What’s Going On with ARP Infrastructure Investment in North Carolina?

Community and Economic Development – Blog by UNC School of Government

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What’s Going On with ARP Infrastructure Investment in North Carolina?

By Maureen Berner

Published April 18, 2023

A significant benefit of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) for North Carolina CED professionals is the availability of funding for investment in water, sewer, and broadband infrastructure though the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (SLFRS). Where and how is that local government money being invested?
The answer can be found through The Local Government ARP Investment Tracker, created by a partnership between The National League of Cities, the National Association of Counties, and Brookings Metro, and updated yesterday (April 17, 2023). The Tracker provides ARP budgeted data through last December (2022) for all local governments except Tier 5 (the smallest cities and counties). The data reflect adopted budgets only, not proposals or expenses. So far, local governments have budgeted a little over 60% of their total SLFRF funds across a wide range of service areas, with the largest share going to government operations. While the Tracker includes all forms of local government investment, from community aid to public safety, the rest of this post focuses on infrastructure specifically.

Nationally, only about 11% of adopted budget ARP dollars have gone to infrastructure projects. Within that, sewer and water dominate the spending sub-groups.

In North Carolina, according to the Tracker data, $40 million from the SLFRS has been budgeted for infrastructure directly by local governments as of December 2022 (note: some of the funds may be used as a match to leverage state or other funds). So far, the budgeted amounts are primarily located in larger counties and cities, and to some extent, reflect the same distribution of community priorities as listed for national spending. One difference is that in North Carolina there were no reported local government budgeted amounts as of last December for the sub-categories of Public Transportation, Roadways and Bridges, or Other Infrastructure.

The funding amounts reported can be tied to a single local government project or multiple projects within and across jurisdictions. For example, the Green Infrastructure funding reported here is entirely for the Buncombe County Sustainability Office’s Renewable Energy for Volunteer Fire Districts project with the goal of reducing the utility costs and greenhouse emissions for all participating VFDs.

On the other hand, there are multiple local government-based projects addressing Broadband needs. The Land of Sky Regional Council will use its Broadband funding for its Connecting All Communities internet access & digital literacy assistance project, while Cumberland County plans to partner with an internet service provider to expand fiber optic internet access into the more remote areas of the County, and Guildford and Wake Counties will use funds to analyze broadband needs.

Of course, in addition to direct use of ARP funds, state government has also been working with local governments on infrastructure projects, such the Broadband space. For example, the N.C. Department of Information Technology Division of Broadband and Digital Equity’s initiative, Growing Rural Economies with Access to Technology (GREAT) grants, is working with more than $272 million in ARP funds across 93 counties. CED professionals can track these efforts via broadband mapping information for both the GREAT grants program as well as a developing Broadband initative, called the Completing Access to Broadband (CAB) Program, and access and adoption information via the NC OneMap.

Sewer and Water projects are already seeing significant levels of approved funding. The projects range from extending or improving service in conjunction with affordable housing initiatives and recreational opportunities to addressing possible community-wide well water contamination issues. Two of the largest projects are in Cumberland County. The Grey’s Creek project will support the initial stages of a new community water system, and the Shaw Creek project will address significant sanitary sewer system needs.

More infrastructure projects may result from this year’s budget process. For example, upgrades to the North Harnett Wastewater Treatment Plant are included in the County Commissioners’ approved ARP Funding Plan for Harnett County. In addition to the information above, local governments can also track State Fiscal Recovery Funds through the NC Pandemic Recovery Office dashboard. For at least the near term, Infrastructure needs across North Carolina will be addressed by the continuing infusion of ARP funds.