Jasper County, South Carolina, are launching a major study of stormwater management and ways to reduce contamination of area waters from current and future development.
The county was awarded a $1.25 million Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grant. $937,500 will come from federal sources with the remaining $312,500 coming from Jasper County.
“At the County Council level, we look forward to this much-needed project to help guide our policies and governance related to land planning and development. The Lowcountry landscape draws you in, and we must be vigilant in protecting what we have, before it is too late,” Jasper County Council Chair Marty Sauls said in a press release.
The South Carolina Emergency Management Division is administering the grant from FEMA through the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Program.
According to the FEMA grant, the stormwater drainage study must be completed by January 31, 2027, unless an extension is approved.
The first steps will be to identify and initiate a task force comprised of County, municipal and neighboring jurisdictions. The task force will be a guiding team for the consulting engineering firm.
The stormwater drainage study in Jasper County follows the purchase of the $,409-acre Gregorie Neck tract in Jasper County by Beaufort County and other parties. Beaufort County Council approved a $1 million expenditure from the county’s Green Space Program for the conservation of the property, which was recently purchased by The Nature Conservancy.
Similar to Jasper County’s concern about stormwater management, the Gregorie Neck property is important to Beaufort County, because of its proximity to major waterways that flow into the county and the Atlantic Ocean.
