The grant provided funding to the Town of Oriental to repair the permanent breach and accelerated erosion caused by Hurricane Matthew at Whittaker Pointe, a peninsula of land along the Neuse River that served as a barrier protecting natural, recreational, commercial, and cultural resources. The Town, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), and the N.C. Coastal Federation developed a phased plan to create a living shoreline to help maintain the Town’s natural buffer. This buffer was critical to absorbing storm-generated wind and water energy that flowed unimpeded across the sound from as far away as Ocracoke. Golden LEAF Disaster Recovery Grant Program funds were used to support engineering/design, construction, and the planting of marsh grass and completion of the sill/revetment. The Town also used funds to repair the damaged access road. Volunteers and donated materials were also used to complete the project.
