Office of Resilience requests $117 million in nonrecurring funds, seeks $43 million reserve replenishment

The Office of Resilience told the Economic Development Budget Subcommittee of the House Ways and Means Committee that it is seeking $117 million in nonrecurring state funds and an additional $43 million to replenish reserves used in the immediate aftermath of recent storms.

The request matters because the agency said federal recovery money was smaller for the most recent declared storm than for previous disasters, and state seed funding has allowed it to start repairs and mitigation work while federal approvals are pending.

At the hearing the agency’s presenter (identified in testimony as Ben) summarized accomplishments, ongoing work and specific budget requests. He said the office released a statewide resilience plan and atlas in February 2024, has placed more than 12,701 acres into protection (mostly wetlands), and coordinated a data study with analytics firm SAS to reduce redundant purchases of geospatial and other data. He told the committee the office manages 44 infrastructure projects, six home-buyout programs (about 90 homes in process), and 22 planning studies for cities and counties.

On grants, testimony said the state is a partner in an approximately $421 million EPA grant across five states, and South Carolina’s share was described in testimony as $50 million, with a potential later $38 million through the Nature…