News

North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson, along with 19 other state attorneys general, has filed a federal lawsuit against FEMA for pulling funding for critical infrastructure projects.

FEMA terminated the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities grant program earlier this year, eliminating funding for sewer, stormwater and flood mitigation projects across North Carolina.

“It’s impacting all corners of both the Tar and the Neuse communities,” said Sound Rivers Executive Director Heather Deck. “This is not waste, fraud and abuse — this is the way-overdue, necessary work needed to protect communities from flooding.”

The NC attorney general shared the list of projects across the state for which federal funding has been terminated. The following are projects in the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico watersheds:

In the Neuse watershed

Town of Hillsborough: $5.8 million, River Pumping Station and Interceptor Relocation from Floodway

Town of Hillsborough: $1 million, Resilient Regional Water Supply Project

Raleigh: $112,000, Raleigh Midtown Waterfront Park

Goldsboro: $6 million, Goldsboro Floodprint, Big Ditch Stream Restoration and Infrastructure Improvements

Wilson: $6.39 million, Hominy Swamp Stormwater Park

Lenoir: $7.7 million, Resilient Wastewater Treatment Infrastructure

Craven County: $588,000, Mitigate Aerial Water Lines – Resubmitting

New Bern: $279,800, Duffyfield Canal Planning and Project Scoping (Hydrologic Assessment and Hydraulic Modling)

Pollocksville: $1.08 million, Floodprint: Building Elevations (7) and Nature-Based Solutions to Restore the Town’s Commercial Corridor

In the Tar-Pamlico watershed

Oxford: $105,000, Flood Vulnerability & Risk Assessment Study

Town of Princeville: $11 million, 53-acre Infrastructure Construction

Greenville: $3.45 million, Greenbriar Flood Mitigation and Stream Restoration

Greenville: $9.2 million, Drainage Improvements and Stream Restoration

Aurora: $211,000, EDRC – Sewer System Need Evaluation

Pamlico County: $2.4 million, Bay River Metropolitan Sewer Upgrades

“Seeing the need here is just another example of how much investment we need in eastern North Carolina and its infrastructure,” Heather said. “We’ve got to figure out how to invest in the future, especially with the impacts of climate change. The federal government is a key part of that, and that’s where we should be asking that our tax dollars go.”

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