NIFMP Advisory Board Meeting_2-16-23_MeetingMinutes

Natural Infrastructure Flood Mitigation Program (NIFMP):
Advisory Board Meeting
Meeting Minutes

February 16, 2023
Time: 10:00 am Location: Microsoft Team

1. Attendees
Sarah Collins (NCLM) Bill Hunt (NCSU) Maria Polizzi (NC FS)
Kayne Van Stell (Water &Land Solution) William McDow (EDF)
Danica Schaffer-Smith (Nature Conservancy) Bill Holman (Conservation Fund)
Noah Persons (SWANC) Marlena Byrne (NCORR) Bobby Croom (City of Goldsboro)
Randell Etheridge (ECU) Marc Recktenwald (DMS) Periann Russell (DMS)
Lin Xu (DMS)

2. Periann Russell started the meeting and stated the purpose of the meeting. The purpose of
the meeting is to discuss goals of NIFMP, to set standing meeting schedule, to discuss the
possibility of changing the name of the program, and to provide updates on Blueprint and
Stoney Creek projects.

3. NIFMP Goals
Periann talked about the process of developing goals and nature of the goals. She proposed
to have a 2-3 hrs in-person workshop / brainstorm session developing the program goals.
She asked any members of the board wanting to participate in the workshop to email her. Her
next steps will be to set up the workshop.

4. Standing Meeting Schedule
Quarterly Thursday, 10 am
Periann will send a calendar invitation for the standing meeting.

5. Possible Name Change
Members of the board agreed with the idea trying of a name change with a better acronym.
The name change will be discussed at the workshop.

6. Blueprint and Stoney Creek Updates
Marc Recktenwald provided updates on both Blueprint and Stoney Creek projects. For
Stoney Creek pilot project, the first stakeholder meeting was held on February 8, and it was
mostly attended by agency folks. Moving forward, stakeholder meetings will be held for the
general public. Blueprint vendor was also at the first meeting, and both vendors have been
communicating and exchanging ideas and information. Ecosystem Planning & Restoration
(EPR), the vendor for Stoney Creek pilot project, has already began to develop a hydraulics

and hydrology model (HH model) for the Stoney Creek watershed. A potential list of project
sites is also being developed. The vendor is in the process accessing feasibilities of those
sites and contacting landowners for those sites.
7. Following the agenda items, the board commented and discussed some of the future needs of
the NIFM program.

William McDow
Natural Infrastructure for Communities and Environment (NICE) program
(3 liked)
The other opportunity for learning around practices and performance will be the projects funded
by the Land and Water fund within DEQ, would be good to connect DMS activities with DWI
(SRF), 319 program, and DCM priority areas. Then outside DEQ, lots of other options.

Bill Holman
Design for future storms not past storms

William F Hunt III
Carbon sequestration
(2 liked)
DOT is going to have good future storm info later this year.

Randall Etheridge
There were two things that came to mind when thinking about the NIFMP and goals. First, it
will be important know what level of risk is acceptable for testing/developing new techniques for
flood mitigation through this program. I think there are a lot of opportunities for new techniques
to play a role in flood mitigation.
I also think Marc’s comment on what can be included in a RFP is very important based on my
experience submitting an application to the Land and Water Fund. We want to be able tell the
whole story or showcase the benefits of these projects through good monitoring. However, we
need to maintain reasonable requirements for what must be calculated and included in proposal
submissions for evaluations.

Meeting adjourned 11:00am