MountainStrong Hurricane Recovery Fund

In the wake of Hurricane Helene, MountainTrue is dedicated to addressing the urgent needs of our community.

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MountainTrue’s Helene Cleanup Crews: FAQ

MountainTrue’s Helene Cleanup Crews: FAQ

MountainTrue’s Helene Cleanup Crews: FAQ

Have you seen one or more of our cleanup crews in action? We’ve answered some frequently asked questions here so you can learn more about them:

 

Who are the cleanup crews? 

The cleanup crews you may see working in/around your local waterways are led by MountainTrue’s River Cleanup Coordinator, Jon Stamper. Cleanup crews are comprised of MountainTrue volunteers and our paid workforce. These paid workers operate cleanups throughout the Helene-affected areas in WNC. They work to remove debris and restore riverbanks. If you’re interested in applying to be a part of MountainTrue’s cleanup crews or have questions, please reach out to cleanup@mountaintrue.org

Where do y’all work?

We’re hosting river cleanups across WNC. If you’d like to volunteer with us, find an upcoming cleanup on our events calendar – advance registration is preferred and greatly appreciated! 

What happens to the trash & storm debris y’all collect from the cleanup sites?

All debris and trash are removed by MountainTrue as quickly as possible. At times, we may make piles of trash over several days. We will remove everything we have collected before moving to a new site. We follow county guidelines when disposing of the trash we’ve collected from waterways. When possible, we make every effort to recycle or repurpose what we pick up. If our crews find important items in the storm debris, we also work to identify and return lost items to their owners. 

How can we support this work? 

Donate to our MountainStrong Recovery & Resilience Fund, sign up to volunteer with us, and support your WNC Riverkeepers! You can follow MountainTrue and our four Riverkeepers on Facebook & Instagram:

Take Action: Tell NCDEQ that North Carolina Needs an E.coli Standard

Take Action: Tell NCDEQ that North Carolina Needs an E.coli Standard

Take Action: Tell NCDEQ that North Carolina Needs an E.coli Standard

Report: Water Quality Impacts of Helene

Report: Water Quality Impacts of Helene

Report: Water Quality Impacts of Helene

Our Clean Waters team compiled a report summarizing MountainTrue’s sampling efforts post-Hurricane Helene. Click the button below to download/read the report.

Post-Helene Cleanup Monitoring Form

Post-Helene Cleanup Monitoring Form

Post-Helene Cleanup Monitoring Form

In response to complaints from the community and our own concerns about excessive woody debris removal in our waterways, MountainTrue met with Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) leadership earlier this week to learn more and advocate for a more balanced approach.

Key issues to watch for and report are:

  • Lack of timber matting beneath vehicles and machines entering waterways.
  • Spilled petroleum products or any other hazardous waste.
  • Any form of excavation (digging) of soil or woody debris (versus pulling).
  • Removal of live trees leaning less than 30%.
  • Removal of rootballs with less than 50% exposure.
  • Intact clumps of soil attached to the roots of removed trees.
  • Removal of downed trees existing prior to the storm.
  • Use of vehicles or machines in wetlands.

Use the form below to submit instances of perceived violations, which we will then relay to our contacts with the USACE. You are also welcome to send the information you collect (paired with the applicable standard) directly to your county’s County Manager and Emergency Management Director.

***Please remember to never trespass on private property, enter job sites, or put yourself in harm’s way when documenting prospective violations.

MT Raleigh Report – HB47 is A Critical $500M Lifeline for Western NC Recovery

MT Raleigh Report – HB47 is A Critical $500M Lifeline for Western NC Recovery

MT Raleigh Report – HB47 is A Critical $500M Lifeline for Western NC Recovery

If you’re surprised to learn that the North Carolina General Assembly has been in session since January, you’re not alone. Despite the urgent needs of Western NC following Hurricane Helene, the legislature has yet to approve a relief package so far this year.

That may soon change. This week, the state House is expected to approve HB47, a $500 million relief bill. While that’s a step in the right direction, the bill still faces uncertainty in the Senate, and it remains unclear when and at what amount the General Assembly will use its billions in unspent reserves for disaster aid.

What’s in HB47?

HB47 would allocate state funds for housing, environmental restoration, debris removal, small business grants, and other critical recovery efforts. MountainTrue supports this bill, particularly the funding for debris removal and restoration projects. You can find a plain-English summary of the latest version of the bill here.

What’s Next?

If the bill passes the House as expected, it will still need approval from the Senate, which has shown less urgency on disaster relief. Senate leaders tend to be more cautious about spending and want to wait for federal agencies like FEMA to complete their recovery work before committing state funds. This could delay progress or result in a reduced package.

MountainTrue has already reached out to Senate leaders to advocate for quick approval of HB47 as written. Our staff will be in Raleigh this week to meet with lawmakers across both parties to stress the importance of timely disaster assistance and share our priorities for the 2025 legislative session.

You can read our full 2025 legislative agenda here.

Looking Ahead

HB47 is just the beginning. House leaders have indicated that it will be the first of several disaster relief bills for Western NC. However, differences between the House and Senate are likely to continue, particularly regarding the amount and structure of disaster funding. The Senate’s preference may be to address this through the broader 2025-2027 state budget process, which typically takes months to finalize.

Governor Josh Stein expressed support for the House’s disaster recovery bill as a good start while calling for even larger investments in recovery. He also urged the federal government to provide an additional $19 billion in disaster aid.

Why Your Support Matters

The General Assembly’s action – or inaction – on Helene recovery underscores the importance of having a strong voice for Western NC in Raleigh. That’s why MountainTrue is proud to be the only WNC environmental organization with a year-round lobbyist in the state capital. Your support makes that possible, and we are deeply grateful.

Thank you for standing with us as we continue advocating for a strong, swift recovery for our region.

MT Raleigh Report: Politics, Disaster Relief, and the Fight for Western North Carolina’s Future

MT Raleigh Report: Politics, Disaster Relief, and the Fight for Western North Carolina’s Future

MT Raleigh Report: Politics, Disaster Relief, and the Fight for Western North Carolina’s Future

What a year – in Raleigh and, of course, in Western North Carolina. 

Among the many lessons those of us here in the mountains learned, again, this year is that what happens – or does not – in Raleigh has a real impact on our communities, our mountains, and our future.

Certainly, that has to be one of the takeaways about the North Carolina General Assembly’s response to the disaster that hit the mountains a couple of months ago. Since September, the legislature has approved three bills that included disaster-related funding for a total of $1.13 billion in state funds. Click here for an overview of the legislature’s efforts on the disaster to date. 

The most recent of these bills is SB382, which included $225 million transferred to a state fund for disaster relief but NOT approved for any specific program or project. Leaving that transfer aside, SB382 included a mere $32 million approved for disaster relief. The remaining balance must be earmarked and approved by the legislature before it reaches WNC.

Beyond the first dozen or so pages loosely focused around disaster relief are over 100 pages of “Various Law Changes,” the real meat of SB382 designed largely to shift power away from the executive branch. This power grab disguised as disaster relief caused three WNC Republican Representatives – Mike Clampitt, Karl Gillespie, and Mark Pless – to join Democrats in voting against the bill, although it passed both the House and Senate in otherwise party-line votes. It also prompted Governor Cooper to veto the bill, but his veto was later overridden by Republican supermajorities in both chambers and became law. Despite their initial opposition to the bill, Clampitt, Gillespie, and Pless all voted to override the veto and allow the bill to become law. 

So why is disaster relief getting held up? It’s certainly not because money’s tight. State Budget officials recently told a legislative committee has a whopping $9.1 billion in inappropriate reserves, including almost $4.8 billion that was in the state’s “rainy day fund” itself when Helene hit, plus $1 billion in a stabilization and inflation reserve and another $732.5 million in a emergency response/disaster reserve. Legislators could also use another $1.1 billion from savings and still remain in compliance with state law.

Gov. Cooper’s request for a $3.9 billion state set-aside for hurricane relief presumed the use of about $3.5 billion from these sources. 

So, if money is not the problem, what is the hold up on state disaster relief? For their part, budget writers for the Republican majorities in the House and Senate argue that it’s smart policy to hold back state relief funding and allow federal disaster relief to make its way to the region. They worry that if state funds are used on efforts that are eligible for federal relief, the feds may not reimburse the state for its recovery efforts. GOP budget writers say it’s better to let the federal money be the first in – and the state funding the last to address needs FEMA and other federal programs do not get to. They also point out that Congress is likely to provide more money for WNC recovery before the end of 2024. 

The problem with waiting, of course, is that many in WNC need help, now, for things we know that the federal government won’t pay for. Many small business owners, for example, can’t afford to take on more debt via the disaster loan programs offered by FEMA. Without direct grants, many business owners say their businesses won’t survive the disaster.

Debris removal is also an urgent need. While the federal agencies and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services have both state and federal funds to help local governments clear rivers of storm debris, these funds are often restricted to trees and other natural debris – not the cars, trucks, and tons of garbage that were swept into every river basin in the region – and are further restricted to those debris jams that pose a risk to flooding or structural damage. The funding is also distributed locally, making regional clean-up efforts more difficult to get up and running. And timing is important: our rivers and streams need to be safe and ready to use come spring when the outdoor recreational season brings thousands of visitors and their dollars to the region. 

With those waters  – and our outdoor economy – in mind, MountainTrue has asked legislators to fund a regional debris clean-up effort that is also supported by the outdoor recreation industry’s umbrella group, the Outdoor Recreation Coalition. Our goal is to employ those in the outdoor industry, who have been displaced by the disaster, to clear out tons of debris in time for the start of the recreation season this spring. Despite the legislature’s reluctance to use state funds for this kind of effort, MountainTrue has started a small pilot program in Madison County with private funds that will make some popular whitewater safe for paddlers early in 2025. 

We plan to use this pilot to continue to lobby legislators for debris removal funding – and employment for those put out of work by the disaster. Early word in Raleigh is that legislators will take up a state-funded package of disaster recovery efforts early in their 2025 session, which begins in late January. 

Looking further back into the legislature’s work this year doesn’t provide much more to celebrate. With GOP supermajorities in both the House and Senate AND a budget surplus topping $1 billion, legislative leaders were unable to muster the votes to send a revised budget for FY2024-2025 to Gov Cooper this summer. In the absence of a revised budget, they left the surplus uninvested and dozens of important conservation projects, including many in WNC, unfunded. 

Unfortunately, the 2025 legislative session doesn’t provide much hope that lawmakers will address the many issues facing North Carolina. With the GOP supermajority now gone in the House, the 2025 session promises to be a drawn-out stalemate between the GOP leadership in the General Assembly and Governor-elect Josh Stein, a Democrat.

For its part, MountainTrue will continue to be in the middle of debates about disaster recovery and rebuilding, clean water and air, and sustainable development and rebuilding. Thank you for the investments you make in MountainTrue and its work in Raleigh – we couldn’t do it without you.