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Home My WebLink AboutNIFMP updates feb 2024 may 2024ROY COOPER Governor ELIZABETH S. BISER Secretary MARC RECKTENWALD Director NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality | Division of Mitigation Services 217 West Jones Street | 1652 Mail Service Center | Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1652 919.707.8976 Division of Mitigation Services (DMS) Natural Infrastructure Flood Mitigation Program (NIFMP) Updates February 2024-May 2024 The NIFMP April 2024 advisory board meeting was canceled due to several scheduling conflicts. The NIFMP charter requires at least quarterly meetings with the advisory board. In lieu of the meeting, this document was created to communicate all updates since the last advisory board meeting on January 25, 2024. DMS completed the final conceptual framework of the NIFMP strategic plan to serve as a roadmap for program implementation (February 2024). The next step is to expand the defined strategies and tasks with actions and dates. This part of the plan will be provided to the board for discussion and comment at the July meeting. DMS will request board members to participate in development workshops in July and August. A budget for the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resilience (NCORR) Community Development Block Grant funds was completed and accepted by NCORR. DMS received these funds in September 2023 to help with program development. The budget is being used for invoicing. DMS requested (2023) a Hydraulic and Hydrologic modeling study in Stoney Creek from Ecosystem Planning and Restoration (Stoney Creek vendor) to quantify current DMS compensatory mitigation practices for flood mitigation. The final study results were submitted by EPR and reviewed by DMS in February; meetings were held with DMS and EPR in March and April to discuss the results. DMS plans to share the final report with the advisory board for comments to determine how this information is applicable to the NIFMP in conjunction with the Flood Resiliency Blueprint. Additionally, DMS is considering additional modeling needs to evaluate multiple practices within a watershed and the applicability to other areas in North Caroliina. DMS is seeking board members to replace board members vacancies. ROY COOPER Governor ELIZABETH S. BISER Secretary MARC RECKTENWALD Director NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality | Division of Mitigation Services 217 West Jones Street | 1652 Mail Service Center | Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1652 919.707.8976 The NIFMP and the Blueprint efforts are addressing more common issues as the Blueprint tools are developed. NIFMP staff are actively participating in all meetings to ensure consistency between and across both efforts. A literature review specific to natural infrastructure and nature-based solutions was started in July 2023. This document is in draft status now and summarizes natural infrastructure and nature-based solutions suitable for North Carolina in different areas of the state. Upon completion, the final document will be posted on the NIFMP website for the public. The document is being written for a public audience. DMS is working to contract a vendor to inventory, map and model Carolina Bays for restoration potential and their potential for flood mitigation. Stoney Creek Pilot Project The Stoney Creek pilot project vendor, Ecosystem Planning and Restoration, PLLC (EPR) completed the hydrology and hydraulics modeling (HH Model) for the existing condition of the Stoney Creek watershed, which also set the baseline models for evaluating potential projects. EPR staff continued to actively pursue pilot project sites. Three additional sites were identified as either contingency sites for the Mitigation Plan or for future implementation as addenda to the approved Mitigation Plan. To expedite landowner agreements, EPR worked directly with DEQ General Counsel to modify the existing DMS easement to be applied to future flood mitigation projects. A draft Stoney Creek pilot project mitigation plan was delivered to DMS on January 26, 2024. In January, Wayne Community College (WCC) board approved the proposed project site on WCC campus. The Stoney Creek mitigation plan was finalized in March. A second stakeholder meeting for the Stoney Creek pilot project took place April 25, 2024, at the Wayne County agricultural center from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. The meeting was well attended by the public. Wayne County commissioners, Wayne County planning director, Wayne Community College facility manager and NC DOT regional engineer also attended the meeting. Several interested landowners expressed interest in having a project on their properties. A map showing the potential for road over topping resulting from different return interval storms drew most interest from attendees. ROY COOPER Governor ELIZABETH S. BISER Secretary MARC RECKTENWALD Director NORTH CAROLINA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality | Division of Mitigation Services 217 West Jones Street | 1652 Mail Service Center | Raleigh, North Carolina 27699-1652 919.707.8976 EPR submitted the draft final design of a first pilot project; the proposed stormwater regional facility is a stormwater wetland basin located in the southwest corner of WCC property. The proposed footprint of the wetland basin is approximately 9.6 acres. The design is based on the future (ultimate buildout condition) watershed condition, with an approximate drainage area of 106.2 acres. It is designed to meet the Neuse River Basin Stormwater Rules and the City of Goldsboro Stormwater Management Program for Nitrogen Control in the Neuse River Basin. In May 2024, the Wayne community College (WCC) Board approved EPR to proceed with a draft easement and permitting activities for the stormwater wetland basin on the southwest corner of the WCC Campus. A draft maintenance agreement for the proposed stormwater wetland basin and the revised easement agreement for the site were submitted to DMS for review and approval.