NC lawmakers to return next week as cost of Helene recovery looms large

State lawmakers will return to Raleigh next week for a brief, previously scheduled session — but one that could now focus on what can be done quickly to help with disaster recovery efforts in Western North Carolina.

Helene — the storm system that has left more than 100 dead in the Southeast, including about dozens in North Carolina — brought historic flooding and mudslides to the western part of the state that caused widespread devastation to homes, businesses, roads, bridges, dams and more.

When the General Assembly comes back Oct. 9, it’s likely that the full extent of the damage might still not be known. It could be weeks more until government leaders have a complete picture of the extent of the damage and what sort of aid is needed from the legislature.

On Monday Gov. Roy Cooper was on the ground in Western North Carolina along with many of his top cabinet officials, as were members of the state’s U.S. and state legislative delegations.

The state has a $4.75 billion general savings reserve, often colloquially called the “rainy day fund,” which lawmakers could dip into now for disaster response. Various other specially targeted savings reserves for emergency response, drinking water sources and other projects also hold hundreds of millions of dollars more.

Before lawmakers begin appropriating new funds, they first have to determine what’s needed. The federal government, local governments and various charities are also working on disaster recovery efforts. And with travel and communication still limited in the mountains even on Monday, days after Helene passed through the area, efforts to gauge the extent of the damage have been slowed.

Six years ago, Hurricane Florence brought record-breaking floods and other damage to Eastern North Carolina. At the time, it took the legislature about a month to fully fund the hundreds of millions of dollars needed for recovery efforts.

Florence made landfall at Wrightsville Beach on Sept. 14 of that year. By Oct. 3 the legislature had passed two new laws making changes to school calendar rules and creating an emergency relief fund, with $56.5 million in it just to start. By Oct. 16 the legislature had passed a third new law, with the real funding: Nearly $400 million more, spread across a dozen state agencies.

Any funding approved now for Helene recovery efforts will be in addition to the billions of dollars the state already spends on public safety and emergency management. The federal government is likely to also spend large sums on the recovery effort, particularly through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

President Joe Biden recently sent 3,500 federal workers to the Southeast for Helene recovery and response efforts, and he declared an official state of emergency for 25 counties in Western North Carolina, and for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. That means that any of the residents in those areas can now apply for FEMA aid. FEMA provides funding for short-term needs such as food, water, baby formula and emergency supplies, or longer-term needs like repairing home damage.

At the state level, much of the legislature’s disaster recovery efforts are targeted toward coastal regions and other parts of eastern North Carolina, but not all. The following are just some of the more broadly focused state government projects the legislature approved, in the 2023 budget, related to flooding and other disaster recovery issues:

• $20 million for “maintenance and restoration of streams across the state in support of flood mitigation efforts.”
• $20 million in grants “for disaster relief and mitigation as well as transportation mitigation projects.”
• $9.7 million to expand the state’s Western Disaster Warehouse in Stanly County and build a new logistics support center there.
• $8.3 million to study flood areas and map out flooding risk assessments.
• $5 million in grants to “improve disaster shelters across the State by making repairs, improving access, strengthening windspeed ratings for roofs and windows, adding generator hookups, and other projects.”