EPA announced $337M in funding for North Carolina to improve water infrastructure following Hurricane Helene

NORTH CAROLINA (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — On Wednesday, the Environmental Protection Agency announced a total of $337 million will be going to help fund recovery and improve water infrastructure following Hurricane Helene.

$276 million in additional funds, under Title VI of the Clean Water Act, will help improve infrastructure. This comes after $409 million was allocated in July for drinking water infrastructure improvements. Additionally, the agency awarded $61 million through the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act for continued hurricane recovery.

The $276 million is part of the 2025 Supplemental Appropriation for Hurricanes Helene and Milton and the Hawai’i Wildfires, administered by the State Revolving Fund (SRF).

“These funds are critical to North Carolina as they continue to recover and look to the future to build stronger and more resilient water systems that can withstand severe weather,” said EPA Regional Administrator Kevin McOmber. “As the first anniversary of Hurricane Helene approaches, we are reminded how critical access to safe, clean water is, especially in the most difficult of times.”

Additional funding

• $253,681,000 for its Clean Water Safe Revolving Fund, for the cost of planning, design, and construction of eligible treatment works improvement projects.
• $22,510,000 for a new Decentralized Clean Water Safe Revolving Fund to improve the resilience of septic systems and assess and connect homes served by septic systems to centralized wastewater systems.
• $61,006,486 granted under the RCRA may be used to manage solid and hazardous waste debris, conduct site assessments to identify and address contamination, rehabilitate damaged waste management facilities and plan for future severe weather events.