UNITED STATES CONGRESSMAN MIKE McINTYRE

Appropriations Requests

As the Representative of Southeastern North Carolina’s 7 th Congressional District I have the responsibility to advocate for the needs and interests of my constituents. One way that I do this is by making appropriations requests for projects that will benefit our communities, our region, our state, and our nation.

Our office considers the appropriations requests made by citizens throughout our district, as well as those made on behalf of state and national concerns. My office does not make appropriations requests lightly. We consider the cost and benefits of each individual project as well as the level of community support. This year, to make the federal appropriations process more transparent to my constituents, I am posting all of my appropriations requests on this website.

Below is a list of the requests that I have made of the House Appropriations Committee for Fiscal Year 2010. These requests are grouped by applicable Appropriations Bill and listed in alphabetical order by project name.

Agriculture Appropriations

Mariculture
University of North Carolina, Wilmington, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403 CSREES: $500,000 Funds will be used for ongoing research for controlled breeding, lavriculture, growout, economics, marketing and effluent management on marine finfish aquaculture. The program has relied on a mix of Federal, State and Private funding to achieve its goals of enhancing the ability of commercial farming of marine species. The research proposed here addresses a national and worldwide problem that is a major impediment to the growth of marine and freshwater aquaculture that would take much of the pressure off over-fished wild species. The State of North Carolina, through UNCW’s marine biotechnology (MARBIONC) program has recognized the importance of this research and is providing funding to UNCW to augment federal funding.

North Carolina Agriculture Threat Reduction Grant
North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, 2 W. Edenton Street, Raleigh, NC 27601 APHIS: $300,000
Funds will be used to update technology for the Animal Health Programs database which tracks farm locations and animal movement in NC. Over the last two years, North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS; the Department) staff have been actively involved in several local and regional food recalls. During the Castleberry recall of 2007 (canned chili products), the Department developed a website for the collection and compilation of site visits. The unique design of the NCDA&CS Multi-Hazard Threat Database (MHTD) allowed for the rapid development of a web form used to collect information during site visits to retailers. The Department’s Public Health (DPH) partners were also able to deploy their rapid needs assessment tool with the assistance of the NCDA&CS.

Southeast Regional Food System
University of North Carolina, Wilmington, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403 CSREES: $500,000
Funds would be used to launch a multi-organization effort to create linkages between rural communities and farm commodities to their urban counterparts. The Program has solicited proposals to private foundations within NC. In-kind funding includes $9000 for University assistance and $36,000/yr worth of time from twenty students working 20 hr/wk for nine months. The justification for appropriated funds is to provide critical start up funds for the project with personnel, equipment and other expenses. We expect the project to be self supporting within two years.

Statewide Biotechnology Initiative
North Carolina Biotechnology Center, 15 T.W. Alexander Drive, Post Office Box 13547, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709-3547 CSREES: $1,000,000
Funds would be used to accelerate the development of ag-biotech solutions and promote biotech in the state. Federal appropriations are required to catalyze and leverage the state’s 25 year investment in biotechnology for rapid deployment and development of rural economies devastated by the decline of furniture manufacturing, textiles manufacturing, and tobacco production. As North Carolina’s economy transitions from traditional industries, biotechnology is a key economic driver resulting in high paying jobs for new agriculture products benefitting human health, the environment, and energy sustainability. The appropriation investment will leverage federal research dollars invested in North Carolina’s universities targeted to agricultural biotechnology discovery and it will result in increased jobs, new agricultural crops, new agriculture business creations, and strategic alignment of federal, state, and local agriculture sector development efforts. State of North Carolina appropriations will continue to be requested for Biotechnology Center programs aligned to specific agricultural applications for aquaculture, forest biotechnology, nutraceuticals/plant based therapies, biofuels, and bioenergy sources. Private dollars will continue to be developed through the Biotechnology Center’s Business and Technology Development division to be leveraged through venture capital coordination for new commercialization possibilities.

Sweet Potato Research
North Carolina State University, Food Science Research Unit, Department of Food, Bioprocessing & Nutrition Sciences, Raleigh, NC 27695-7624 CSREES: $800,000
Funds would be used to carry out basic and applied research on sweet potatoes. They are becoming an increasingly important crop with deployment in schools and being part of a healthy diet. Development of innovative technologies for processing sweet potatoes into functional food ingredients is creating new market opportunities for the sweet potato industry, boosting its production, offering employment in rural areas, and providing consumers with healthy foods.

Terra Preta Field Demonstration Project
North Carolina Farm Center for Innovation and Sustainability, P.O. Box 53329, 914 Hay Street, Fayetteville, NC 28305 CSREES: $530,000
Funds would be used for a demonstration project to turn sandy infertile soils into highly organic topsoil suitable for crop production. This project transforms underused or wasted agricultural and forest residues into marketable products for bioenergy use on the farm, production of sub-char soil fertilizer that lowers costs and increases yields and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

City of Lumberton, North Carolina Population Waiver Language Request
City of Lumberton, 501 East Fifth Street, Lumberton, North Carolina 28359 USDA, Rural Development
The current USDA guidelines with the population cap of 20,000 restricts Lumberton from participating in the USDA community facilities program, even though Lumberton shares many of the same characteristics of those cities that are categorized as rural based on their demographics and economic conditions. Lumberton, which is located in Robeson County, and the county is classified as a Tier One county by the state of North Carolina. The language waiver would allow Lumberton to apply for USDA Rural Community Facilities funds to renovate the city’s aging police department infrastructure.

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Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations

Aquarius Reef Base Program
University of North Carolina, Wilmington, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403 NOAA/OAR: $750,000
The Aquarius Reef Base (ARB) is the world’s only research and educational undersea laboratory in the world. It is owned by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and operated by the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). It was built with funds provided by Congress almost thirty years ago and has served scientists almost continuously in St. Croix, VI for several years and off the coast of Key Largo, Florida for the past eighteen years. Its primary purpose is to provide an ocean bottom platform to support marine scientists and give them the benefit of long, safe periods of time underwater to study coral reef ecosystems firsthand and without the restrictions of surface based diving. Additionally, and in recent years the Aquarius has served to bring the oceans into classrooms, and public media as a real time teaching tool. The Aquarius is owned by NOAA and will receive a portion of federal funds that are needed to run the program properly. In order to address the problems confronting the coral reefs additional federal as well as outside funding is necessary. The Aquarius provides important research and education that is based on NOAA goals.

Communications Enhancements
Town of Carolina Beach, 1121 N. Lake Park Blvd., Carolina Beach, NC 28428 COPS Technology: $114,800
The Town of Carolina Beach Police Department has a unique responsibility and a challenging mission. Although the year-around population is small, the population grows to over 25,000 residents during summer months. The Town’s many out-of-town visitors require officers to be in constant interaction with the public. Officers often have to leave the relative safety of their vehicles to enter hotels, restaurants, homes and the beach. The small police force has to monitor a large number of public gathering areas and transportation corridors. The Town is seeking funding to increase the safety of our community and its officers by purchasing in-car and “wearable” digital cameras, mobile data terminals, and remote cameras on the Snow’s Cut Bridge and in areas that have a high influx of people during the summer months.

Gunshot Location System
Wilmington Police Department, 615 Bess Street, Wilmington, NC 28401 COPS Technology: $950,000
Funds will purchase ShotSpotter GLS to assist PD with gunfire investigations and hopefully reduce gun violence, especially in Houston Moore and Greenfield apartments. Gunfire continues to be the single leading cause of crime-related death in the United States and each day in our country more than 80 people die from guns and another 200 are wounded but survive with injuries. In 2008, Wilmington Police responded to 1374 calls for shots fired, with a notably high volume in Houston Moore housing area and The Village at Greenfield apartments, which comprise the proposed ShotSpotter coverage area. The Police Department has responded to shots fired calls over the past two years at a cost of $356,000. Funding to implement the ShotSpotter GLS technology will alleviate some of the burden on the Wilmington Police Department and allow for the most effective use of limited police resources.

Methamphetamine Educational Training Project MethodistUniversity 5400 Ramsey Street, Fayetteville, NC 28311 COPS: $750,000
Using a combination of classroom, forensic science laboratory, and simulation center, the Methodist University Methamphetamine Education Training Program will train students; future forensic scientists; law enforcement, emergency medicine, fire/rescue, HAZMAT; and other professionals in the safe and proper identification, collection, and preservation of evidence from methamphetamine laboratories of all types, sizes, and complexities. The program will educate personnel in the holistic understanding of clandestine methamphetamine laboratories, including the chemical production, the adverse physiological and psychological effects on humans, the deterioration and contamination of the environment, and other adverse short- and long-term effects of methamphetamine laboratories. The goal of this program is to provide a new capability to meet a current and ongoing national need in the identification, control, crime scene management, and remediation of clandestine labs and all of the associated socioeconomic issues.

National Textile Center
North Carolina State University, Contracts and Grants, Box 7214, Raleigh, NC 27695 ITA: $13,000,000 for entire program
Now in its fifteenth year of activity, the Center has made numerous contributions to its constituents, helping to keep the industry economically important by providing a knowledge-based competitive edge. The Center is composed of the textile departments, schools, and colleges located at Auburn University, Clemson University, Cornell University, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, North Carolina State University, Philadelphia University, and University of California-Davis. Funding of this program addresses a clear lack of competitive funding in the textile arena thereby serving to fill that gap. The National Textile Center (NTC) is a research consortium that serves the USA Fiber/Textile/Fiber Products/Retail Complex. NTC was established to achieve three primary goals: 1. Research: To discover, design and develop new materials, innovative and improved manufacturing, and integrated systems essential to the success of a modern U.S. textile enterprise. 2. Education: To train personnel, establish industrial partnerships and create transfer mechanisms to ensure the utilization of technologies developed. 3. Partnership: To strengthen the nation's textile research and educational efforts by uniting diverse experts and resources in unique collaborative projects.

North Carolina Height Modernization Pilot Projects
NC Geodetic Survey, division of NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources North Salisbury Street, Suite 425, Raleigh, NC 27604 NOAA: $800,000
NC Geodetic Survey proposes to execute pilot projects as a partner in NOAA’s overall National Height Modernization Program. Elements include climate monitoring, disaster preparedness, infrastructure mapping, remote monitoring and vertical datum redefinition.

These pilots are part of an on-going relationship and partnerships between the state and NOAA in the research, development and deploying of HM technology that began in 1999. The pilots are also consistent with and designed to support/complement NOAA’s Program Plan emphasis for 2009 on “Oceans and Climates.”

All results of the research, applications and deployment will immediately and directly benefit NOAA now and in the future, while also strengthening the academic partnership among the state, NOAA and North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro.

Porter Scientific, Inc. Prototype Exploration and Development Center (PED)
Porter Scientific, Inc., 719 Old Main Road, POB 1359, Pembroke, NC 28372 COPS: $1,000,000
To establish a Prototype Exploration and Development (PED) Center to research and develop new technologies for the detection of illegal communications and related activities, especially by prison gangs.

Security issues in prisons – especially relating to gangs and gang-members of gangs operating inside and outside prisons – are increasingly difficult and threatening to the staff and the general public as inmates utilize communications equipment illegally introduced into the prisons, together with other contraband. As evidenced by three major anti-gangs bills now pending in Congress, the federal government is taking great cognizance of these issues, but these bills do not address gang in prisons. The project would seek to develop new technologies and innovative techniques of intercepting, detecting, discovering and removing these contraband items, while also identifying gang members, seeking intelligence about and tracking their activities (as well as interrupting them) and breaking up gang communication channels.

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Interior Appropriations

Bladen Bluffs Regional Surface Water System
Lower Cape Fear Water & Sewer Authority, 1107 New Pointe Blvd, Suite 17, Leland, NC 28451 EPA/STAG: $1,000,000
In order to manage ground water resources in the regional aquifers, the NC Environmental Management Commission, the NC Division of Water Resources, and the Lumber River Council of Governments, entered into a ground water protection agreement, which among other strategies, will shift current water users to surface water sources. The Bladen Bluffs Regional Water System is being launched to reduce groundwater draws by current users, with the dual goals of providing a sustainable surface water supply and regional aquifer conservation. The launch customer for this project is the Smithfield Packing Company, whose Tar Heel facility is one of the largest employers in the region, with approximately 5,000 employees at its Bladen County facility. As one of the largest water users in the region, transferring Smithfield’s water use to abundant surface sources, will significantly impact aquifer draw. As the launch customer, Smithfield has agreed to guarantee defined water delivery and revenue streams to the LCFWSA. The project will be scalable for future industrial and municipal demand, and will provide additional infrastructure capacity for population growth, economic development, and groundwater conservation. Initial plans call for 4 MGD (million gallons per day) treatment capacity, but will be designed for future growth as the water intake/pumping station will be engineered to a 30 MGD capacity. The federal funding sought is a critical, although relatively minor portion of the total cost of the project, which is necessary to protect groundwater sources, protect and enhance economic development, and to provide additional infrastructure capacity for population growth. There is abundant surface water availability and the project is being managed on a regional basis for optimal scale and cost effectiveness.

A broad range of funding options are being pursued, including state and local options. Additionally, the launch customer, Smithfield has agreed to guarantee defined water delivery and revenue streams to the LCFWSA.

Calabash Wastewater Collection System
Brunswick County, North Carolina, 30 Government Center Drive, NE, Post Office Box 249, Bolivia, North Carolina 28422 EPA/STAG: $250,000
The proposed project will construct a wastewater collection system to provide sewer service to areas located within the Town of Calabash that do not presently have sewer service available. Eight hundred forty-nine (849) parcels of land will receive sewer service as a part of this project. Funds will be utilized to construct approximately 13 pump stations, 12,500 lf of 8” gravity sewer main, 53 manholes, 41,800 feet of low pressure sewer collection mains, and 6,000 lf of sewer force main. The sections of the Town of Calabash without sewer service are currently served by on-site wastewater management systems. Many of these systems use conventional septic tank systems where wastewater is given primary levels of treatment and the ground absorption system is required to provide biological and physical treatment processes to protect the underlying groundwater and adjacent surface waters. Due to the wet nature of many area soils, this type of treatment system is marginally successful and as a result has the potential to adversely impact both groundwater and surface waters in the Calabash area. The proposed project would allow existing property owners to eliminate their on-site wastewater treatment system and eliminate the adverse impacts of the malfunctioning systems.

Carolina Beach Drainage Project Town of Carolina Beach
1121 N. Lake Park Blvd., Carolina Beach, NC 28428 EPA/STAG: $1,000,000
Following an agreement by New Hanover County to construct water and sewer infrastructure in the Wilmington Beach neighborhood to address poor water and sewer quality, the Town of Carolina Beach annexed the unincorporated area from the County in 2000. Unfortunately, storm drainage remained inadequate and environmentally problematic in the neighborhood. During modest wet weather events rainfall drains into endangered Carolina Beach Lake and an ocean outfall located in Kure Beach, as well as sends sediment and suspended solids into ditches that enter the waters of the United States. The Town intends to address this problem with the construction of two large retention ponds within the Military Terminal at Sunny Point Buffer Zone and the installation of two stormwater lift stations to carry the stormwater to the retention ponds. Wilmington Beach (now part of Carolina Beach) was platted in the 1930s and developed with modest beach retreat homes. Over the years and particularly during the last development boom, reasonably priced lots and modest homes made way for development that is typical of beach communities of today.

Caswell Beach Wastewater Project Town of Caswell Beach
Town of Caswell Beach, 1100 Caswell Beach Road, Caswell Beach, NC 28465 EPA/STAG: $1,000,000
Funding would used to replace all on-site septic and infusion type wastewater treatment with an off-island option that would protect the environment and better serve citizens. The Town has limited resources for funding large capital projects. The Town consists entirely of residential development with the exception of the Oak Island Golf Course. Caswell Beach has a small permanent population of approximately 478 persons, but the influx of seasonal residents and tourists from all over the United States during the summer season increases the population to approximately 4,000, thereby driving up the peak wastewater flows much higher than an average town of 478 people.

Oak Island Wastewater Reuse System Improvements
Town of Oak Island, 4601 East Oak Island Drive, Oak Island, NC 28465 EPA/STAG: $600,000
The Oak Island Wastewater Reuse System Improvements Project includes improvements to the existing wastewater reuse system for distribution of treated wastewater for irrigation on public and private property. The Project includes distribution lines, pump stations where necessary, and an interconnection of currently unconnected parts of the system. The interconnection will allow more systematic and cost-effective management of the Town’s wastewater reuse resources. The Project is regional in nature serving the Towns of Oak Island and Caswell Beach. Total Project costs are $2,200,000 with $1,980,000 designated for construction and $220,000 for technical services. The project is “green’ with legitimate benefits including economic reuse of treated wastewater thereby having a positive impact on the environment, use of a renewable resource, reduction of dependence on groundwater resources in a fragile coastal environment, public-private partnership (sales of reuse water to private customers and public agencies), and cost effective management of the resource. Completion of the Project will occur within twelve months of funding availability.

Slave Quarters Restoration
Bellamy Mansion, 503 Market Street, Wilmington, NC, 28402 Save America’s Treasures: $100,000
Funds would be used to restore the slave quarters behind the mansion so that they may be used for educational and enjoyment purposes. The Bellamy Mansion Slave Quarters is a rare and significant building. Built by free and enslaved African-Americans men who also built the mansion, it was one of hundreds of buildings that housed slaves and their families across the South. Over the last century, most of these buildings have been destroyed or renovated. The Bellamy Mansion Slave Quarters will serve as the most intact example of this type of structure in all of North Carolina.

Wastewater Treatment Plan ImprovementTown of Elizabethtown, P.O. Box 716, Elizabethtown, NC 28337 EPA/STAG: $1,000,000
The proposed project will provide for an expansion of the Town’s wastewater treatment plant. This facility can serve many other communities in the region. There is significant growth along NC 87 corridor and expansion of the water treatment facility is badly needed.

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Financial Services Appropriations

Rural Business Finance Program North CarolinaRural Economic Development Center, 4021 Carya Drive, Raleigh, N.C. 27610 SBA: $750,000
The North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center’s Rural Business Finance Program will utilize federal funds to provide marketing, technical assistance, and fellowships to assist business expansions located in the rural, most distressed counties. The Rural center will target Tier 1 and Tier 2 counties in the NC-07 district. These include Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Robeson and Scotland as Tier 1 and Duplin, Pender and Sampson as Tier 2. Its programs fill a gap not met by traditional banks and lenders, venture capital firms or angel funds that gravitate towards profit maximization. The Rural Venture Fund provides support to those needing low to moderate levels of capital in the $50,000 to $350,000 range, flexible financing options, and are located in economically distressed rural counties. The Microenterprise Loan Program provides loans up to $25,000 in combination with business planning and technical assistance to women, minorities and households with low or very low incomes that have disproportionately more difficulty obtain financing to start or grow their businesses. These small business owners have sound business plans, but do not qualify for traditional bank financing.

Scientific Equipment for Biotechnology Research and Training Facility
University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Sponsored Research & Programs, One University Dr., P.O. Box 1510, Pembroke, NC 28372 SBA: $200,000
The core activity of the UNCP Biotechnology Research and Training Center is to establish workable relations between UNC Pembroke and academic, business, and local government entities to develop innovative technologies and training and research opportunities. Specific goals of the Center are: (1) increase the number of higher-paying biotechnology jobs by increasing the availability of a trained work force and continuing dialogue with the private sector; (2) mobilize under-represented populations in the region by providing biotechnology training; and (3) offer entrepreneurs technology, business support, and connection to capital sources. Federal funding is needed to purchase critical pieces of laboratory equipment.

Having been a UNC 'focused growth' institution for nearly a decade, UNC-Pembroke has seen significant numbers of new faculty arrive who wish to carry out scientific research and engage undergraduate students in the process. State bonds have been used to construct the University's new Biotechnology Research and Training Center located just outside Pembroke. Equipment for the scientific suites for laboratory research is needed so that researchers can conduct their work and also pursue competitive grants to expand capacity. As a catalyst for start-up businesses, scientific work for potential industrial applications, and training opportunities, this facility, along with Robeson Community College's BioAg Center and UNCP's Center for Entrepreneurship, will be poised as a training and research center for biotechnology related industries.

Small Business Development and Entrepreneurial Enhancement Initiative
National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Research Foundation, 400 North Capitol St. NW Ste. 390 Washington, DC 20001 SBA: $300,000
The Small Business Development and Entrepreneurial Enhancement Initiative will facilitate the enhancement and growth of the NADO Research Foundation’s programs that provide training and education assistance to small business development finance professionals and other intermediary lenders in traditionally underserved areas, including rural and small metropolitan America. The initiative will help these critical intermediaries improve their performance measurements and increase their lending and technical assistance capacities. Successful strategies and projects for promoting business development and entrepreneurship, creating and utilizing peer networks, and leveraging community assets that enhance regional economic growth will be showcased at certification training events, in reports, and through stories in the Research Foundation’s electronic publications and Web site.

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Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations

African American Heritage Museum and Cultural Center African American Heritage Foundation of Wilmington, P. O. Box 968, 926 North 4 th Street, Wilmington, NC 28401 EDI: $300,000
The African American Heritage Foundation of Wilmington (AAHFW) was founded in 2004 to purchase the Richters Building on the corner of N. 4 th and Harnett Streets, which is situated on the north side of downtown Wilmington. The building was the site of the first violence during the 1898 race riots and is an antiquity in itself. The overall goal of the project involves the preservation and rehabilitation of the Richters Building to be up-fitted for use as an African American History Museum and Cultural Center. The project is designed to provide needed repairs to stabilize the building and renovate the second floor from its current design as residential apartments to professional office use. One of the museum goals is to preserve, improve, and adapt landscapes surrounding the Richters Building, which happens to be the only remaining commercial storefront building from the early 20 th century to encourage heritage tourism, and create a special place for residents to enjoy cultural activities.

Bladenboro Sports and Recreational Park Town of Bladenboro, NC, P. O. Box 3455, Bladenboro, NC 28320 EDI: $500,000
Bladenboro is situated in one of the poorest areas of North Carolina, in rural Bladen County, which is a Tier I county. While the Town could support maintenance and operations costs for the new/additional park, it cannot afford the capital investment necessary to establish the park aside from land, water and sewer line extensions, providing perpetual water and sewer services, maintenance and repair, program activity costs and in-kind capital contributions from existing local resources. Similar projects have received federal assistance in the past as a means of economic development in Tier I communities and would generate general improvement of living standards in such areas of the country. In addition, the park will be an economic catalyst because of the ability to host local, county-wide and regional athletic events, especially baseball and softball, which have a strong physical and cultural presence in Bladenboro and surrounding territory. The new park would also make an old park available for refurbishment and new uses, the costs of which would be borne exclusively by the Town. Bladenboro’s plan is to build a new park that will initially have two baseball/softball fields with expansion opportunities on 15 acres of land that the town must acquire. Strenuous efforts are underway to secure property by gift or other means, but for now land acquisition is included in the project budget.

Brunswick County Runway Extension Brunswick County Airport Commission, 4019 Long Beach Road, Oak Island, NC 28461 FAA: $3,000,000
The Brunswick County Airport is one of the busiest general aviation airports in the State, yet our runway length does not meet FAA’s or NC Division of Aviation recommendations for business-class aircraft. By extending the existing 4,300 foot runway to a final length of 5,505 feet, Brunswick County Airport will be able to more safely serve the larger corporate aircraft that want to use the facility now. The project will also increase the Airport’s ability to be self-supporting through increasing fuel sales. The design for the runway extension has been completed and the project is ready to bid. Our second highest priority is to develop our new west terminal area, located on 20 acres of land donated to the airport. Our existing terminal area is completely built out, with no additional room for hangars or aircraft parking. We currently have a long waiting list for hangar space, including interest from at least two jet owners that want to base their aircraft at our airport. Finally, we will need funds to construct a full parallel taxiway for the safety of the aircraft using our runway.

Carolina Beach Downtown Streetscape Improvements Town of Carolina Beach, 1121 N. Lake Park Blvd., Carolina Beach, NC 28428 TCSP: $1,000,000
The Town of Carolina Beach is an older beach community in need of a major reconstruction of its existing streetscapes. The construction of new streetscapes will make Carolina Beach a more desirable place to live, visit, recreate, and work. This project will spur redevelopment of Town’s Central Business District making it a competitive year-round and tourist destination. Improved streetscapes will also add to the overall experience to those that will be visiting a newly proposed NC Aquarium Pier slated for construction in the Town’s Central Business District. The funding that we are seeking will go towards the first portion of the redevelopment project by completing streetscaping improvements on portions of Cape Fear Boulevard and Harper Avenue.

The Town has completed the Master Planning Phase of this project and is approximately 50% complete with the design development phase of the project. The Town has hired the transportation engineering firm of Wilbur Smith to review all transportation planning and engineering items and coordinate with the North Carolina Department of Transportation in their design. No budget for the project is currently available, but one is expected to be completed in spring 2009. Utility companies (Progress Energy, AT&T, and Charter) are currently planning and engineering underground utilities. NCDOT has been involved with facets of the planning project from its inception, but will provide no funds towards the project.

Columbus County, NC Improvements to US 74/76 North Carolina Department of Transportation, NCDOT Program Development Branch, 1542 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699 TCSP: $1,000,000
This project, TIP # R-0061C, consists of construction of a new interchange along US 74-76 (Future I-74) at NC 211 in Columbus County, NC. NCDOT has programmed $4,750,000 in federal National Highway System (NHS) funds for construction in both FY 2010 and FY 2011. The purpose of this project is to improve the overall safety at this location which has experienced numerous accidents. In addition, this improvement will be required as NCDOT works toward upgrading this route to interstate standards. Funds will be used for construction of the interchange. Federal appropriations will supplement proposed NHS funding and allow NCDOT to meet rising costs and expedite project delivery.

Cumberland County Abandoned Manufactured Home Removal Cumberland County, NC, 117 Dick Street, Room 512, Fayetteville, NC 28301 EDI: $1,000,000
Some homes will need to be dismantled on site since they would represent a hazard if transported on roadways. Removal of these abandoned homes will have an enormous impact on the economic vitality of the community, the safety and quality of life for residents in adjoining neighborhoods, and the overall image of the community. Average cost of demolition is between approximately $1,500 - $2,000 per home. The County would remove homes pursuant to amount of funds available to assist in the endeavor. Each home demolition takes a relatively short amount of time, averaging three to six months. The $1 million requested in FY10 would allow for the demolition and removal of approximately 660 dilapidated homes over three years. There are 1,000 manufactured homes currently classified by the Cumberland County Code Enforcement Section as junked, dilapidated or abandoned. In addition 234 are listed as storage or damaged according to the Tax Assessor's office. At least 3,000 were manufactured prior to 1976 (when HUD established standards) and are ineligible to be moved within Cumberland County or most adjacent counties. North Carolina is one of the leading states for pre-1976 manufactured housing that doesn’t meet current federal standards. Currently the Cumberland County is the only source of funding expected. Cumberland County is searching for state, federal and local funds for this effort.

Fayetteville, NC Multimodal Transportation Center City of Fayetteville, 433 Hay Street, Fayetteville, NC, 28301-5537 FTA/Bus and Bus Facilities: $3,000,000
Adjacent to a historical railroad station, the new site will be the primary transfer point and ticket counter for a variety of modes of transportation, including: Amtrak service, Greyhound and Trailways bus systems, the Fayetteville Area System of Transit (FAST) bus service, and local taxi services. Total project cost is estimated at $20 million, although final numbers will depend on fluctuating construction costs. The first phase, including preliminary engineering and design, began in the summer of 2006, and was paid for with funds from 5307 Federal Transit Administration formula allocations ($640,000), NC DOT ($80,000), and the City ($80,000) for at total of $800,000. Federal funding requested will be used for land acquisition, design and engineering, and construction documents as received. Land acquisition is scheduled for February 2009 – January 2010 while design is occurring. Construction is expected Summer 2010-Summer 2011. The Center will be a catalyst for economic development, aiding in enhancing the community's mobility and improving air quality. The Multimodal Center will serve as a hub for all modes of public transportation. Transfer between modes will be accomplished in one facility, thus providing greater access to all goods and services located throughout the City of Fayetteville, Cumberland County and, ultimately, the larger Fayetteville MSA. Funding is being pursued locally (City of Fayetteville), from the state (NCDOT), as well as at the federal level.

Kure Beach Oceanfront Park Town of Kure Beach, 117 Settlers Lane, Kure Beach, NC 28449 EDI: $750,000
The Town of Kure Beach is seeking Federal assistance to develop the former Rolling Surf Motel into a regional public oceanfront park. Development of the park – an effort to expand public access to recreational opportunities, the beach, and the ocean – will include a covered pavilion, public restrooms, picnic tables, and a playground. The park will serve as a focal point for summer festivals, concerts, education, and environmental outreach. Public beach andwater access are major issues along coastal North Carolina as fishing piers, restaurants, and marinas are being redeveloped for upscale residential use. While such growth is beneficial to coastal communities, it also restricts public access to the beaches and sounds. By acquiring the Rolling Surf Motel, the Town of Kure Beach established a permanent public open space. The Town of Kure Beach is seeking Federal assistance in developing this property into a regional public oceanfront park. The development price of $5.1 million appreciably exceeds the annual budget of the Town of Kure Beach. To make this project feasible, the town is now seeking funding assistance from a wide-ranging partnership, including New Hanover County and many state agencies.

Navassa Multipurpose Center Town of Navassa, 334 Main Street, Navassa, NC 28451 EDI: $400,000
Funds for the Multipurpose Center will be spent on the construction phase of the project. The multipurpose center will feature conference rooms, medical clinic, exercise room, and gymnasium which don’t exist today. The Multipurpose center will provide health care services to the senior citizens and our youth. The exercise room will be used to improve the health and well being of our community. Our plan is to partner with Boys & Girls Club and create an after school project which will provide enrichment programs to the youth in the community. Navassa, NC is a small rural municipality located in the County of Brunswick, State of North Carolina, with a population of 1747. 348 of the population is 18 years and over, 327 is 21 years and over, 74 is 62 years and over and 68 is 65 years and older. According to the 2000 Census, 55% of Brunswick County residents have an education level at or below the eighth grade. This is due in part to a scarcity of community resources and public transportation that limits the access of academic and social education. African Americans comprised 87% of the population in Navassa. The per capita income for the town is $11,328, where 27% of the population and 25% of families live below the poverty line. The median income for a household in Navassa is $25,375 and 39.5% of the population has a disability status.

New Hanover County Greenway System New Hanover County, NC, 230 Government Center Drive, Suite 195; Wilmington, NC 28403 TCSP: $250,000
The County plans to construct these paths throughout the County. Specifically, paths are planned to connect Smith Creek Park and Eaton Elementary School, Ogden Elementary School to the Middle Sound Community, the Castle Hayne School Complex to the Castle Hayne Main Street, Veterans Park school complex to the neighboring communities, Myrtle Grove Elementary School to the Myrtle Grove Library and adjacent communities and Mary C. Williams and Bellamy Elementary Schools to adjacent communities. Further, the County plans to construct a North – South spine route which will tie all of these greenways together to form a network. The City of Wilmington maintains an East–West spine called the River to the Sea Trail which allows people to walk or ride bikes between downtown Wilmington and Wrightsville Beach. The proposed North South spine would link with the River to the Sea Trail to make access to the Ocean, Downtown Wilmington and the Cape Fear River possible by bike. The County estimates the total cost to construct the greenway system at $25,000,000. The County is seeking $250,000 in funding through the Transportation and Community and System Preservation account to help fund this plan. The plan will include details for engineering, construction and property acquisition where necessary. The County will utilize all other funding sources available to it to complete this project, including State of North Carolina grants, where appropriate. Currently the County has applications for Safe Routes to School funds being considered. New Hanover County has identified the need to create a network of greenway bike and walking paths to connect schools, libraries and parks. County residents currently must navigate busy roads and intersections to reach these locales. Motivated by safety concerns and a desire to increase needed transportation infrastructure, the County intends to create a system of scenic greenways and sidewalks that will link these destinations and be available to the benefit of its residents for years to come.

Oak Island Community Center Expansion Town of Oak Island, 4601 East Oak Island Drive, Oak Island, NC 28465 EDI: $2,000,000
The Oak Island Community Center Expansion Project involves the expansion of the Town’s Community Center to include additional facilities for the community’s citizens and visitors. The Center serves a variety of functions specifically related to the community’s health including fitness activities, recreation programming and service to senior citizens. Included in the service to senior citizens are specific services such as nutrition site (meals for seniors) and various enrichment activities. The Center also serves all age groups with health and recreation services. The Center’s current size is too small to meet all of the community and visitor needs. The project costs include $1,800,000 for construction of an addition to the Center with $200,000 for technical services. The Project could be completed in twelve months following receipt of funding. The Project meets a national goal of providing health and recreation services to the population. The Project would provide benefits to an underserved population and expand offerings of services to seniors as well as other community groups. The Project would have an economic benefit in that overall healthcare costs would be reduced for the service area. The federal funding would leverage $3 for every one federal dollar. Funding is being pursued from a variety of other sources (local, state, and private).

Southeastern North Carolina Global Economic Integration Initiative Southeastern North Carolina Regional Economic Development Commission, P.O. Box 2557, Elizabethtown, NC 28337 EDI: $1,000,000
The Southeastern North Carolina Global Economic Integration Initiative seeks to complement funding from the State of North Carolina for economic advancement of an 11-county region. The two-year Initiative will align regional industry development programs, existing industries, job creation strategies and infrastructure development strategies with the needs of the global economy. The Initiative will update a five-year-old industry cluster study, analyze the region’s workforce assets, develop and implement an international marketing strategy, create a database of the region’s international business assets and amenities, participate in State of North Carolina international industry lead-generation programs, engage existing industries in the region in identifying cluster growth opportunities and collaborate with the region’s agribusiness leaders in marketing Southeastern North Carolina’s agricultural products internationally. Overall, this initiative will help the region become more prepared and engaged in the increasingly competitive global economy.

St. Pauls Public Safety, Judicial, and Municipal Offices Rehabilitation Town of St. Pauls, 210 W. Blue St. St. Pauls, NC 28384 EDI: $1,000,000
Town Public Safety/Court/Municipal building not repaired since construction in 1967. The Police Department roof leaks, causing airborne mold, a threat to safety of police officers and demoralizing to staff who risk life daily to maintain public safety. New recruits quit due to poor working environment. Walls, roof and flooring of overall building deteriorated, but the underlying structure sound. Money would go directly to public safety building renovation. Emphasis will be to get building up to NC state building code, and to comply with federal and state mandates for rooms for video interrogation of homicide cases, metal detection for court-room, etc. Project is shovel-ready and would be economic stimulus in form of immediate jobs to construction workers, engineers, painters, plumbers, electricians and materials vendors in area affected by 12% unemployment. An appropriation would be a clear, tangible symbol to local folks that federal government cares about safety of small, rural towns in NC.

Wilmington Cultural Center Alliance for a Regional Concert Hall, 622. S. Second St. #1, Wilmington, NC 28401 EDI: $250,000
The initial project, is to secure a two-acre site on the Cape Fear River for public use in an industrially contaminated area now being reclaimed and redeveloped. This grant will be used in connection with other funds from both public and private sources (about half and half) during 2009 to secure a clear title to the site. When national economic conditions are more propitious, funds will be raised to build a cultural center on the site which will have positive impacts on regional economic development, education, tourism – a vital source of employment in this region, conservation initiatives, and quality of life issues.

Federal “seed money” is needed now to take advantage of site availability at a time when funding for the larger project is not yet possible. State, county, and city funds are also being sought to augment private contributions to the site purchase project.

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Energy and Water Development Appropriations Requests

Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC, 28402 USACE/O&M: $11,975,000
Funding will be used to dredge the waterway from Morehead City to the South Carolina line. The waterway is an authorized federal project which contributes significant revenues to the local, state, and federal government.

Bald Head Island
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC, 28402 USACE/GI: $100,000
Fund would be used to initiate a reconnaissance study to prepare for a 50-year beach renourishment project. Bald Head has significant erosion and would greatly benefit from a federally authorized shore protection project to mitigate future storm losses.

Brunswick County General Reevaluation Report
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC, 28402 USACE/CG: $2,000,000
Funds would be used to complete the report on Caswell Beach, Oak Island, and Holden Beach while also providing for periodic renourishment of Ocean Isle Beach. All of these projects have been ongoing for many years and will greatly protect the communities from storm damage reduction.

Carolina Beach and Vicinity
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC, 28402 USACE/CG: $2,000,000
Funds would be used for periodic renourishment of Carolina Beach and Kure Beach in New Hanover County. Carolina Beach has been an authorized project since the late 1960s and provided great storm damage protection for the community. Kure Beach has been an authorized project since the late 1990s and has also provided great benefits to the local community, the region, and the federal government.

Carolina Beach and Vicinity
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC, 28402 USACE/GI: $400,000
Funds will be used to conduct a Section 216 to extend authorization of the project past the 50 year authorization expiration.

Carolina Beach Inlet
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC, 28402 USACE/O&M: $900,000
Funding will used for annual maintenance dredging of the bar channel to ensure that the channel is open for commercial and recreational boating traffic.

Cape Fear above Wilmington
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC, 28402 USACE/O&M: $41,000,000
Funding will be used to repair the locks and dams along the Cape Fear River. These locks and dams provide a vital water supply function for local communities while also allowing fish to migrate up the river for spawning. The locks are in poor condition and the state has agreed to take them over and pay for annual maintenance as long as the facilities are up to code.

Development of an Economic and Efficient Biodiesel Production
University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Sponsored Research & Programs, One University Dr., P.O. Box 1510, Pembroke, NC 28372 EREE: $800,000
The objective of the proposed collaborative work is to develop new catalysts used in producing biodiesel efficiently from cheaper raw materials such as waste vegetable oils and animal fats. Development of heterogeneous catalyst for low-cost biodiesel production necessitates the use of efficient systems that promote the transesterification reaction in the presence of free fatty acids and water, allowing the prompt separation and purification of the glycerol byproduct. This work will be conducted jointly both at UNCP campus and at the NCA&T campus. NCA&T as a subcontractor will be responsible for producing a variety of Heterogeneous Catalysts that will be tested at UNCP laboratories.

Lockwoods Folly Inlet
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC, 28402 USACE/O&M: $1,100,000
Funding will used for annual maintenance dredging of the bar channel to ensure that the channel is open for commercial and recreational boating traffic.

Masonboro Inlet
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC, 28402 USACE/O&M: $8,000,000
Funds will be used to dredge the inlet for navigation with sand bypass to neighboring Wrightsville Beach and Masonboro Island. In addition, funds will be used to repair the south jetty.

New Topsail Inlet and Connecting Channels
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC, 28402 USACE/O&M: $1,850,000
Funding will used for annual maintenance dredging of the bar channel and connecting channels to ensure that the channel is open for commercial and recreational boating traffic.

North Carolina International Port
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC, 28402 USACE/GI: $700,000
Funds would be used to fund a feasibility study of the proposed port project.

Solar Research Center
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Kenan Laboratories, Campus Box 3290, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3290 EERE: $3,000,000
The past two decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in global energy consumption. While this need has been largely met by fossil fuels, the rapidly increasing global competition for this limited resource has generated growing concern over future availability. Couple this with the mounting evidence that CO2 emissions are adversely affecting global climate, and it becomes increasingly clear that developing renewable carbon-neutral energy sources constitutes a grand challenge for the scientific community.

Southeast Crescent Regional Commission
Southeast Crescent Regional Commission, Washington, DC Headquarters (to be established with the appointment of a federal co-chair) Energy and Water: $500,000
Funds would be used to hire Commission staff, hold meetings between federal co-chair and state co-chairs, development criteria to grant out money, and liaison with Local Development Districts to establish a strategic plan for the Commission. Modeled after the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission enjoins a local-state-federal partnership in an effort to create jobs and stimulate the economy in the disadvantaged portions of each state. While the past three decades have been a time of great prosperity for the majority of areas in the United States, including much of the south, one region has eluded this economic growth. The rural southeastern portion of the United States, encompassing counties with deep and persistent poverty in the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida, are the areas served by the new Commission. With the federal allocation of funding, the Southeast Crescent Regional Commission seeks to funnel monies to programs that address one or more of the following criteria for community betterment: infrastructure, education and training, health care, entrepreneurship, and transportation projects. Those communities with the greatest need will be targeted, and grants will be made according to the degree of distress. The ultimate goal of the Commission is to carry the disadvantaged areas to a level that is commensurate with the overall balance of the state and region. An initiative like this is crucial to creating jobs and bringing some of the most poverty-stricken areas of our nation out of the economic distress they have experienced for decades.

Surf City and North Topsail Beach, NC
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC, 28402 USACE/GI: $600,000
Funds would be used to complete the final feasibility study for the project and begin assembling the plans and specifications for the project.

Water and Wastewater System Efficiency Pilot Program
North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, 4021 Carya Drive, Raleigh, N.C. 27610 USACE/CG: $2,000,000
The Rural Center Water and Wastewater System Efficiency Program provides planning assistance for a town to conduct a water audit and to undertake a leak detection program to identify sources of major water loss under the ground in either the water or sewer system. The program will then provide resources toward repairing leaks identified in the planning stage. The program will reduce operating costs, conserve water, and/or prevent environmental contamination. In a time of persistent, severe, and more frequent drought, the program will help preserve a precious resource. The Water and Wastewater System Efficiency Program demonstrates that investments in existing systems will generate additional capacity, reduce the amount of unbilled water, and reduce expenses caused by inflow and infiltration in these systems, thus reducing the demand for federal and state program dollars (EPA, USDA, ARC and EDA) to support more costly methods of system replacement.

West Onslow Beach and New River Inlet, NC
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC, 28402 USACE/CG: $1,100,000
Funds will be used to initiate plans and specifications in advance of the project being approved by Corps Headquarters. Topsail Island’s beaches are experiencing significant erosion and a 50-year federal project would provide significant benefits from storm damage reduction.

Wilmington Harbor
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC, 28402 USACE/CG: $78,000,000
Funds will used to complete the already authorized and partially completed harbor deepening project. The project is broken into three main pieces for funding. One piece would cost $2.3 million for require biological monitoring and management of dredged material. The second piece would cost $10 million and would construct a fish passage around lock and dam #1, which is a requirement of environmental mitigation for the project. The third and final piece would cost $55.7 million to fully fund the rest of the construction on the northeast Cape Fear River.

Wrightsville Beach, NC
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Wilmington District, 69 Darlington Avenue, Wilmington, NC, 28402 USACE/CG: $2,000,000
Funds would be used for periodic renourishment of the beach of Wrightsville Beach in New Hanover County. Wrightsville Beach is one of the most successful and long running beach renourishment projects and has saved millions in storm damages.

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Military Construction Appropriations Requests

Admin, Gen Pur (Army Field Spt Bde-CE)
Ft. Bragg, NC MILCON: $7.4 million
Construct a general purpose administrative facility to house the Army Field Support Brigade, CONUS-East of the Army Material Command. If this administrative facility is not provided, units and installations will continue to be supported from outdated, inefficient facilities in widely separated areas of Ft. Bragg.

Dining Facility
Ft. Bragg, NC MILCON: $12.6 million
Construct a standard design, 2600 PN Dining Facility. Primary facility will provide kitchen, food preparation, food storage areas, administrative office space and dining area for soldiers.

MOD Center Loadout Area Control Center
Ft Bragg, NC MILCON: $13 million
Provide all-weather tracked and wheeled vehicle assembly areas with adjacent inspection and marshalling areas. Primary facilities include a maintenance facility, assembly shelters, sentry booths, scale house, canopy, staging area, AT/FP measures, connections to the Energy Monitoring and Control System and building information systems.

Murchison Road Phase 2
Department of the Army, Military Surface Deployment and Distribution Command, for use to complete the project at Fort Bragg, NC MILCON: $35 million
The Murchison Road Phase 2 project includes: finance design, right-of-way, and construction of new off-installation entrances to Army activities which are urgently needed improvement of existing highways serving Army activities. The project widens approximately 4 miles of Murchison Road from 4-lanes to 6-lanes (to include interchanges at Randolph St. and Honeycutt Road) to accommodate traffic redirected due to the closure of Bragg Boulevard that is needed for Antiterrorism and Force Protection. The project also includes road improvements to provide a new entrance to an existing elementary school. This 2nd Phase is for the Army's share of approximately 2 miles of 6 laning Murchison Road from the Honeycutt Road past Butner Road tying into Spring Lake (including the Randolph Street interchange). Failure to provide Army funds will preclude both the improvement of Murchison Road and the closure of Fort Bragg Boulevard to non-DOD traffic. This will hinder Fort Bragg's ability to adequately secure the installation.

Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (TUAS) Support Facility
Ft. Bragg, NC MILCON: 6.1 million
A new unmanned aerial vehicle unit was assigned to the North Carolina National Guard (NCNG) in September 2008, with a requirement to immediately train personnel to operate the new unmanned aerial systems. Severely restricted access to the training airspace required for this system has a direct impact on training for the units of the North Carolina National Guard. A facility to set up and operate the systems for training does not currently exist within a reasonable commuting distance to the air space training site requiring unit personnel to travel over four (4) hours each training period, losing valuable training time for unit personnel. A new 8,883 SF TUAS Support Facility is required to ensure the NCNG�s ability to meet training and mobilization readiness levels and objectives. Due to the immediate requirement of these systems in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, it is necessary for the NCNG to provide training facilities in support of training pilots and support personnel for their combat support mission. This facility will be built at Ft. Bragg, NC.

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Defense Appropriations Requests

ARNG Soldier/Family Support: NCNG Family Assistance Centers
NC National Guard, Raleigh NC Army National Guard O&M: $1.6 million
Since 9/11, the North Carolina National Guard (NCNG) has experienced an unprecedented operational pace that includes mobilizing over 95% of the force. Current indications are that this pace will continue for the foreseeable future. These mobilizations have a significant effect on our families and children. One of the most vital lessons learned is that they experience this impact not only during the deployment, but prior to and especially after the service member returns. Family Assistance Centers (FACs) provide essential support and services to families of members of the NCNG and of all the other Armed Services. These services would include counseling, health care information, financial advice, employer support, legal support and guidance, crisis referral, community outreach, veteran affairs and more. Unlike the active component, NCNG families are not geographically centered near installations like Fort Bragg, Seymour Johnson or Camp Lejeune, all of which provide these services to their members. Instead, NCNG families are spread throughout the state and in most cases cannot get to these installations on a routine basis or without some hardship. Establishing FACs across the state allows the NCNG to provide consistent and continuous vital support and services to the families of members of the NCNG and the Armed Services. Funding this program will significantly reduce the impact on families and will directly contribute to sustaining a strong North Carolina National Guard.

Experiential Technologies for Urban Warfare and Disaster Response
UNC Department of Computer Science, Campus Box 3175, Sitterson Hall, Chapel Hill, NC Army RDT&E: $3.7 million
The nature of warfare is changing from traditional combat to urban warfare and insurgencies, as evident by the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the recent events in Middle East and Afghanistan. Until now defense simulation and training technologies have primarily targeted conventional warfare on open battlefields with emphasis on fighting vehicles and carriers. The new warfare requires simulating teams of individual combatants in close confrontations with insurgents and modeling crowd dynamics in unexpected calamities. The need to revolutionize the technologies for preparing our defense and law-enforcement personnel for such modern warfare is immediate. The challenges posed by urban warfare and global terrorism are similar to those for responding to natural disasters, and new simulation technologies would benefit both. As national leaders in virtual environments, high-performance computing, modeling, and simulation, the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill requests an appropriation of $5 million from the Department of Defense to establish a Center for the development of the next-generation modeling, simulation, visualization and experiential technologies for urban warfare and disaster response. These technologies will facilitate training experiences and enable leaders and responders to optimize their tactics using “what-if” simulations based on the real situations in which they might work. With the proposed technologies, training can be more relevant, more frequent, more varied, and less costly than today’s methods. Furthermore, despite North Carolina’s significant military presence, its defense simulation industry accounts for a disproportionally small percentage of jobs. This Center will stimulate and promote economic growth in North Carolina through existing and new collaborative ties to the statewide defense, simulation and gaming industry. Moreover, the Center would foster close ties with industry partners of the All American Defense Corridor.

Hand-held Firing Device
Next Wave Technologies, Inc., Wilmington, NC Navy RDT&E: $7.5 million
The Navy Explosive Ordinance Divers (EOD) operators have identified the need for a Hand-held Firing Device (HFD) capable of setting off small explosive tools to neutralize suspected underwater mines or other devices. HFD should be capable of firing a wide range of items including acoustic pulses to support the EOD operators in identifying and neutralizing suspicious underwater objects. HFD must be effective at a safe operating range for the EOD operator and increasing the probability of successful mission completion. There is a large growing interest in testing and using these devices in a more practical way to reduce the danger to the EOD operator as well as for use in Department of Homeland Security missions. This is a rapid insertion program designed to modify available commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) technology to develop a hand-held, remote-controlled, firing device with small, interrogational receivers. HFD will also consist of building interfaces for the divers. The entire system must be packaged to be operated under water safely and be carried by a single diver. Safe range for the diver will be determined by the suspected threat. Impacts to the environment and marine life must be considered.

IP over Power Line Carrier (PLC) Network Integration with ICAS
True Grid, 400 S. Front Street, Wilmington, NC Navy RDT&E: $6 million
Naval Sea Systems Command has been installing sensing and wireless capabilities for data collection and integration with ICAS. Demonstrations to date have proven successful. However, the costs and time associated with installations has been a limiting factor to the overall success. One of the keys to success is minimizing the cost of installations in order to achieve the associated ROI, while at the same time maintaining the open architecture, enabling the integration of multiple sensing systems. Additional installations, testing and validation are required as new sensor systems are developed and delivered for shipboard evaluation. In order to assist in the transitioning of the technologies it is imperative that we have a highly mobile and flexible system capable of easily adapting to the emerging technologies. Utilizing Internet Protocol over Power Line Carrier technology, the concept of Affordable Flexible Controls Network (AFCN) has been developed utilizing FY08 funding. To date Engineering Design Models (EDM) have been developed and testing and validation is in progress. Additional testing will be conducted 4th quarter FY09 at a Land Based Engineering Test Site. The integrated products such as AFCN will provide for the necessary network infrastructure for the rapid movement of data and video to ICAS without the requirement to pull CAT 5 or 6 cables or deploy other unsecure networking architecture. This will result in a more flexible, scalable and mobile network and significantly reduced deployment and monitoring costs. Additional testing of the AFCN within the environment that includes technologies such as 802.11N, Zigbee and Bluetooth is required to assist in a smooth transition. Installations at Land Based Test Sites and aboard test ships, such as ex-Paul Foster will provide the proper environment to test the integration of the multiple technologies in an open environment.

Partnership for Defense Innovation Wi-Fi Laboratory Testing and Assessment Center
Partnership for Defense Innovation, Fayetteville, NC Army RDT&E: $3.5 million
The Partnership for Defense Innovation seeks $3.5 million for completion, testing and validation of a Tactical PSYOP Situational Awareness System (TPSS) that will provide PSYOP forces necessary capability to maintain situational awareness to properly and fully support operations to influence designated target audience behavior in permissive and non-permissive operational environments. TPSS must be able to inner-operate with the systems used in both army centric and joint environments. The TPSS system enables the PSYOP ground force to immediately share critical imagery, intelligence or information developed during tactical operations among individuals and small units, and to immediately transmit that information between Tactical PSYOP Teams and other battlefield communications systems to the appropriate higher operational commands. The US Army Special Operations Command at Ft. Bragg is the most technologically skilled unit in the military. Technologies must be developed rapidly to meet their immediate needs. The Partnership for Defense Innovation’s Defense and Security Technology Accelerator creates collaborations between the military, entrepreneurs and innovators that drive security and defense technology development.

Secure Interoperable Contingency Communications Systems for the XVIII ABN Corps
Sierra Nevada – Tactical Communications, 3139 Doc Bennett Road, Fayetteville, NC Defense-wide RDT&E: $3.5 million
The XVIII Airborne Corps has the vital mission of supporting Homeland Security (HLS), Homeland Defense, and Emergency Preparedness operations. As America’s Contingency Corps, the XVIII ABN Corps provides critical augmentation support to the National Guard, State and Local Law Enforcement, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency as directed by the President of the United States. The XVIII ABN Corps has been deployed to support operations responding to natural disasters such as Hurricanes Hugo, Andrew, and Katrina, as well as, supporting operations following the 9-11 attacks. Their HLS mission support includes Aviation, Engineering, Medical, Police and Communications support to the Joint Force Headquarters – State (JFHQ-State) which assumes tactical control of all military units ordered to respond to contingency operations or disasters. This mission requires the XVIII ABN Corps to provide contingency communications for the affected area and interoperate with existing Federal, State and Local Law Enforcement organizations to provide effective command and control communications and coordination in support of HLS operations. Current Army tactical communications systems are not designed to provide the interoperability necessary to support HLS operations. The XVIII ABN Corps requires communications equipment that is interoperable with the communications equipment of the Federal, State, and local authorities with whom they will operate during national Homeland Security events. This project would provide the XVIII ABN Corps the following Homeland Defense capabilities: 1) High bandwidth access for multimedia (voice/data/video) 2) Seamlessly links between disparate communications systems to form a homogeneous communications network 3) Rapidly deployable in hours, operational in minutes 4) Simple to operate and manage, and 5) Inexpensive terminal cost and low recurring operational costs for capability.

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Sanford Dam Spillway Project City of Boiling Spring Lakes, 9 E. Boiling Spring Road, Southport, NC 28461 FEMA: $1,720,000
Funding will construct additional spillway capacity for the Sanford Dam. Engineering studies have concluded that overtopping the dam can lead to dam failure and uncontrolled release of the reservoir may damage the Military Ocean Terminal (MOTSU) railroad immediately downstream. The dam is already in bad shape and large rainfall events could lead to a significant breach, which would threaten a nearby military installation and public infrastructure. Boiling Spring Lakes is a small community without the ability to build this project on their own. Federal funds would help avoid significant costs down the road if the dam were to fail.

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Labor/HHS/Education Appropriations

Digitizing of Records
Cumberland County, NC, 117 Dick Street, Room 512, Fayetteville, NC 28301 HRSA: $200,000
Funding will be spent directly on digitization and electronic storage of a very large volume of files. Funds will be spent in the year received. Locally, digitizing the records will help solve a capacity and funding problem with the additional man hours it takes to maintain the files. Regionally, automating these files will allow them to be transferred easily as a patient requires services and needs to move between Cumberland County and Winston-Salem for services provided. Nationally, it will reduce the use of paper, which affects the environment, and support the national effort to go paperless. Funding is needed to help offset the cost to digitize current files, resulting in space saved and elimination of the expense of man-hours to maintain the hardcopy files and the storage space of these files. Because of the large volume of files and records on hand and the constant expansion due to the growing number of veterans in Cumberland County, it is estimated that in 2-3 years all space within the County’s Veterans Department will be exhausted.

Leland Senior Center
Brunswick County, NC, 30 Government Center Drive, NE, Post Office Box 249, Bolivia, NC 28422 HRSA: $250,000
This request is for assistance in constructing a senior center in the Town of Leland to facilitate the delivery of Home and Community Care Block Grant (HCCBG) services to a growing senior citizen population. This project is part of a five center building program to construct adequate facilities and replace existing substandard facilities in various areas of the county. Funds will be utilized exclusively for construction. The Center will be located on property owned by Brunswick County and when complete will be operated by Brunswick Senior Resources, Inc., the County’s lead agency in senior service delivery. The senior center when completed will constitute the required infrastructure to develop a “senior friendly” community in Brunswick County. Establishing a reputation for taking care of the senior population is very much an economic development issue for Brunswick County. Seniors constitute the majority of migration to the county and have fueled much of the growth in home construction and development in recent years.

Improve Access to Health Care for those Impacted by BRAC
Methodist University, 5400 Ramsey Street, Fayetteville, NC 28311 CDC: $200,000
The funds will be used for the Methodist University Health Care Administration Program to study ways to improve access to care for those impacted by implementation of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) recommendations. Implementation of the FORSCOM/USARC BRAC recommendations in Cumberland County and the surrounding areas will bring a projected 25,000 military service members and their families to the region by 2012. A real concern is the impact this population will have on the region’s ability to provide access to health care, especially for veterans. The Fayetteville VA Medical Center reports that southeastern North Carolina has more than 155,000 veterans in 21 counties. More than 42,000 veterans live in Cumberland County alone and the Fayetteville VA reported regular enrollees of 44,220 in 2008. The military health care infrastructure may not be sufficient to continue care of this population on Fort Bragg and through the VA Medical Center, and additional services will need to be contracted out to private providers. The civilian infrastructure of health care providers is already challenged in its ability to provide for the current population needs. Therefore, the availability of providers to assure that continuity of care is maintained must be evaluated and recommendations made for improving access to healthcare. While there has been some discussion in BRAC studies related to health care, it is clear that this issue has not received the attention it demands.

Institute for Memory Research
University of North Carolina, Wilmington, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403 HRSA: $500,000
The premise of the Institute for Memory Research( IMR) is to discover and mediate the biological, chemical and cognitive processes involved in memory and memory disorders and translate these discoveries into new technologies to aid the wider community and to provide research training to students and professionals. The proposed Institute has the potential to be self sufficient in a short time and could be the beginning of an important national contribution to the understanding and treatment of Alzheimer’s Dementia and other memory related disorders. UNCW is presently considering the establishment of the Institute, but will need additional resources over the next few years (2-5) to become a viable program. The resources will be used to seed cutting edge research programs as well as cover administrative and training costs. The requested funds will cover a three year startup program. The IMR has the potential to have a significant positive impact on the economic development of the state of North Carolina. The highly skilled students coming out of the IMR will 1) provide the human resources required by the technical firms already present in the region (e.g., PPD, AAI, etc.), and 2) attract new technical firms to the region. The IMR’s focus on transferring discoveries into patentable technologies (including biochemical interventions, technologies that enhance research productivity, technologies that enhance the quality of life of those living with memory loss, among others) has the potential to 1) enhance existing industries, (2) create new industries, and 3) reduce the financial impact of memory loss on the federal budget.

Mentoring Programs for At-Risk Youth
North Carolina Mentoring Partnership, 222 North Person Street, Suite 102, Raleigh, NC 27601 FIE: $500,000
The North Carolina Mentoring Partnership/CIS respectfully requests $500,000 to expand and enhance the impact, availability and support for mentoring at-risk children and youth in NC. We need to replicate proven, research based best practices in all areas of the state and track results systematically and continuously. Mentoring is a cost-effective intervention for young people and it has a solid track record of success, especially when working with other youth agencies to provide support. The importance of children having a caring adult in their life is well documented. According to studies the key to preventing youth and substance abuse in young people is to improve the “real, live, day-to-day connections” between responsible adults and young people. So many children need these connections, especially now with the struggling economy. According to the National Research Council Panel on High-Risk Youth, at least seven million youth are at risk of failing to achieve productive adult lives. The figures equal a quarter of adolescents in the US ages 10-17. While we know we have impacted the lives of children in NC and helped them stay in school and achieve, we continue to see the need increase as more and more children spiral down the road toward failure. With an unacceptable graduation rate of 69.5%, we know that one in three of your youth will not graduate without intervention. We have ample evidence that mentoring is a proven strategy to help us connect these “lost” students to the resources they need and provide the encouragement and support often lacking in the own homes and communities.

Nursing Program
University of North Carolina, Wilmington, 601 S. College Road, Wilmington, NC 28403 FIPSE: $800,000
UNCW School of Nursing seeks to strengthen the education of citizens interested in nursing and health science careers. Its intent is to double graduation rates of new nurses and appropriately educate nurses who work with 21st century technology to promote patient safety. Distance education (on-line) will be expanded and support for instructional technology course management will be established. Program expansion will include mentoring middle school students into nursing careers, educating military veterans for careers in Nursing and Clinical Research and providing respite for military families who have children with chronic illnesses and disabilities.
Enrollment will dramatically increase for all programs in the School of Nursing. Education will increasingly become hands-on for all students. Programs will attract the best faculty in the country. With funds from the NC General Assembly, The School of Nursing at UNCW designed a state of the art 21st century building to house its nursing programs that includes a Simulation Center. The new Simulation Center requires 21st century high-fidelity human patient simulation for student practice and patient safety. The simulation environment offers one of the most productive educational arenas possible for faculty and students. Distance education provides access to more students who need flexibility in managing employment, family and education. The major bottleneck in the training of nurses nationwide is the lack of training personnel and facilities. The State of North Carolina is providing funds to build a new nursing facility at UNCW. This, with adequate start-up funds for operations, will provide for a significant increase in nursing school teaching faculty and nursing graduates.

Physician Assistant Program
Methodist University, 5400 Ramsey Street, Fayetteville, NC 28311 HRSA: $500,000
The federal funding will support the construction of the Human Anatomy Laboratory and purchase specialized equipment. In order to accommodate increasing student enrollment demands and increase health care access to medically underserved areas in North Carolina, Methodist University must expand its current facility and purchase necessary medical equipment to extend its program to additional qualified students.

There is a critical need for additional health care providers in the State of North Carolina. In June 2007, the North Carolina Institute of Medicine reported a severe shortage of healthcare professionals and urged the Physician Assistant (PA) program to increase its enrollment by 30%. The diminishing rate of physicians in primary care, especially family medicine, and the ever increasing population in North Carolina has prompted an urgent call for PA professionals. However, Methodist University must expand the existing facilities to accommodate any increase in enrollment. Due to space limitations, the cadaver laboratory at the Veterans Medical Center will no longer be available to the Methodist University PA program. Thus, Methodist University is implementing a capital campaign to build the Human Anatomy Laboratory, which provides the basis for understanding the physiology, disease processes, diagnostic radiology, surgical and traumatic conditions, and interventional therapy through the use of clinical lectures and the dissection of human cadavers.