A Comprehensive Plan for Our Future" that incorporated considerations of climate-threats to the city, which were identified in the city's climate hazard Assessment, completed in June 2017. The Living Asheville Plan guides land use decisions in the city; it examines the long-term challenges posed by climate change and includes policies for enhancing the city's resilience.
Resource Category: Planning
