The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Flood Resiliency Blueprint is partnering with the North Carolina Land and Water Fund to provide $1.1 million for three flood risk reduction projects located in Dunn, Clyde and Smithfield.  

In total, the projects will restore more than 1.29 miles of stream and 50 acres of floodplain as well as retrofit a pond to reduce flooding.   

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has launched the Western NC Recovery Grants Program to help communities affected by Hurricane Helene secure long-term recovery funding. The program offers free grant-writing and technical assistance to local governments, eligible nonprofits partnering with them, and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians across 39 disaster-declared counties.

The U.S. Department of Labor has released additional funds to help North Carolinians get back to work in areas affected by Hurricane Helene.

The new funds, totaling $4 million, represent the remaining portion of a $10 million Disaster Recovery Dislocated Worker Grant that the U.S. Department of Labor initially awarded to North Carolina in 2024 in the wake of Helene.

Sylva’s Pinnacle Park will undergo substantial upgrades after the town formally accepted a $340,000 grant from the state’s Parks and Recreation Trust Fund during its Oct. 23 meeting, setting in motion a series of improvements that will reshape one of Western North Carolina’s most popular hiking destinations. 

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Environmental Assistance and Customer Service is now accepting applications for the Helene Recovery Recycling Infrastructure Grant Program, which supports western North Carolina communities in rebuilding and strengthening waste reduction and recycling systems following Hurricane Helene. 

Duke Energy Foundation has awarded The North Carolina Arboretum a $25,000 grant as part of its effort to support local conservation efforts and environmental impact programs across North Carolina. 

Two Haywood County water systems will benefit from a combined $15 million in funding for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects as part of a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program for disaster-affected states. North Carolina is the first state impacted by Helene to award grants from this program. 

Since Hurricane Helene devastated Western North Carolina, residents have learned countless lessons and encountered unforeseen circumstances, even long after the initially recovery phase began. 

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler and USDA Deputy Secretary Stephen Vaden signed a $221 million federal block grant agreement that targets aid to North Carolina farmers who sustained losses and damages from Hurricane Helene in 2024. 

Unearthing history is nothing new to Cherokee Language Program director and associate professor Sara Snyder Hopkins. Thanks to a federal grant, she and a group of colleagues will continue to do so.