As North Carolina marks the one year anniversary of Hurricane Helene, there is much work that remains to protect and rebuild western North Carolina. (Photo of Blue Ridge mountains by Brandon Kingdollar/NC Newsline)
As we remember Hurricane Helene’s devastation, too many people and communities are just beginning to rebuild. Yet one year after this historic storm, decisions at both the state and federal levels are undermining efforts to protect lives and property from future disasters.
To safeguard people and communities we must protect existing natural flood control features, like wetlands, fully fund pre-disaster programs, and ensure federal and state agencies coordinate with local needs. Today, our wetlands are at risk, disaster preparedness programs are defunded, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is hobbled.
Wetland Flood Protections Undermined
In 2023 the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Sackett v. EPA decision severely limiting wetland protections. Experts warned the outcomes could range from bad to catastrophic. New federal guidance now points toward the catastrophic end of that spectrum.
Research by Environmental Defense Fund scientist Dr. Adam Gold shows that 500,000 to 3.6 million acres of wetlands in North Carolina may no longer be protected depending on federal and state rules. With the EPA proposing an extreme interpretation of the Sackett decision, more than 3 million acres of wetlands across North Carolina could now be destroyed, putting more people and communities at-risk of flooding.
Disaster Preparedness Programs Defunded
Hurricane Helene was only the latest in a string of costly disasters to hit North Carolina. Communities need proactive investments to break the cycle of repeated losses. FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program offered exactly that.
Created in 2018 with bipartisan support during the previous Trump Administration, BRIC funded projects to build flood protection and ensure resilient infrastructure and communities.The program’s value was clear: one dollar invested in resilience saves $13 in avoided damages. Yet earlier this year, the Trump Administration defunded BRIC entirely.
For North Carolina, this means halting at least $164 million in projects already selected across the state. That’s money that would have protected families, businesses and tax dollars from future storms. Instead, communities remain exposed, and recovery costs will only rise. The math is simple: the cost of doing something now is far less than the cost of doing nothing or trying to do it later.
Coordination and Capacity Diminished
Local communities and individual residents should not be expected to prepare for and recover from Helene-sized storms by themselves. Yet FEMA is being hollowed out and weakened. The ability to train, coordinate, and support local communities is diminished.
FEMA has also ended its door-to-door outreach in disaster areas, a change that makes it harder for vulnerable residents, like the elderly or those without transportation, to access aid. It also places undue burden on our rural residents who have to drive even greater distances.
Local and state governments often must front recovery costs while waiting for FEMA reimbursements. Delays and freezes now leave counties struggling to repair infrastructure and maintain services. For small towns already operating on tight budgets, this is an impossible burden.
Taken together, these federal rollbacks leave North Carolina communities more vulnerable to both storms and slow recoveries.
State and Federal Action Urgently Needed
In a bipartisan effort, a US House of Representatives committee advanced the FEMA Act by a vote of 60-3 earlier this month. The legislation establishes FEMA as a cabinet agency and makes changes to pre- and post-disaster policies, programs, and processes in an effort to simplify disaster assistance for victims, incentivize disaster preparedness, improve coordination amongst federal agencies, and increase transparency and accountability.
North Carolina Representatives Rouzer, McDowell, and Foushee all voted in favor of moving the bill through committee. Representative Edwards, while not on the committee, is a co-sponsor of the legislation.
In North Carolina, the General Assembly should recognize the bipartisan need to reduce flood risks and future disaster risks by prioritizing wetlands conservation to safeguard natural flood defenses and supporting nature-based solutions like restoration opportunities and green infrastructure, which are affordable, rapidly deployable and provide multiple benefits for clean water and wildlife.
North Carolina has endured storm after storm. We know what’s at stake. It’s time for our leaders to act – before the next hurricane reminds us, yet again, of the cost of doing nothing.
Will McDow is the Associate Vice President for EDF’s Climate Resilient Coasts and Watersheds strategic initiative.
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