Grants for Small Watershed Projects.
§ 139‑53. State Soil and Water Conservation Commission authorized to accept applications.
The State Soil and Water Conservation Commission is authorized to accept applications for grants for nonfederal costs relating to small watershed projects authorized under Public Law 566 (83rd Congress as amended) from local sponsors of such projects properly organized under the provisions of either Chapter 156 of the General Statutes of North Carolina or Chapter 139 of the General Statutes of North Carolina, or from county service districts authorized by G.S. 153A‑301, or from municipal service districts authorized by G.S. 160A‑536. Applications shall be made on forms prescribed by the Commission. (1977, 2nd Sess., c. 1206; 1981, c. 326, s. 9.)
§ 139‑54. Purposes for which grants may be requested.
Applications for grants may be made for the nonfederal share of small watershed projects for the following purposes in amounts not to exceed the percentage of the nonfederal costs indicated:
(1) Land rights acquisition for impounding or retarding water – fifty percent (50%).
(2) Engineering fees – fifty percent (50%).
(3) Anticipated future and present water supply needs in conjunction with watershed improvement works or projects as described in G.S. 139‑37.1 – fifty percent (50%).
(4) Installation of recreational facilities and services (to include land acquisition) as described in G.S. 139‑46 – fifty percent (50%).
(5) Construction costs for water management (drainage or irrigation) purposes, including utility and road relocations not funded by the State Department of Transportation – sixty‑six and two‑thirds percent (66 2/3%).
(6) Conservation and replacement of fish and wildlife habitat as described in G.S. 139‑46 – seventy‑five percent (75%).
(7) Rehabilitation or improvement of water resources structural measures in accordance with criteria established by the Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture pursuant to the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954, as amended by the Small Watershed Rehabilitation Amendments of 2000 (Pub. L. No. 106‑472, 114 Stat. 2007), codified at 16 U.S.C. § 1001, et. seq.; the Dam Safety Law of 1967, G.S. 143‑215.23, et. seq.; and rules adopted pursuant thereto – fifty percent (50%). (1977, 2nd Sess., c. 1206; 1979, c. 1046, s. 2; 2002‑176, s. 3.)
§ 139‑55. Review of applications.
(a) The State Soil and Water Conservation Commission shall receive and review applications for grants for small watershed projects authorized under Public Law 566 (83rd Congress, as amended) and approve, approve in part, or disapprove all such applications.
(b) In reviewing each application, the State Soil and Water Conservation Commission shall consider:
(1) The financial resources of the local sponsoring organization;
(2) Nonstructural measures such as sedimentation control ordinances and floodplain zoning ordinances enacted and enforced by local governments to alleviate flooding;
(3) Regional benefits of projects to an area greater than the area under jurisdiction of the local sponsoring organization;
(4) Any direct benefit to State‑owned lands and properties. (1977, 2nd Sess., c. 1206; 2002‑165, s. 2.17; 2007‑495, s. 17.)
§ 139‑56. Recommendation of priorities and disbursal of grant funds.
Whenever two or more applications for grants are approved in whole or in part, the State Soil and Water Conservation Commission shall establish priorities among the several applications for disbursal of grant funds. To the extent that funds are available, the State Soil and Water Conservation Commission may authorize the disbursal of grant funds to the applicants consistent with the established priorities. The State Soil and Water Conservation Commission shall promulgate regulations to provide for an audit of grant funds to assure that they are spent for the purposes delineated in the application. Established priorities may be reviewed from time to time and revised if circumstances warrant such revision. (1977, 2nd Sess., c. 1206.)
§ 139‑57. Availability of funds.
All grants shall be contingent upon the availability of funds for disbursement to applicants. At the end of each fiscal year the State Soil and Water Conservation Commission shall notify all applicants whose applications have been approved and to whom grant funds have not been disbursed of the status of their application. At the time of notification the State Soil and Water Conservation Commission shall notify the applicants of the availability of funds for grants in the upcoming fiscal year and at the same time shall notify the applicants of their position on any priority list that may have been established for the disbursal of grant funds for small watershed projects. (1977, 2nd Sess., c. 1206.)
§ 139-58: Reserved for future codification purposes.
§ 139-59: Reserved for future codification purposes.