We can’t do this without you! Enjoying Coastal Review is free. Producing it isn’t. Please donate or sponsor today.
Support Our Work.

Coastal Review

A Daily News Service of the North Carolina Coastal Federation

New Hanover Gets $4M to Remove Debris

by

A map of all impacted creeks and watersheds is available on the New Hanover County Emergency Watershed Protection Project Interactive WebMap.

New Hanover County has been awarded more than $4 million to remove debris and sedimentation from streams and waterways in the unincorporated areas of the county, the county announced Tuesday.

The Emergency Watershed Protection Program has awarded the $4,396,496 in federal assistance to New Hanover to improve watersheds impacted by Hurricane Florence debris, increasing water flow and reducing flooding threats to properties, according to the county, which applied in October 2018 for the federal funding and received the award letter this month.

Of the total funding, 75% is through the Natural Resource Conservation Service, a branch of the United States Department of Agriculture and 25% is through the Division of Soil & Water, a branch of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture.

The county plans to sign the agreement with Natural Resource Conservation Service by the end of the month and all work is to be completed within 280 days of the finalized agreement. Funding will be reimbursed after the work has been completed and inspected.

“Hurricane Florence caused a significant amount of trees and debris to fall into the county’s streams and creeks, preventing the water from flowing adequately and creating potentially hazardous flooding conditions when we have large rainfall events,” said Soil and Water Conservation District Director Dru Harrison in a statement. “Immediately after Hurricane Florence, county staff began working on this effort and applied for funding. It is a significant amount of work, and we couldn’t start until we received our award letter and then signed an agreement with NRCS. We are in that process now, and will be working hard over the next nine months to have all of these watersheds clear of hazardous debris.”

New Hanover County Soil and Water Conservation District and the county’s engineering, finance, and hurricane recovery departments will collaborate on scheduling the work and receive engineering design services, real property rights, permits, construction contracts and in-kind services, and construction inspections, according to the county.

A map of all impacted creeks and watersheds can be found here and on the hurricane recovery website. The following is a list provided by the county of locations and the amount of funding received:

  • Dock Creek: $51,796
  • Everette Creek: $249,384
  • Futch Creek: $84,402
  • Howe Creek: $202,011
  • Motts Creek: $473,375
  • Ness Creek: $263,346
  • Pages Creek Watershed: $579,309
  • Prince George Creek: $772,546
  • Shipwatch Dr-Cape Fear River: $3,600
  • Smith Creek: $989,147
  • Sneeden Drive-Pipe: $9,430
  • Whiskey Creek I: $181,246
  • Whiskey Creek II: $536,904

About Staff Report

The story was compiled by staff members of Coastal Review.

Related Posts

transportation, road work ahead
Coast receives millions for transportation improvements
Chicamacomico Historic Site Executive Director John Griffin is interviewed by PBS director and producer, Rebecca Ward in Surfboat No. 1046, which was used in the Mirlo rescue. Photo: PBS-NC
PBS NC to air interviews on US Life-Saving Service history
Tar-River Basin Association members are marked with diamonds. North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality staff worked with the basin on proposed wastewater discharge amendments. Graphic: NCDEQ
Commission sets vote on Tar-Pamlico wastewater hearing
Carteret County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted Monday night an ordinance giving the county authority to manage abandoned and derelict vessels in its waters. The same night, New Hanover County commissioners approved its first reading of an abandoned vessel ordinance, authorizing the Sheriff's Office to tackle abandoned vessels in county waters. The second reading is set for the June 17 meeting, according to the county. The Carteret County ordinance states that abandoned and derelict vessels are “expressly prohibited in navigable waters within the jurisdiction of unincorporated Carteret County” with the exception of archaeological remains including shipwrecks, cargo and anything else in place more than 10 years. An abandoned vessel is considered one that is moored for more than a month without permission of the property owner, is unmanned and slipping anchor, and a derelict vessel is in danger of sinking or has sunk, or is an immediate danger. A state statute gives counties the authority to remove and dispose of any abandoned or derelict vessels. Sharon Griffin, Carteret interim county attorney, said during the meeting that the ordinance is not aimed at the vast majority of boat owners who take care of their boats, like owners who have registered their boats, had safety checks, and made sure the vessel is properly anchored or secured to a dock. “These are those vessels that we occasionally see that basically have sunk or are in terrible condition or have been completely abandoned and are threatening somebody else's property, or boat or dock,” Griffin said. “We wanted to give our law enforcement an opportunity to be able to enforce that. They didn't really have a good means of doing that.” Griffin said that much of the language in the county statute mirrors the state statute, including that if “the vessel that's moored, anchored or otherwise located for more than 30 consecutive days in any 180 consecutive day period without the permission of the dock owner, marina owner, or property owner, that's directly out of the statute.” Other examples she noted of an abandoned vessel is one that is slipping anchor and causing a significant danger to other people's property or boat. “A derelict vessel is one of those that we occasionally see out in our coastal waters that has just been abandoned by someone and is resting on the bottom,” she said. The statute also includes those who do not have current state registrations, and those being used as living quarters but don't have any method of getting rid of waste and are causing an environmental problem with the removal of the abandoned and derelict vessels. “There's also an opportunity for civil penalties, and that's just because there are occasions when someone really just will not move their boat, and we need to give law enforcement the opportunity to enforce that,” she said. County Commissioner Ed Wheatly asked where the money would come from to take care of the boats. Griffin answered that they’ve spoken with several different agencies and is aware of grant money for vessel removal. “And if you'll notice also in the ordinance, the first paragraph specifically states this is not obligating the county, the Board of Commissioners to appropriate funds for this,” she said. “So we're not trying to obligate our Board of Commissioners to go fundraising and to find the money for this. We're hopeful that we'll be able to start this through some grant funding. Perhaps some law enforcement programs.” Chairman Jimmy Farrington added that the North Carolina Coastal Federation had reached out to the county to help with removal. Farrington continued that the commission has given this a lot of thought, this was brought it up almost a year ago. “We really don't want to get in the weeds with this,” he said, or get on personal property but these are the boats that you see sitting out there that sunk, that could cause very serious damage. “We're not getting into the boat control business, we’re just trying to clean up what's out there,” Farrington said. “Many of these towns have done a great job of trying to clean up and that type of thing because that's a kickback for it. But I think we're after the obvious.
Pender County moves to rid public waters of junk boats
Support the coastal news you value.CoastalReview.org is an award-winning, nonprofit news service providing unbiased, in-depth and investigative reporting about issues on the North Carolina coast. Your support makes our work possible. Please join the Coastal Review Press Club or put your business in the Sponsor Spotlight to support the coverage your care about. Learn MoreGive or Sponsor

North Carolina Press AssociationWinner of seven North Carolina Press Association awards in 2024.