02 NCAC 59D .0104         community conservation assistance program allocation guidelines and procedures

(a)  The Commission shall consider the total amount of funding available for allocation and relative needs for BMP implementation, local technical assistance, and education to determine the proportion of available funds to be allocated for each eligible purpose. This determination shall be done prior to allocating funds to Statewide, regional, and district allocation pools and the Division. Funds may be allocated for any or all of the following purposes:

(1)           cost share and cost share incentive payments;

(2)           technical and administrative assistance; and

(3)           Statewide or local education and outreach activities.

The percentage of funding available for each purpose and each allocation pool shall be specified in the annual Detailed Implementation Plan based upon the recommendation of the Division and the needs expressed by the districts.

(b)  Based on the availability of funds, the Commission shall allocate cost share funds from the district allocation pool to the districts. To receive fund allocations, each district shall request funds in their strategic plan.

(c)  Funds for cost share and cost share incentive payments shall be allocated to the districts at the beginning of the fiscal year and whenever the Commission determines that funds are available in the district allocation pool to justify a reallocation. Districts shall be allocated monies based on the identified level of nonpoint source pollution problems and the respective district's BMP installation goals as demonstrated in the district's annual strategic plan. The allocation method used for disbursement of funds shall be based upon the score of each respective district for those parameters approved by the Commission pursuant to Subparagraph (7) of this Paragraph. The points each district scores on each parameter shall be totaled and proportioned to the total dollars available for district allocation under the current fiscal year funding according to the following formula:

(1)           Sum of Parameter Points                                                                                    =              Total Points

(2)           Percentage Total                                  x                              Total Dollars         =              Dollars Available

Points Each District                                                             Available                               to Each District

(3)           95 percent of the program funding designated for district allocations shall be allocated to the district accounts in the initial allocation. The Division shall retain five percent of the total funding in a contingency fund to respond to an emergency or natural disaster.

(4)           The Commission may recall funds allocated to a district that have not been encumbered to an agreement at any time if it determines the recalled funds are needed to respond to an emergency or natural disaster.

(5)           At any time a district may submit a revised strategic plan to request additional funds from the Commission.

(6)           Agreements that encumber funds under the current fiscal year must be submitted to the Division by 5:00 p.m. on June 30.

(7)           Districts shall be allocated funds based on their respective data for each of the following parameters:

(A)          Relative rank of the percentage of the county draining to waters identified as impaired or impacted on the most recent Integrated Report produced by the North Carolina Division of Water Resources. (20 percent).

(B)          Relative rank of the percentage of the county draining to waters classified as Outstanding Resource Waters, High Quality Waters and Trout Waters or on the current schedule of Water Quality Standards and Classifications, and Shellfish Harvesting Areas (open) as determined by the Division of Marine Fisheries. (20 percent)

(C)          The percentage of each county covered by National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Phase I and Phase II requirements found at https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/water-resources-permit-guidance/npdes-phase-i-phase-ii-stormwater-guidance. (20 percent)

(D)          Relative rank of population density for the county. (20 percent)

(E)           Relative rank of the percentage of a county's land area that is located within drinking water assessment areas, as delineated by the Public Water Supply Section of the Division of Water Resources. (20 percent)

(F)           The Commission may consider additional factors, such as data sources changes to the Subparagraphs in this Paragraph, as recommended by the Division when making its allocations.

(d)  Based on the availability of funds, the Commission shall allocate cost share funds from the Statewide and regional allocation pools. To receive fund allocations, each district designated eligible by the Commission shall submit applications to respective pools when solicited by the Division. The Division shall rank each application and recommend to the Commission for its approval an amount to allocate to each district corresponding to the highest-ranking applications.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 106-860; 139‑8;139‑8;

Eff. May 1, 1987;

Recodified from 15A NCAC 6E .0004 Eff. December 20, 1996;

Amended Eff. January 1, 1998;

Transferred from 15A NCAC 06E .0104 Eff. May 1, 2012;

Readopted Eff. January 1, 2020.