FEMA will stop matching 100% of Helene recovery money in North Carolina
FEMA has denied North Carolina's request to continue matching 100% of the state's spending on Hurricane Helene recovery.
In a letter to Gov. Josh Stein on Friday, acting FEMA administrator Cameron Hamilton wrote that the agency had determined the full cost share was 'not warranted.'
'The need in western North Carolina remains immense — people need debris removed, homes rebuilt, and roads restored,' Stein said in a statement.
'I am extremely disappointed and urge the President to reconsider FEMA's bad decision, even for 90 days. Six months later, the people of western North Carolina are working hard to get back on their feet; they need FEMA to help them get the job done.'
FEMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The agency's decision means that North Carolina will lose a critical share of federal assistance in what's expected to be a years-long rebuild process.
After Helene struck in late September, the Biden administration gave the green light for FEMA to reimburse North Carolina on 100% of disaster relief assistance — particularly with debris removal and emergency protective services. The cost-share allowed state officials to plow ahead on time-sensitive needs more quickly.
In December, FEMA also set the federal cost-share for all other categories of assistance at 90%. But the 100% period for debris cleanup and other services was set to end after six months.
Local and state officials have requested repeatedly that it be extended — preferably another six months — in order to speed up recovery from the deadliest hurricane in state history. But the agency, now under the authority of a president who has floated the idea of dismantling it altogether, will no longer shoulder full costs for that work.
U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards, the Republican congressman who represents western North Carolina, told the Asheville Citizen-Times that Stein's extension request had been 'unprecedented.'
'Instead, I'm focusing on other ways I can make a tangible difference in helping the citizens of western North Carolina recover more quickly,' he said in a statement to the newspaper.
'This includes continuing to assist survivors with FEMA casework and working with the administration to find additional avenues to alleviate the financial stress our communities and the state of North Carolina are facing.'
The state can appeal FEMA's ruling within 30 days.
FEMA denial letter
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