Dam Safety Grant Program

The Dam Safety Grant Program (Round Two) is administered by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) through its Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources. This program is established under Session Law 2025-26 (House Bill 1012) to address critical dam safety issues across North Carolina. Recognizing the risks posed by aging or structurally deficient dams—especially those classified as high hazard—the program seeks to mitigate threats to human life, infrastructure, and downstream properties through targeted rehabilitation support. Rehabilitation is defined as the repair, modification, or removal of eligible dams to meet current North Carolina dam safety standards. Funding is specifically intended for dams classified as Class C (high hazard) under state regulations. To qualify, a dam must have one or more unresolved Notices of Deficiency (NODs) or Dam Safety Orders (DSOs) and must have sustained damage as a result of Hurricane Helene. Eligible rehabilitation work must be directed at correcting these structural or hydrological deficiencies, as confirmed by prior inspections. Importantly, projects aimed at increasing storage capacity, generating hydroelectric power, or performing routine maintenance are not eligible. Federally owned or operated dams are also excluded. The grant covers all eligible rehabilitation costs including engineering services, design and construction, permit fees, and the required Dam Safety Fee, all on a lump sum basis. Grant recipients can be either public or private dam owners, and the application must be submitted jointly by all owners if there are multiple stakeholders. The design and inspection of all work must be performed by a licensed Professional Engineer registered in North Carolina. Survey data must be generated and certified by a registered land surveyor. Projects must obtain a Certificate of Approval through the NCDEQ Dam Safety Program and begin construction within one year of the certificate’s issuance. Noncompliance or failure to initiate construction within the required period may result in termination of funding. Applications must be comprehensive and include the official NCDEQ Dam Safety Grant Fund application, a detailed Opinion of Probable Cost (OPC), construction or conceptual plans addressing the dam’s deficiencies, supporting design documentation, inspection reports, and permit-related estimates. All documents must be submitted either via email to [email protected] or delivered to the department’s Raleigh office. For this cycle, applications must be received by 5:00 PM on June 19, 2026. Incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Each submission will undergo a technical review to assess completeness, risk reduction, and alignment with program priorities. Projects will be prioritized using the Dam Safety Program’s Risk-Based Priority Rating System, which compares the dam’s current risk level with the anticipated post-rehabilitation condition. Additional consideration will be given based on population-at-risk values calculated through FEMA’s DSS-WISE modeling tool. The award selection announcement is scheduled for March 2, 2026, although that date may shift depending on the volume of submissions. The Dam Safety Grant Program plays a pivotal role in advancing public safety by addressing deficiencies in high-risk dams across North Carolina. By targeting those with documented hazards and prioritizing impactful rehabilitation, the program contributes significantly to the state’s infrastructure resilience and environmental protection goals.

Ensure plans are sealed by a licensed NC engineer and deficiencies are clearly addressed; Incomplete applications or ineligible dam classifications will be rejected.