North Carolina Governor Josh Stein is asking President Donald Trump and FEMA to reconsider the agency's decision to cut how much it is willing to pay for the removal of debris from Helene.
Earlier this month, a FEMA official informed Stein that the agency had denied North Carolina's request to extend the full reimbursement of debris removal for 180 additional days.
That means the federal reimbursement of debris removal drops to 90%. North Carolina officials estimate that removing all of the remaining debris could cost between $1 and $2 billion, meaning the state's share could reach as much as $200 million.
Friday, Stein sent a letter to Trump and FEMA Region 4 Administrator Robert Samaan asking that the agency reconsider its decision. If officials can't continue the full reimbursement for six months, Stein wrote, it would be helpful to have at least a three-month extension.
"Doing so would allow us to continue to build on the momentum you have helped us achieve. It would also send a strong message to our people that their federal government has not forgotten them," wrote Stein, a Democrat.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers didn't begin focusing on debris removal until about three months after the storm, Stein wrote. That means that despite the federal government offering a full reimbursement for debris removal for six months, the state was only able to truly benefit for three months.
Over the last four weeks, Stein told Trump and FEMA officials, the Corps has removed approximately as much debris from waterways as it had in the previous six months.
"I appreciate all you did to improve and bolster the Corps' response, but the truth is that the scale of the problem is immense, and we need more time and help to address it," Stein wrote.
So far, nearly 10 million cubic yards has been removed from right-of-ways or waterways, Stein told Trump and FEMA officials. To give a scale of the pace of debris removal in recent weeks, Stein said on April 11 that more than 7.4 million cubic yards of debris had been removed.
The Army Corps' role
The Army Corps of Engineers strongly disagrees with Stein's characterization of the pace of its debris removal effort. Dave Connolly, a Corps spokesman, said the agency started its debris removal mission on October 20, five days after being tasked with it by FEMA.
The Corps' role captures about 40% of the debris removal mission from Helene, Connolly added.
Earlier this week, the Army Corps of Engineers said that its own debris removal efforts had surpassed 5 million cubic yards, WLOS-TV reported. Col. Brad A. Morgan told the station that's enough debris to cover New York City's Central Park in a five-foot blanket of debris.
At the direction of North Carolina officials, the Corps prioritized the removal of debris from right of ways, followed by waterways, and then from private property.
Removing debris from waterways is particularly difficult for the Corps, Connolly wrote, because it has to figure out who owns each waterway.
The first waterway mission it took on was in hard-hit Lake Lure, which the Corps was tasked with on Oct. 15 and began working in on Nov. 4.
"The following waterway debris removal missions were far more complex in nature," Connolly wrote.
Upon being tasked with debris removal missions in waterways in October, Connolly wrote, the Corps asked the state for a determination on who owned which waterways.
North Carolina officials responded to that request the last week in January, around Jan. 28, Connolly wrote.
The Corps began removing debris from Buncombe County waterways on Feb. 1. It followed the next day with work in Polk County and two days after that in McDowell County.
"It is important to note that the initiation of WW debris removal was very visual and apparent to the public as it was the first time people could view heavy machinery operating in the water. And because the vast majority of storm generated debris was in the waterway," Connolly wrote.
Corps officials estimate that about three-quarters of the debris from Helene is in waterways.
FEMA also requested that the Corps helps with debris removal on about 7,000 private properties. That work was slowed by winter weather, Connolly wrote, because the Corps couldn't move heavy equipment around, adequately conduct necessary surveys or start working on unstable terrain.
"These delays are common in remote, mountainous regions and are necessary to ensure work proceeds safely, responsibly and in compliance with all federal regulations," Connolly wrote.
According to the Corps' tracker, it has finished cleanup on 1,865 private parcels, is actively working on 200 more, and has another 2,200 under contract.
The Corps estimates that there's about 3 to 5 million additional cubic yards of debris to collect and, according to a tracker on its website, anticipates continuing that work until late June.
In his letter to Trump, Stein also warned that North Carolina and its local governments are facing "an ever-growing cost burden" in its response to Helene, particularly because tourism revenue remains down after the storm.
"Failing to grant an extension would worsen the already severe economic hardships western North Carolinians are experiencing," Stein wrote.
And, Stein wrote, FEMA has granted similar extensions in response to large hurricanes such as Katrina, Maria and Ike.
