Governor Josh Stein on Thursday called on Congress to send more money to western North Carolina to rebuild infrastructure that was damaged by Hurricane Helene.
Standing in front of the former Pactiv Evergreen paper mill site in Canton, Stein highlighted $3.5 million that the town is receiving from the federal government to build a new wastewater treatment plant. The funding was announced in April.
In total, Washington has sent $861 million to help western North Carolina counties rebuild their water infrastructure post-Helene. But Gov. Stein says the money is far from enough.
“We need substantially more federal support,” Stein said. “The federal government has not appropriated any relief dollars for Western North Carolina since the Biden administration and the last Congress.”
Stein has asked Congress for an additional $540 million for water infrastructure and other environmental projects. That’s part of a total ask of $13.5 billion for continued recovery from Helene.
Without that funding, Stein said some towns and counties won’t have enough funding to address urgent needs like sewer line repair or relocating wastewater treatment facilities to higher ground.
“I am urging the U.S. Congress and this administration to meet this moment and help western North Carolina get back on its feet,” Stein said. “We're obviously grateful for every dollar that we've received from the federal government. It's just, we need more.”
The governor was joined by Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson and Preston Jacobsen, executive director of the Haywood Waterways Association.
Smathers said the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant marks a new chapter for the town.
“Where you stand will be the home of our newest wastewater treatment plant,” Smathers said Thursday. “For the first time in our history, we will treat wastewater. We will control our own destiny.”
Previously, Pactiv Evergreen handled Canton’s wastewater treatment for free. That arrangement ended when a new owner, Spirtas Worldwide, purchased the site last year. Since then, Canton has been paying Spirtas $140,000 a month for wastewater treatment.
The current wastewater treatment plant has also flooded several times over the years, including during Hurricane Helene.
In March, Canton signed an agreement to purchase part of the former mill site to build a new wastewater treatment plant. The new site is located on higher ground that is unlikely to flood. The property also includes more than 150,000 square feet of warehouse space that Smathers said he hopes will attract new employers to the area.
