week of  2/13/02
 
 
 


Budget crisis affects trust fund, possibly Needmore
SMN
It’s been a roller coaster ride for North Carolina’s Clean Water Management Trust Fund, one that could potentially affect the future of the Needmore Tract in Macon and Swain counties.

After tough negotiations in the General Assembly this past summer, Gov. Mike Easley on Feb. 5 proposed cutting CWMTF by $20.8 million for fiscal year 2001-02. He cited a projected shortfall of $900 million in state revenues.

According to CWMTF’s western representative, Tom Massie, the new cuts will leave the trust scrambling. Massie said grants totaling $36 million had already been approved by CWMTF in November 2001. Those grants were made from applications filed in June 2001 plus some carried over from the previous grant cycle. According to Massie, the trust wa s scheduled to consider approximately 100 grant applications totaling $111 million at its Feb. 17 and 18 meetings. Those grant applications are from December 2001 and the previous grant cycle.

CWMTF was identified by Bill Gibson, executive director of Region A of the Southwestern North Carolina Planning and Economic Development Commission, as a primary source of funding for money to help preserve the Needmore Tract along the Little Tennessee River in Macon and Swain counties. Gibson has been enlisted by Swain and Macon counties to work on behalf of the counties to find a way to preserve the tract which is owned by Crescent Resources, the land management arm of Duke Power.

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and CWMTF have both noted that the preservation of Needmore was high on their list of priorities. The organizations have been waiting for Crescent to announce their intentions for the property. Holman stated recently that he expected NCWRC to file a grant application in June regarding Needmore.

Massie said Needmore was still a high priority for CWMTF. He said it would be hard to gauge, at this time, what affect the cuts might have on the trust’s ability to assist with the preservation of Needmore.

CWMTF Executive Director Bill Holman has proposed the board add time during it’s Monday, Feb. 18, meeting to discuss the cut in funding and it’s ramifications on approved projects plus the current cycle of projects under consideration.

The CWMTF has been active in Western North Carolina, funding more than $25.2 million worth of projects in the French Broad River basin, $2.1 million in the Hiawassie basin and $6.3 million in the Little Tennessee basin.