As western North Carolina continues to recover more than a year later from Hurricane Helene, Gov. Josh Stein’s office has released several announcements in recent days detailing funding for infrastructure repairs.
On Thursday, it was announced that $270 million from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) would be used to repair and strengthen the resilience of water systems in areas affected by Hurricane Helene. The awards will fund 58 water, wastewater, and septic system projects in 26 western North Carolina counties.
The state was the first affected by Helene to make awards provided through the 2025 State Revolving Fund Supplemental Appropriations (SRF) for Hurricanes Helene and Milton and the Hawaii Wildfires.
To receive the funding, projects must strengthen the system’s long-term resilience to future flooding.
“Hurricane Helene laid bare North Carolina’s need to upgrade its water infrastructure,” Stein, a Democrat, said in a press release. “I applaud the Department of Environmental Quality’s quick work to award this funding faster than any other Helene-impacted state. Making these investments today makes us more resilient in the face of future disasters.”
Among the projects:
- Chimney Rock Village, Rutherford County, will receive $2.7 million for a drinking water system resiliency project, $5 million for a new wastewater treatment plant and sewer resiliency improvements, and $4.16 million to extend sewer lines to connect homes with septic systems.
- Old Fort, McDowell County, will receive $10 million for a drinking water system resiliency project and $5 million for a sewer system resiliency project.
- The Western Piedmont Council of Governments will receive $7.5 million to repair 300 septic systems damaged or failed by Hurricane Helene in Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Mitchell, Watauga, Wilkes, and Yancey counties.
- Burnsville, Yancey County, will receive $8.2 million for drinking water supply and distribution improvements, as well as $4.8 million for improvements to the Hickory Lane and West Glendale Avenue sewer lines.
- Clyde, Haywood County, will receive $4.3 million for a drinking water system interconnection with the towns of Canton and Waynesville, as well as $5 million for wastewater system resiliency improvements.
- Crossnore, Avery County, will receive $5.37 million for drinking water system resiliency improvements and $4.99 million for wastewater system resiliency improvements.
A full list of projects can be found here.
Applications for the federal SRF Helene funds, which were made available through the 2025 American Relief Act for western North Carolina towns that have experienced Helene damage, will continue to be available through DEQ’s Division of Water Infrastructure until March 2, 2026.
In addition to the SRF Helene funds, the State Water Infrastructure Authority awarded $9 million for projects to inventory and replace lead service lines and $750,000 for projects to finance the repair and replacement of septic systems in two counties under a Clean Water State Revolving Fund pilot program.
On Monday, the governor announced nearly $50 million in grants to support local governments in western North Carolina in their recovery efforts to repair, renovate, or replace storm-damaged infrastructure.
Local governments in wnc to receive $50 million from state grants program
The Helene Local Government Capital Grants Program was established earlier this year, following the General Assembly’s provision of nearly $50 million in state funds to local governments in FEMA-designated disaster areas. Projects eligible for the recently announced program were either ineligible for or denied FEMA Public Assistance (PA) reimbursement. Priority is given to communities with a population under 300,000.
The grants are administered by the Office of State Budget and Management (NCOSBM).
“Local governments are on the frontlines of Hurricane Helene response and recovery, strengthening their communities and keeping people safe,” Stein said in a press release. “These grants will help local governments repair or replace critical infrastructure that they lost, restoring Helene-impacted towns and rebuilding them stronger.”
The program received applications for more than twice the amount of available funding, according to State Budget Director Kristin Walker, still indicating a great need in those areas.
Applications being accepted for small rental rehab program
The state is also accepting applications for a new disaster recovery program to repair or rebuild small rental properties in western North Carolina that were damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Helene. The Small Rental Rehabilitation Program is the second Renew NC recovery initiative to be offered by the North Carolina Department of Commerce’s Division of Community Revitalization.
The program is specifically targeting owners of one to four rental units per property that were damaged by the storm. Property owners must agree to provide affordable rent rates for a 10-year period following program construction to be considered for assistance.
“Helene caused significant damage to rental homes in western North Carolina,” the governor said in a press release on Monday. “Today, I am excited to announce the launch of Renew NC’s second housing program, targeting small rental properties and focused on creating affordable rental units for low- to moderate-income families recovering from Helene.”
Owners of rental properties located in these eligible counties can apply: Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mecklenburg (28214 ZIP code only), Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Surry, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin, and Yancey.
Potential applicants seeking more information about the Renew NC Small Rental Rehabilitation Program can visit www.renewnc.org or call 1-888-791-0207. Applications can be submitted online, over the phone with a case manager, or through the app.
The Renew NC programs are funded through a Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Of the total $1.4 billion in CDBG-DR funding that was allocated to the state for western North Carolina recovery needs, $57.4 million is allocated to the Renew NC Small Rental Rehabilitation Program.