North Carolina environmental rules are 'insult to injury' for Helene recovery efforts, lawmaker says

A state lawmaker who represents part of North Carolina hit hard by Hurricane Helene said rules on the books of the state’s environmental agency will sandbag recovery.

State Rep. Jake Johnson of the North Carolina General Assembly told Fox News Digital the current regulations by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will hamper rebuilding efforts after Helene ravaged parts of the state’s northwest. 

He said the general assembly already targeted rules on debris removal via burning but said policies like those dictating how close to a river developments can be built up could also impede rebuilding after the storm.

"Where a lot of the rebuilding is going to have to be done — and a lot of the cleanup, obviously, is near the river — one thing we need to look at is, you know, at least temporarily suspending some of the [regulations], how close you can work to a river and making sure that, you know, they're not cracking down on that," Johnson said. 

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Parts of North Carolina like Chimney Rock were hit hard by Helene. (Getty Images)

"They've got enough on their plate. … You're going to have people working in areas where they wouldn't normally be working," Johnson said of recovery teams in the area. "And, I mean, that would just be insult to injury for them to come in and be cracking down on these contractors when they're just in there trying to do a good job and clean things up."

He suggested the GOP-held general assembly would work to roll back several regulations that Johnson sees as barriers to rebuilding.

"But, at the end of the day, the enforcement mechanism and the permitting is still done by a department head that is appointed by Roy Cooper, a very liberal Democrat governor," he said. "I don't really see them doing too much of that on their own without us directing it."

However, Johnson conceded that Cooper would likely put politics aside to sign multiple regulatory rollbacks if they were put on his desk.

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Rep. Jake Johnson, a member of the North Carolina General Assembly, criticized the state environmental agency. (Facebook/Representative Jake Johnson)

"We had, I believe it was, a unanimous vote in both chambers for the first bill, and it did include some rolling back those regulatory boundaries on burning," he said. "So, yes. I mean, I believe — if anything we have in there to expedite the cleanup, I think he would sign."

North Carolina state Rep. Ray Pickett did not name a specific policy he was most concerned about but said he was worried about DEQ's permitting and approvals process in general.

"I absolutely share those concerns," Pickett told Fox News Digital. "I see it with some of our infrastructure that's going to have to be replaced. DEQ … has not always been the quickest agency we have.

"We have wastewater treatment plants that are going to have to be rebuilt. They're going to have to speed those things up, and they're going to have to get along with the program."

DEQ told Fox News Digital, however, that it requested the regulatory rollbacks recently passed and would utilize "flexibility" to assess further needs.  

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"The department is utilizing all available flexibility and discretion in regulatory, funding and enforcement decisions to ensure the focus is on restoring critical infrastructure and services to the people of North Carolina. DEQ requested the regulatory changes in the recent legislative package and will continue to do so as needed to support recovery efforts," an agency spokesperson said.

But Johnson also told Fox News Digital he was "frustrated" by delays in DEQ staff getting to certain parts of the state after Helene, specifically in the first week after the storm, which DEQ denied.

"That’s usually the department — if you're doing any kind of building or development … if there's even mud on the road or something, you know, any kind of minor erosion, they're all over it," he said. 

Johnson said he did not see DEQ personnel on the ground for at least the first week after the storm.

Johnson said propane tanks in rivers were creating environmental concerns. (Getty Images)

"Ideally, they would have personnel helping clean it up. But even something as simple as taking levels of how, you know, maybe how toxic the water is, the estimated amount of spillage that is in there and helping get quotes for cleanup – I mean, all those things would be great first steps that would certainly at least help," he said.

Pickett said of his experience the week after the storm, "I had to make a few phone calls to get things moving a little quicker. … I shouldn't have had to made those phone calls. They should have understood that we've got to move fast."

DEQ, however, told Fox News Digital its staff was "on the ground during the storm and in the days immediately after providing emergency response, support and assessments."

"Our staff have been working — and will continue to work — directly with water and wastewater systems, along with our federal and state partners, to assess damages, coordinate resources and provide technical assistance to restore services to western North Carolina," the agency said.

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The DEQ’s mission is "providing science-based environmental stewardship for the health and prosperity of all North Carolinians," according to its website.

The agency is dedicated to helping the state improve air and water quality as well as issuing and overseeing permits for development, water storage and other initiatives.

"The governor has taken meaningful action to bolster the state's unprecedented response to this storm, including issuing an executive order that waives regulations in order to ensure that water systems and environmental needs can be met quickly during recovery," Cooper's spokesperson, Jordan Monaghan, told Fox News Digital in response to Johnson's comments.

Cooper's executive order empowers DEQ to expedite repairs related to drinking water and wastewater issues. It also grants DEQ the discretion to waive certain requirements related to projects "that require an individual water quality certification" to speed up rebuilding.