[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6089732,"mediaKeyId","2871927-cc727147650c484901240d1c259d04a1","parentId",2871927,"title","Subcommittee hears ARPA stormwater program update; agency urges $30 million recurring support","audioSeconds",226,"startMs",132000,"endMs",358000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2871927-cc727147650c484901240d1c259d04a1&start=132&end=358","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2871927-cc727147650c484901240d1c259d04a1/thumbnail_132000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6089732/South-Carolina/Subcommittee-hears-ARPA-stormwater-program-update-agency-urges-30-million-recurring-support","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6089732-7573c8e656f6f33e845e5807c1fdda52/orig.mp4?Expires=1775703481&Signature=JCIfdcYHKcah6hQf9zi-j-KLNiECVEKVua86qT9mU6jyYb9dYEEslfFVSAf84f~CioKDpOToWNQdymT2SQu~mxpKCP2j3mJS2fxzU0EMjOKprVOs2D0mr7TZkEYixCgwrwvIJCbFItgdWwuF4Ez40PFdDOAY4NdQV-wmwXxeXUWHco3-F6zSKPFKhUYNjnfK5ebdo1XMq5Sb-V0rt1SDk8egY54nwjJQreqZAdRxWLT9PxrEg6cGGJdd5jIJ9RyuEzm1l1vxmDXKWolS0J4VTB-BHrHVfdHZW-5WqfCAaB2YALiF44~oG4Tnq77~ZZz3aBnLf9CWaDkamtsburioXQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","South Carolina Legislature","date","2025-04-03T00:00:00Z","article","Felicia Lewis, mitigation director at the Office of Resilience, told the Legislative Oversight Subcommittee that the state's ARPA stormwater infrastructure program is fully federal-funded and managing 17 projects across South Carolina.

\"So the ARPA funding, again, it is all federal, funding, and we are using it for stormwater infrastructure projects. We have a total number, of 17 projects that we're managing in that fund. 7 of the projects are currently in construction. We have 2 that are out for bid and 3 projects are also in a procurement process,\" Lewis said under oath.

The agency said its ARPA allocation has supported predominantly green-infrastructure projects awarded through a statewide competitive application process. Lewis said awards were scored on feasibility, stage of work, benefit-cost analysis, community impact and flood-risk reduction. \"We're looking at things like, benefit cost analysis to make sure that we are putting money into the work that we can get the most benefit out of. We're looking at the impact on the community, the amount of flood risk reduction,\" she said.

Nut graf: The update matters because the Office of Resilience says all ARPA obligations are in place and must be spent and completed by the end of 2026, and the agency is seeking new recurring state funding to continue mitigation work after one-time federal pots are exhausted.

Lewis told the subcommittee the ARPA funds are obligated and that the agency does not expect another round of ARPA funding: \"We've already obligated all of the funding. There was a deadline by the treasury for us to go ahead and obligate funding. So we don't currently have any funding available to obligate. And to my knowledge, there is not going to be another round of the ARPA funding.\" She added that project completion deadlines will be met by or before the end of 2026.

Committee members pressed on other funding sources. Lewis said the agency has used HUD Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds and state dollars for some projects but that those, too, were allocated and not recurring. A subcommittee member noted an estimated post-storm allocation of about $20,000,000 tied to Hurricane Helene that will be directed toward mitigation in affected areas; the official who mentioned that number characterized it as still being finalized.

On the scale of need, Lewis said applications and requests far outstripped available ARPA funds: the agency initially had roughly $55,000,000 allocated for ARPA mitigation work (later increased to ‘‘over 60’’ million, per the discussion), but received about $200,000,000 in project requests; HUD phase 1 mitigation awards and requests were also discussed as substantially larger than available funds. Lewis said the agency is asking the General Assembly for $30,000,000 to replace reserve funds and support ongoing infrastructure needs and that a broader package totaling roughly $117,000,000 is under consideration for different resilience activities.

Members asked how the state prioritizes awards. Lewis said the scoring looks at severity and frequency of flooding, number of structures affected and other factors that maximize public benefit. She also pointed the committee to a state transparency dashboard showing allocations, obligations and spending.

Senator Fadfield asked whether ARPA and other federal funding streams are recurring; Lewis said they were not. Committee members and staff discussed the importance of recurring state funding so local governments can plan multi-stage mitigation efforts rather than wait for one-time grants.

Ending: The Office of Resilience left the subcommittee with a formal request for recurring state mitigation funding and said it will provide additional information on project leverage and the transparency dashboard to committee staff.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Legislative Oversight Committee April 3, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Felicia Lewis, mitigation director at the Office of Resilience, told the Legislative Oversight Subcommittee that the state's ARPA stormwater infrastructure program is fully federal-funded and managing 17 projects across South Carolina.","taxTitle","Legislative Oversight, Standing, Senate, Committees, Legislative, South Carolina","taxId",17643,"location","South Carolina","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6089723,"Resilience office details land conservation purchases and outside leverage, cites $50M coalition CPRG award",1081,814000,1895000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2871927-cc727147650c484901240d1c259d04a1&start=814&end=1895","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2871927-cc727147650c484901240d1c259d04a1/thumbnail_814000.jpg","/articles/6089723/South-Carolina/Resilience-office-details-land-conservation-purchases-and-outside-leverage-cites-50M-coalition-CPRG-award","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6089723-6479d2941a78cb7cc67ab8170d226d97/orig.mp4?Expires=1775703481&Signature=ajTCoKV5ZnbfqqysNuboN7xsCz71nCxvMrWfJ-RVLK28hSO~LK3nC7d9T0jS9vO6q6K7hllRbJa3fzlBwpFgpnH89fvIZv-ooIoVQBO9-d4xzWrwkYCi6e9QuDrg7nZLCGPBoJpIOQaYCIt1lb19AKedy4rET69QchNBUw~hBoTEhy19JuqNudXidYuogZf-yJQrg9hvhPOzH5NzILd1AOCUWiVgQWynyr-6~mx9MpkVQoEwTcX01BMrjZUW-itsX19r1fP2YuFwXu26xKMZw2STGiKClyq2LzB1Rv4grgtiaPnssBLk50b7YAL~jK5UYIAu-JgpLhu4Wklir7Yd0A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Office of Resilience staff briefed the Legislative Oversight Subcommittee on recent land acquisitions, leverage from partner funding and a new multi‑state grant award that will support conservation across watersheds.

Alex Butler, resilience director and a master's‑level hydrologist, described how the agency used watershed mapping to prioritize conservation for flood mitigation, noting the value of preserving floodways, flood plains, wetlands and soils with high infiltration to ‘‘slow the water across the landscape.’’ He said the agency has watershed‑level mapping available and uses those priorities when evaluating acquisitions.

The agency listed recent contributions and leveraged sums for several projects: a contribution for the Black River / St. Andrews tract ($700,000); Tiger Oaks land acquisition ($20,000,000); a Catawba‑related Nesbitt purchase in Lancaster ($1,900,000); North Island in Berkeley ($1,000,000); Saluda Bluffs ($2,000,000); Waties Island (state contribution listed as $8,000,000, with private and federal partners also contributing); Snows Island ($14,000,000); River Forks ($5,000,000); and a Piedmont basin (RMS initiative) easement covering about 61 acres.

Senators pressed the agency to include leverage details in future reports so the General Assembly can see how state dollars are stretched by private, federal and other partner contributions. One committee member said the conservation bank model was purposely designed to reward projects that bring substantial match or in‑kind leverage to the state.

Nut graf: The agency told the subcommittee that demonstrating leverage is central to sustaining legislative support; officials also said they expect a major new federal implementation grant to add to state capacity for land conservation.

On federal coalition funding, agency staff said the Office of Resilience and partner states won an EPA Carbon Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) implementation award as part of a four‑state coalition. The total coalition award was described as approximately $421,000,000 for the multi‑state area; the agency said about $50,000,000 from that award will be subawarded directly to the state's conservation work and roughly $39,000,000 will go to The Nature Conservancy for regional conservation efforts.

The agency said it will provide the committee with documentation showing how each conservation project’s state contribution was leveraged by partner funding, grants and bargain‑sale appraisals.

Ending: Committee members asked to be kept on distribution for draft datasets (isolated wetlands and watershed mapping) and for the agency to supply leverage metrics in the project list used for future budget deliberations.","The Office of Resilience reviewed recent conservation acquisitions, outlined leveraged funding for specific tracts and said a multi‑state Carbon Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) coalition will bring roughly $50 million to the agency and about $39 million to The Nature Conservancy for regional conservation work.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6089727,"Office of Resilience reports ongoing Yorktown ship remediation funded by ARPA",81,703000,784000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2871927-cc727147650c484901240d1c259d04a1&start=703&end=784","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2871927-cc727147650c484901240d1c259d04a1/thumbnail_703000.jpg","/articles/6089727/South-Carolina/Office-of-Resilience-reports-ongoing-Yorktown-ship-remediation-funded-by-ARPA","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6089727-c3f72e7b783f06106450ce16aca44a23/orig.mp4?Expires=1775703481&Signature=Of3M-rKNTPg4Zo3NOQq8X1DrU9ZwCfvBhvsDekfJ68yzug-WKvEXyWMiyu1yyHbuWvlSI8BvNVkxSYbfdTNoG4fLbhP~rQj7vZp6O1lao9vkUpSU4LLqXkfETKzSZ7qa0ROiS-q9-f~5xxI14Vb0vSrF20RZZiOoI832BCE~jIEsRm284eKZ7r0nM0p9D08ShxAgcHN1QKTaW0-9DYU3azlEBGZq9c3-P-nn-woXw9hw~EM7u1lL2J3tk6IxRlfjc-yTEQjaa06aMmzZ-0Y0ilV1zZB-aC23b~vYX7VlkwSBqxj2dMmajTMHY1PNRvmGQzaEST~lz9CJmWvYjY1~zA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Office of Resilience told the Legislative Oversight Subcommittee that remediation work on the Yorktown is ongoing and funded through ARPA allocations.

\"We we are working every day. We've removed, 202 hundred 28000 gallons, from the ship. And this is, gallons that that that consist of, tank cleanup, 90 truckloads of contaminated liquids, 30 truckloads of of processing facility, including a 69 gallons of contaminated liquids, and 810,000 gallons of, of LTs and liquid tons. And, from that, there's there's ballast water that we've removed and replaced. So we've constantly, removing these contaminants from the from the ship on a constant basis,\" an agency official said during the update.

The subcommittee asked where funding for the Yorktown work was coming from; the agency confirmed that the remediation is being paid with ARPA funds.

Nut graf: The Yorktown remediation surfaced as a discrete item during the meeting because the subcommittee is tracking ARPA-funded mitigation and resilience activities statewide; officials characterized the cleanup as ongoing, logistical and funded from the same one-time federal source discussed elsewhere in the hearing.

Committee members asked about the scope and the source of the money. The official said a portion of earlier ARPA allocations was devoted to this project and that the agency had awarded roughly $100,000,000 in ARPA funds overall for mitigation-related projects discussed in the hearing. No formal vote or decision on Yorktown funding was taken during the session.

Ending: Agency staff said cleanup work continues and that they would brief committee staff as additional details or milestones are reached.","Agency staff told the subcommittee that cleanup work at the USS Yorktown site is ongoing, funded with ARPA dollars; officials described removal of contaminated liquids and ballast water and said cleanup operations continue daily.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Subcommittee hears ARPA stormwater program update; agency urges $30 million recurring support

Resilience office details land conservation purchases and outside leverage, cites $50M coalition CPRG award

Office of Resilience reports ongoing Yorktown ship remediation funded by ARPA