N.C. Attorney General visits Whiteville after FEMA pulls flood mitigation funds
WHITEVILLE, NC (WWAY-TV) – State Attorney General, Jeff Jackson visited Columbus County on Tuesday after joining a lawsuit against FEMA for pulling major funding for disaster preparedness projects across the state.
A portion of that funding was going to support a mitigation project in Whiteville.
Flooding has ruled the city over the last several years and Elizabeth Kasitati, owner of The Donut Shop in Whiteville is all too familiar with it.
“When is this flooding going to be addressed seriously and not just next year, or next year, or two years, we need something to happen now,” Kasitati said.
But that response could be even more delayed as FEMA cancelled over $200 million of funding that would have gone toward 60 disaster preparedness projects statewide. Over $3 million of that funding was going to support the project in Whiteville.
“The plan that Whiteville has is a good plan, the deal that they reached with FEMA is a good deal and now FEMA is backing out and I think that’s against the law, so we’re going to court,” Jackson said.
Jackson joined a coalition of 19 other states suing FEMA. The Trump administration claims that states should be taking on more responsibility when severe weather strikes.
“Whiteville jumped through years of bureaucratic hoops to be eligible for this funding, then when they were awarded the funds,” Jackson said. “They were close to actually starting construction and using the money and then at the last possible minute the rug got pulled out from under them.”
The project would have helped improve drainage and add bridges to the west of Whiteville in Mollie’s Branch, a creek that Whiteville Mayor Terry Mann said can often rise four to five feet during a flood.
“To have a project just about ready to put out for bid after you’ve been working on it almost three years and then all of a sudden it’s not gonna be there, it is very frustrating,” Mann said.
The lawsuit against FEMA was heard in court on Tuesday and Jackson said we should know the court’s decision in the next few weeks.
