Mitigation

Mitigation helps communities lessen the impact of future disasters by reducing or eliminating the risk of death, injury, property loss or damage, suffering and hardship.

North Carolina pays for mitigation activities with $168 million in federal Community Development Block Grant – Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds that were allocated to the state by Congress and approved for use by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Under federal guidelines, CDBG-MIT funds must be used for projects that reduce damages and losses from future disasters. In addition, North Carolina must:

• Spend at least 50% of the funds to benefit counties that HUD designated as being “most impacted and distressed” by Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence.
• Use at least 50% of the funds for activities that benefit low- and moderate-income residents.

HUD released the Federal Register notice that specified the requirements for the mitigation funds on August 30, 2019. Based on a risk assessment and feedback from local government and recovering communities, the state developed a draft action plan which outlines how the funds will be used. After a 45-day public comment period, NCORR submitted the draft action plan and the required citizen participation plan to HUD for review. The Action Plan was approved by HUD on March 13, 2020. 

A public comment period was held Dec. 7, 2020 through Jan. 7, 2021 to receive feedback on a proposed amendment to the state’s current CDBG –MIT Action Plan. Responses to public comments will be posted to this website. The proposed action plan amendment must be submitted to HUD for approval before it is considered final and goes into effect. The proposed changes to the CDBG-Mitigation Action Plan focus on: 

Strategic Buyout Program 

• By purchasing eligible property and converting the property to green space, the future risk to life and property is lessened or eliminated. 
• The changes to the Action Plan propose consolidating Strategic Buyout funding under one source to make the program more efficient. More information on the buyout program may be found here.   

Mitigation Planning 

• CDBG-MIT funds are allocated to planning activities that support NCORR’s overall mitigation efforts. 
• NCORR will provide details on ongoing planning activities on this website as progress towards this activity is made.  

 
Read NC Action Plans, Amendments and Citizen Participation Plans