U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $1 Million to Support Statewide Disaster Recovery and Resiliency Efforts in North Carolina

WASHINGTON, June 19 -- The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration issued the following news release:

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced that the Department's Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $1 million grant to the North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS), Raleigh, North Carolina, to aid the establishment of a statewide framework on disaster resilience planning and to provide economic guidance and strategic training. The EDA grant will be matched with $287,932 in local investment.

"The Trump Administration is committed to strengthening community-led natural disaster recovery and resiliency efforts that support the competitiveness of local businesses," said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. "NCDPS's updated resiliency planning framework will ensure that North Carolina is well-equipped to mitigate future disaster damage."

"The framework and guidance from this project will allow communities adversely impacted by recent natural disasters to boost their resiliency efforts," said Dana Gartzke, Performing the Delegated Duties of the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. "By providing strategic training on core economic concepts, North Carolina will further grow and fortify businesses and advance their economic vibrancy."

"This grant represents North Carolina's commitment to building back smarter and stronger," said Governor Roy Cooper. "By securing this funding, the North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency has continued to guide that work, so our state will be more resilient in the face of future disasters."

"Over the last few years, North Carolina has faced multiple natural disasters that have destroyed communities across the state," said Senator Tillis. "Thank you to Secretary Ross and the Trump Administration for this grant to establish a statewide framework on disaster resilience planning so North Carolina can be better prepared for future storms."

This project was made possible by the regional planning efforts led by the Albemarle Commission; Mid-East Commission; Eastern Carolina Council of Governments (COG); Cape Fear COG; Lumber River COG; Mid-Carolina COG; Upper Coastal Plain COG; Triangle J COG; Kerr-Tar COG; and Centralina COG, all of which EDA funds to bring together the public and private sectors to create an economic development roadmap to strengthen the regional economy, support private capital investment and create jobs.

This project is funded by the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (Pub. L. 116-20) (PDF), which provided EDA with $600 million in additional Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) Program (PDF) funds for disaster relief and recovery for areas affected by Hurricanes Florence, Michael, and Lane, Typhoons Yutu and Mangkhut, wildfires, volcanic eruptions, and other major natural disasters occurring in calendar year 2018, and tornadoes and floods occurring in calendar year 2019, under the Robert T. Stafford Act. Please visit EDA's Disaster Supplemental webpage for more information.