The South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR) Disaster Recovery Office held its Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery Steering Committee meeting on November 15, 2022.

During the meeting, Committee members reviewed and approved grants to local governments for the Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation Buyout Program.

A total of $16,896,899 was approved for mitigation buyout grant funding for the following entities:

Town of Nichols – 23 properties

The area has been impacted by both Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence. This project benefits a community that is exposed to flood zone hazards and provides the ability for these citizens to relocate to safer areas.

Dillon County – 6 properties

This area is located within the FEMA special flood hazard area. The area has been impacted by both Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence.

Darlington County – 40 properties

This project benefits communities in Darlington County that have experienced repetitive flooding along the Black Creek and associated tributaries. The Darlington County Flood Study, funded by SCOR’s CDBG-MIT Plans & Studies program, helped to identify this buyout project as a solution to reduce the impacts of flooding in the county. The Study is still ongoing and is expected to be complete in January 2023.

City of Mullins – 19 properties

The area has been impacted by both Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence. This project is a result of a grant secured by SCOR from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which provides SCOR with Equitable Resilience Technical Assistance Projects. The project is part of an EPA pilot program to help develop green infrastructure projects for use after Mullins takes over as the responsible entity.

This round of approvals completes the Buyout portion of SCOR's CDBG-MIT program. SCOR is accepting applications for Plans & Studies and Matching grants year-round, and expects to open an application window for Infrastructure funding in April 2023. Roughly $50 million in Infrastructure is remaining; $7 million for Plans & Studies; and $2.1 million in Matching grant funding.

For additional updates on disaster recovery, mitigation, and resilience efforts in South Carolina, follow SCOR on social media.