2026-072-E-County Mgr-Urban Sustainability Solutions-High School Riparian Buffers

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D19. Does your project accelerate or expand on existing programs that already show positive impact? (150 word limit) Yes. USS’s program was piloted as BETC (Bionomic Education and Training Center) at Southern and Northern High Schools and Lowe’s Grove Middle School in Durham, utilizing Durham Public School (DPS) teachers and their students. BETC pays students and teachers to design and install stormwater control measures (SCMs) throughout Durham County and continues to prosper today: https://dconc.gov/Soil-and-Water/Environmental-Education/Student-Education/Bionomic- Education-Training-Center. USS Chairman Michael Dupree and former board member Linda Schmalbeck (then faculty at the NC School of Science and Math (NCSSM)) developed and implemented the stormwater curriculum at NCSSM. Subsequently, Dupree (while working for Durham County) partnered with DPS to incorporate the BETC program into its high- school curricula. Dupree also helped create Durham’s Impaired Stream Improvement (ISIP) program (https://dconc.gov/Soil- and-W ater1/Documents/Homeowners/DurhamISIP--brochure-2024.pdf ), employing Durham youth for Environmental Services provided to low-income people of color. From 2023-25, USS received and successfully implemented OCCCA funding to install SCMs on private properties along middle Bolin Creek in Carrboro. D20. Does your project take advantage of other funding sources? If yes, please describe. (150 word limit) Yes. As with our previous OCCCA projects, USS has secured $220K from the NC DE EPA (covering 60% of costs for BMP installations in the Bolin Creek watershed) and $30,000 from Burt’s Bees Foundation for teacher trainings and installations in Orange County. The Triangle Community Foundation, Raleigh Stormwater Services, and private donors have funded USS for installations in W ake County. Since the project for which we seek 2026-27 OCCCA funding is part of a larger sustainable stormwater management effort envisioned for the Triangle, the State of North Carolina, and beyond, our collaborative work in neighboring Durham, Wake and Orange counties is vital to maintaining the resilience of our shared Jordan Lake watershed and improving air and water quality for everyone. D21. W ould your proposed project help you to take advantage of funding from other sources besides this grant in the future? (250 word limit) Yes. USS’s partnership and past funding from OCCCA played a key role in our successful EPA 319 grant application (via NC DEQ) this year, which provides $220,000 over two years-- more than tripling the $52,000 we requested from OCCCA for this project. Our OCCCA funding also helped support our grant applications to Burt’s Bees and the Triangle Community Foundation, both of which succeeded. W e will continue to leverage our OCCCA funding to secure outside funding for our work in Orange County. D22. Please describe any other aspect of your project that is relevant to the efficient use of grant funds. (150 word limit) W e are a volunteer board and have additional volunteers who assist with our programs, enabling USS to keep our general administrative overhead costs low. Consequently, funding provided by OCCCA will go directly toward the realization of this project, including the costs of training and hiring Orange County teachers and students (stipends) and administering this project as outlined herein. Criterion 4 - Capacity of Applicant This criterion has a maximum score of 3 pts (out of a total of 26 pts). D23. Has your organization completed projects of this type in the past? Yes If so, what funds were used? (100 word limit) Most recently (over the last three years), we have been awarded and successfully implemented funding from the Burt’s Bees Foundation, the Triangle Community Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency and NC DEQ, the Orange County Community Climate Action program, and the City of Raleigh Stormwater Services to carry out the projects described in our answer to the question immediately below. For photo-documentation of our most recent completed projects, please see https://www.urbanss.org/news. D24. Have you completed similar projects in the past and successfully met the proposed budgets and timelines? Yes Please provide a description of similar past achievements or projects and evidence of successfully meeting proposed budgets and timetables. (150 word limit) In 2024, with $220,000 from the EPA and $69,156 from OCCCA, USS served 10 apartments in the affordable Weaver Community with cisterns, grass swales and a regenerative stream conveyance. The project included a dedication in June, 2024, attended by elected officials from Carrboro, Chapel Hill, Orange County, and NC (https://www.urbanss.org/news/attention-weaver-community-open-house). In the fall, 41 students from eight Orange County high schools completed installations on Pleasant Drive, Wild Oak Lane; and Amber Court (https://www.urbanss.org/news/ge7z2951ig9gszdeg07lg71owihqaz). USS participated in a Carrboro Native Planting Volunteer Workday in March 2024 (https://www.urbanss.org/news/urban- bolin-creek) and a live staking workshop in February 2025 (https://www.urbanss.org/news/uss-joins-friends-of-bolin-creek- for-a-live-staking-workshop). USS trained teachers across six schools in August 2024 (https://www.urbanss.org/news/august-2024-teacher-workshop); and held an Orange County Community meeting in February 2025 (https://www.urbanss.org/news/esxkwtr8o3o38qoryzi5qwiqywfebr). In Spring 2025, with additional $58,100 from OCCCA, USS teachers and 44 students planted native species in bioretention areas at Cedar Rock Apartments, another affordable co-op; the W eaver Community; and Forest Court (https://www.urbanss.org/news/uss-spring). Docusign Envelope ID: FE98AD8C-2A26-4FC1-9B3F-6DEB6E3A41EE