North Carolina Attorney General (and Democratic gubernatorial nominee) Josh Stein on PBS North Carolina on July 24, 2024 (Image: PBS North Carolina / YouTube)
This week, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) informed North Carolina Governor Josh Stein (D) that the federal government was rejecting his appeal of a prior rejection for federal disaster aid. Stein has used that rejection as a moment to educate local taxpayers about the financial implications of that rejection.
In a video posted to his official X account, Stein — a Democrat who won election last year in a state that President Donald Trump also won — explained that because FEMA had rejected his appeal to continue covering 100% of debris removal costs from Hurricane Helene, that cost would now have to be shouldered by taxpayers. He observed that while there had already been 12 million cubic yards of debris removed, there was still a lot more debris to remove from the affected areas.
"Helene created an amount of wreckage that is hard to wrap your head around. It is so immense," Stein said. "We have so much more work to do. And it's going to cost a lot: Up to $2 billion to fully clean the roads and waterways in Western North Carolina."
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"It will cost North Carolina taxpayers a lot more to clean up Western North Carolina. And debris removal is just one of the many categories of relief we need to help Western North Carolina get back on its feet," he continued. "The sad reality is this: The more money North Carolina has to spend on debris removal and other types of cleanup that the federal government often executes, that's less money we'll have for other categories of relief – things like grants to small business, rebuilding downtown infrastructure, water and sewer systems, parks and more."
Stein made sure to thank the Tar Heel State's members of Congress from both sides of the political aisle in pushing for North Carolina to get help from FEMA, despite the rejection and the unsuccessful appeal. But he reminded residents that Helene, which made landfall last fall as a Category 4 storm, caused $60 billion in damage just to North Carolina alone.
"That's too much for the people of Western North Carolina, and even the state of North Carolina to bear on our own," he said.
"Here is what I want the people of Western North Carolina to know: We are going to stay the course," Stein added. "We are going to keep pushing the federal and state governments to do right by Western North Carolina. We will keep working with urgency, focus and transparency to get any appropriated money on the ground as quickly as we can to speed your recovery."
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Watch Stein's video below, or by clicking this link.