Today Governor Stein joined the City of Lumberton to dedicate its new floodgate, mark 10 years since Hurricane Matthew, and highlight the importance of strengthening infrastructure for future storms.
“North Carolinians understand the importance of building stronger infrastructure to protect against severe weather, and the twin tragedies of Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence made clear the need in Robeson County,” said Governor Josh Stein. “Lumberton’s new floodgate will save lives, protect people’s homes, and preserve their livelihoods.”
Ten years ago, Hurricane Matthew swept through North Carolina, taking 25 lives, causing catastrophic flooding, displacing hundreds of residents, and leaving destruction in its wake. Lumberton’s new floodgate will provide protection to the residents of Lumberton and the businesses located within the city’s industrial sector. It is part of a $15 million collaborative project supported by many partners, including:
- North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency’s Community Development Block Grant – Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program
- North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Community Development Block Grant – Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG-NR) program
- Golden LEAF Foundation
- North Carolina General Assembly Special Appropriation
- U.S. Economic Development Administration
Governor Stein is committed to strengthening infrastructure throughout the state to protect against extreme weather and prepare to support more growth. Last year, Governor Stein announced $6 million in grants from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Flood Resiliency Blueprint program to help reduce flood risks across the state.
The NC Flood Resiliency Blueprint is the state’s science-based and stakeholder-driven initiative designed to support the planning, evaluation, and implementation of flood resilience strategies. It is the largest statewide flood mitigation investment in North Carolina history. The Blueprint equips local governments, the state, and supporting organizations with data, tools, and processes to guide strategic investments to reduce flood risk, fund priority projects, and address gaps in mitigation efforts. As directed by the North Carolina General Assembly, the Blueprint continues to allocate $76 million in funding to support flood mitigation projects such as water retention, floodplain restoration, or nature-based flood mitigation efforts in the Cape Fear, French Broad, Lumber, Neuse, Tar Pamlico and White Oak river basins. Governor Stein has advanced more than $1.8 billion in water infrastructure projects statewide to strengthen drinking water and wastewater infrastructure and resilience and reduce contamination by forever chemicals like PFAS.