Grants of nearly $500,000 to impact Bladen County

RALEIGH — Nearly half a million dollars in enviromental grants are expected to impact Bladen County.

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is receiving $250,000 to educate county commercial agricultural producers about and implement conservation farming techniques, including field buffers, native plantings, prescribed burn, and restoration of longleaf pine savannas. There is another $242,021 that will be used by N.C. State in Bladen, Pender and New Hanover counties to identify and study PFAS in swine sludge to determine the chemicals’ risk to fields in the Cape Fear Watershed.

PFAS is an acronym for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. It has become a part of the regional lexicon through Chemours, the chemical company in Bladen County identified in June 2017 as the source of contamination to the Cape Fear River through release of GenX.

Money from a more widespread grant of $188,000 may also touch into the county. That gift was made to Waterkeepers North Carolina for use statewide to research microplastic pollution in 30 streams and rivers, identify types of microplastics, and estimate loading rates from stormwater.

The announcement of the grants was made by the Office of the State Attorney General. The awards come from the Environmental Enhancement Grant program, a product of a 2000 agreement between the attorney general’s office — under the direction of Mike Easley — and Smithfield Foods.

The EEG program is funded each year by Smithfield providing $2 million to the Department of Justice. Due to ongoing litigation, 2020 is the second grant cycle since 2016. Earlier this year, 27 grantees were distributed $3.5 million; the current cycle has distributed $3 million to 22 grantees.