In Burnsville, Governor Stein and NCDEQ Announce $1 Billion Milestone in Water Infrastructure and Resilience Funding for Hurricane Helene Recovery

Today Governor Josh Stein and Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Secretary Reid Wilson visited Burnsville to announce that DEQ has now awarded more than $1 billion toward water infrastructure and resilience projects in western North Carolina. Since Hurricane Helene struck, 98% of all water systems damaged by the storm have been restored, but more than $758 million in unmet needs remain to repair systems and make them more resilient to future storms.

"Twenty-one months after Hurricane Helene devastated communities throughout western North Carolina, I am proud of the Department of Environmental Quality's billion-dollar commitment toward ensuring North Carolinians have access to clean and safe water," said Governor Josh Stein. "Hurricane Helene left the people of Burnsville without clean drinking water for weeks, but with DEQ's support, Burnsville is on track to provide its residents with clean, safe, and dependable water. We must continue building better and more resilient water and wastewater systems to protect future North Carolinians from storm damage."

"It's an important milestone that DEQ has awarded over $1 billion for Helene recovery, but in some ways it's just the beginning," said DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson. "In the years ahead we will continue to work hand in hand with local governments and nonprofits to complete these projects as quickly as possible so that our mountain communities build back stronger and are more resilient to future disasters."

As part of DEQ's $1 billion investment in western North Carolina, Burnsville received $13 million through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) to improve its drinking water supply, water distribution system, and sewer line infrastructure. This funding builds on a previous $4.5 million in emergency bridge loans and technical assistance grants to replace the town's raw water intake, bringing Burnsville's total State Water Infrastructure Authority (SWIA) funding to more than $17 million.

Last week, Governor Stein signed Senate Bill 257 into law, enacting North Carolina's first full state budget in more than two years. The budget appropriates more than $700 million to support Hurricane Helene recovery, including $20 million to repair dams and $1 million for mapping landslide risks in places like Yancey County. This is the third Hurricane Helene Recovery package since Governor Stein took office in January 2025. Governor Stein has advanced more than $1.8 billion in water infrastructure projects statewide to strengthen drinking water and wastewater infrastructure and resilience and reduce contamination by forever chemicals like PFAS.

As the lead agency for resilience in the Stein Administration, DEQ is advancing programs to help communities recover from and prepare for more frequent and severe weather. DEQ's Flood Resiliency Blueprint funded 19 flood resilience projects totaling $10 million in western North Carolina in the French Broad River Basin. DEQ is guiding data-driven planning and funding targeted projects that reduce flood risk and support long-term community resilience across North Carolina. Pointing to valuable lessons learned from Hurricane Helene, Governor Stein highlighted the need for more interagency coordination and announced a new interagency effort to update the 2020 North Carolina Risk and Resilience Plan.

At the event, Governor Stein highlighted the need for increased state and federal support. In April, DEQ announced its latest round of State Water Infrastructure Authority funding - the last of all the federal disaster funds allotted to DEQ's Division of Water Infrastructure through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to repair damage from Helene and strengthen resilience against future storms. On July 15, SWIA announced an additional $44 million in Helene water infrastructure funding, using state funds. The unmet needs from remaining state applications totaled more than $758 million.

In June, Governor Stein returned to Washington, DC, to continue advocating for additional federal funding for Helene. His $10 billion request includes funding to rebuild housing, strengthen infrastructure, and support small businesses, including $1 billion from the Environmental Protection Agency to improve water quality and infrastructure, carry out brownfield assessments, restore damaged rivers, and support effective hazardous waste management. Congress has not appropriated new funding toward Hurricane Helene recovery since 2024.