- “I think you're misleading the public to believe that there are funds being spent in a way that is helping folks in western North Carolina, but those folks are calling me and they're saying when can I get something done?” Rep. Mark Pless, R-Haywood, said. “I have applied, I haven't heard a word, I'm trying to move forward, but I can't. The folks who have the funds to do this aren't calling me, but this is for the lower income folks, middle income folks that have no other options except us, and we promised them that we were going to help them in this storm, and the governor's office has promised them that they're going to help them in this storm and so far that hasn't happened.”
Frustration and concerns were heard about Hurricane Helene recovery in western North Carolina at a Joint Legislative Governmental Operations Subcommittee hearing on Wednesday.
This was the second hearing on Helene recovery, with the first occurring in March.
Rep. Karl Gillespie, R-Macon; and Sen. Ralph Hise, R-Mitchell, co-chaired the hearing.
North Carolina Emergency Management director Will Ray and director of the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC) Matt Calabria gave testimony about recovery efforts surrounding debris removal, including from waterways, road repair, and housing repairs and construction.
Fifteen million tons of dry debris, or more than 14 million cubic yards, have been removed from roads and waterways, and local municipalities have begun clearing debris from other areas. Despite the progress, Gillespie said county officials have complained to legislators about state emergency management’s “heavy-handed tactics on debris removal” and hope that Ray and Calabria could address their questions.
Hise said a county official told him that streams that used to run six to eight feet deep now run two feet deep, and stream flooding happens twice as fast as it did before with rainfall.
Ray said that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) debris removal programs are reimbursement programs, meaning state and local governments have to spend the money first and get reimbursed by FEMA as they deem fit.
Eligible debris removal was reimbursed 100% through March 27. After that date, FEMA reimburses 90%. The other 10% is the non-federal share, which the state picks up. Preliminary estimates show that the 10% match may be over $200 million.
Under FEMA programs, there are three categories of debris: right-of-way (roads), waterways, and commercial and private property, the latter needing a special waiver.
Ray: fema standards incredibly complex and exact
Ray said they are making sure everything is being done according to FEMA standards because federal procurement requirements are incredibly complex. FEMA can say something is an ineligible expense because it was done incorrectly, or a policy was violated, and take back the money that was designated for the project.
Rep. Jake Johnson, R-Polk, who represents the Lake Lure/Chimney Rock area, said it has been frustrating seeing contractors on the ground, but they have to move forward according to what FEMA has designated on the map.
“Just looking at the red dots (can’t move) and the green dots (can move) were touching right beside each other. Sometimes the debris piles were even right beside each other within the grasp of a piece of machinery,” he said. “It just seems so inefficient, just looking at that map and saying we’ve already got the equipment out there, and it’s not cheap to move this type of equipment. They’re literally in the river, and you’re not allowed to touch one, and it’s touching one you are allowed to touch.”
He said business owners just want to get their businesses open, including restaurants, bars, and tubing places, and that people would like to start fishing again in certain areas.
In a series of slides, Calabria gave an overview of how the $2 billion in appropriations the General Assembly has given and FEMA funding have been used. He also noted that more than 360 homes have been repaired by volunteer organizations such as Baptists on Mission and Habitat for Humanity, made possible by a $6 million appropriation in state funds.
Also noteworthy is that 98% of roads that were shut down after the storm have been fully or partially reopened (the slide showing the number has not been updated).
Calabria also gave an overview of what was spent using funds through HB 47.
He also said that the NC Office of State Budget and Management (OSBM) is currently certifying $575 million in funding appropriated by HB 1012.
In addition, FEMA has distributed more than $24.4 million directly to residents for the repair of 9,700 private roads and bridges.
Calabria said the state has only been awarded about $3.8 billion in federal funding, but most of it hasn’t been dispersed yet. The state hopes to be awarded more than $7 billion through the American Relief Act, and Gov. Josh Stein has asked for an additional $11 billion from Congress.
He said the state’s federal delegation has been extremely supportive and communicative in trying to get the funding moving.
Calabria noted that just about 6% of the total damages and needs for Helene’s damages have been awarded by the federal government, compared to an average of about 48% for similar disasters in the past.
It has been estimated that Helene caused $60 billion in damages, which would be right in the middle of all disasters.
Johnson said Ray and his team have been extremely responsive, acting as mediators between the legislature, FEMA, and the Army Corps of Engineers.
Legislator: “misleading the public on recovery.”
On the other hand, Rep. Mark Pless, R-Haywood, wasn’t as complimentary toward Ray and Calabria. He asked Calabria how many homes had been built with the $120 million the General Assembly had sent.
He replied that those funds have not yet been converted into actual construction activities because the home reconstruction program, by statute, needs to be reimbursable by the federal government. It’s got to dovetail those funds into the $1.4 billion that was received through the CDBG DR program, and HUD is notoriously slow.
“It is virtually unheard of for a CDBG DR funded program for home rebuilding and reconstruction to have started within one year, but that’s still our goal… We know we can never be moving fast enough, but at the same time we have made good progress in comparison to our peers in our past,” Calabria said.
Pless said the GROW NC website said that it has spent $81 million.
Calabria replied that the Division of Community Revitalization is running the programs, and it is very typical in these sorts of scenarios to obligate funds and set them aside for contractors, but the distributions don’t go out into the hands of contractors until the work is performed.
Pless said that he is greatly frustrated by the slow process.
“I think you’re misleading the public to believe that there are funds being spent in a way that is helping folks in western North Carolina, but those folks are calling me and they’re saying when can I get something done?” he said. “I have applied, I haven’t heard a word, I’m trying to move forward, but I can’t. The folks who have the funds to do this aren’t calling me, but this is for the lower-income folks, middle-income folks that have no other options except us. And we promised them that we were going to help them in this storm, and the governor’s office has promised them that they’re going to help them in this storm. And so far that hasn’t happened.”
Sen. Tim Moffitt, R-Henderson, said he sees the debris issue growing and that there will be ongoing issues for a while, with multiple forest fires and mudslides occurring. He asked Ray if the FEMA 90% reimbursement rate has an end date, to which Ray replied, “No.” He also asked Ray if FEMA understands that recovery will take several years, to which Ray replied, “I think they are starting to.”
Gillespie: Most importantly, keep helene survivors in mind
Gillespie ended the hearing by asking Calabria and Ray to keep one thing in mind.
“The folks in western North Carolina, a lot of them don’t care about what we’re talking about today,” he said. “What they care about is help, seeing somebody pull up their driveway, and get out, put a nail apron on, and a hammer, and go to work. They want to see their houses rebuilt. They want to see their lives put back together.”