MountainTrue, a nonprofit conservation organization serving Western North Carolina, is partnering with the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) to launch a comprehensive River Debris Cleanup Program to address ongoing impacts from Tropical Storm Helene.

The program will utilize $10 million in state funding granted through the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management and sub-granted to NCDEQ to help with Helene recovery efforts. 

The program is designed to supplement existing federal debris removal funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which is restricted to debris posing an immediate threat to public health and safety or tied to limited economic recovery efforts. While FEMA and United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have prioritized major rivers and large debris, significant debris remains in smaller streams and tributaries—posing risks and threatening vital tourism and recreation industries throughout the region.

To close this gap, MountainTrue will deploy paid cleanup crews across Western North Carolina for the next 18 months. Since Hurricane Helene, MountainTrue staff and volunteers have removed almost 3 million pounds of trash and debris throughout the hardest hit counties of Western North Carolina. MountainTrue will expand this work by cleaning over 150 miles of river throughout WNC. The crews will collaborate with MountainTrue’s existing volunteer programs to navigate affected waterways, remove waste, stabilize stream banks and strengthen local community engagement. MountainTrue currently has established volunteer operations on the French Broad, Green, Broad and Watauga rivers, with strong community partnerships already in place.

Targeted counties include Alexander, Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Caldwell, Catawba, Clay, Cleveland, Gaston, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Lincoln, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Transylvania, Watauga, Wilkes, Yancey and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

For more information about MountainTrue’s River Debris Cleanup Program or to get involved, visit mountaintrue.org/cleanup-crew/. For more information about the NC Department of Environmental Quality, visit deq.nc.gov.