For Release: Immediate  Date: March 12,2001

Contact: Robert Carver pager 919-565-7701 or  Tom Hegele pager 919-565-4158

SUNSET BEACH - In an agreement signed today by state emergency managers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), North Carolina became one of the nation's first "Managing States," a distinction giving it unprecedented authority in applying for federal funds for projects such as the buyout of flood-damaged homes following Hurricane Floyd.

"This will greatly speed up the process of generating applications and having them approved, and that means North Carolinians will see the benefits of these projects much faster than in the past," said Eric Tolbert, director of the North Carolina Emergency Management Division (NCEM). "This agreement shows that FEMA recognizes how good a job North Carolina has done in preparing past applications."

"Managing State" status involves projects relating to the state and federal Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP). The buyout of flood-damaged homes following Hurricane Floyd is one such project. Mitigation involves taking action to limit the damage to people and property that stand in the path of potential natural disaster. The post-Floyd buyout accomplishes that by purchasing homes that lie in the path of floodwaters, demolishing them and returning their lots to greenspace, thereby forever eliminating the expense of rebuilding time and again after repeated disasters.

With the "Managing State" agreement, NCEM's mitigation staff will now approve many aspects of project applications rather than relying on FEMA staff in Atlanta or Washington, D.C.

"The real test of a state's strength is how well it responds to its citizens following a disaster," said Bryan Beatty, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, the department that oversees NCEM. "This agreement certainly shows FEMA's confidence in North Carolina's ability to put together solid projects that help its people."

"FEMA will be more hands-off," said Todd Davison, director of the Mitigation Division with FEMA's Atlanta Regional Office. "Most decisions will now be made in Raleigh."

Davison says North Carolina is already recognized as a national leader in planning and administering hazard mitigation projects, something that lead to today's agreement. "A lot of the agenda nationally has been set by North Carolina."

For instance, North Carolina worked with FEMA to develop guidelines for approving Floyd buyouts faster than ever. The largest single-state buyout project in U.S. history, it involves the purchase of more than 4,200 homes. One year after the flood, all of the state's Floyd buyout projects had been approved. The "Managing State" agreement will further speed the process.

The signing came during the opening session of the Governor's Hurricane Conference being held this week in Brunswick County.

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