New Hanover County joins state coastal resilience program to focus on Upper Smith Creek flooding

Madeline Wampler, New Hanover County sustainability manager, told the Board of Commissioners that the county has been awarded participation in the North Carolina Resilient Coastal Communities Program and will use the one‑year, state‑led effort to develop a resilience strategy and a portfolio of projects for the Upper Smith Creek watershed.

Wampler said the program, created in 2020 and administered by the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management, provides no‑cost technical assistance and that "the funding does not directly go to the communities. It goes to a technical contractor," adding that New Hanover County was matched with the contractor Moffett and Nicholl. She noted the county will sign a memorandum of understanding with the contractor to define roles and responsibilities.

The memo matters because the county did not need prior board approval to join phases 1 and 2 of the program; staff applied earlier this spring and were awarded participation. Under the RCCP structure,…