Sen. Jim Perry and fellow lawmakers develop comprehensive flood plan

Raleigh, N.C. – Since 2016, North Carolina has experienced $22 Billion in damages related to major flood events related to two hurricanes, Matthew (2016) and Florence (2018). Eastern North Carolina communities are on the frontlines of flooding, whether it be from tropical storms, hurricanes, or just strong thunderstorms.

Senator Jim Perry (R-Lenoir, Wayne) and Senator Danny Britt (R-Columbus, Robeson) serve as Co-Chairmen of the Senate Select Committee on Storm Related River Debris and Damage in North Carolina and introduced the “Flood Resiliency and Prevention Act” this week.

We are working on a framework for a comprehensive, strategic flood plan. Over the last 36 months, multiple stakeholder groups have offered valuable insights, research, and conversation on this topic. We are here today to shift gears on this effort. I have had enough conversation; I want to see tangible progress,” said Sen. Britt

In September 2019, the North Carolina General Assembly passed the “Disaster Recovery Act,” into law. Among its many provisions, the bill appropriated $2,000,000 to the North Carolina Policy Collaboratory to conduct research related to flood resiliency in eastern North Carolina. The final report is due June 1, 2021. This report will help serve as a blueprint for North Carolina’s Comprehensive Flood Plan.

Iowa and Louisiana are two states who have established very comprehensive plans to address flooding and their focused efforts have enabled them to access hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grants. North Carolina lawmakers indicate they wish to follow the successful framework implemented by these states, and they look forward to reviewing recommendations provided by the North Carolina Policy Collaboratory’s Research Team.

“We are pleased we are able to move this ball down the field. We believe It is important that a single person be clearly responsible for executing the final plan. We intend to establish clear ownership inside of an agency. Focused execution of a good plan is better than mediocre execution of a great plan,” said Sen. Perry

The lawmakers realize they can’t stop flooding. They believe efforts in other states prove the impacts can be reduced with cost-effective resiliency efforts that will benefit the entire state.