The Monday, Dec. 9, Buncombe County Helene recovery briefing covered information on North Fork Reservoir turbidity, lead testing, Helene relief deadlines, and more.
Briefings go live on the Buncombe County Facebook page at 11 a.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. You can also find recordings of past briefings on the page. Here's what was covered in Monday's briefing.
FEMA Helene deadline
The deadline for Helene relief from FEMA is Jan. 7. Anyone who does not apply by this date who later finds they have Helene-related damages may be excluded from disaster recovery grants - officials suggest creating an account and applying even if you don't have immediate needs to ensure any potential future needs are covered.
FEMA rental assistance
FEMA rental assistance is also still available. The organization will pay rent and security deposits for those with damaged homes. Rentals can be houses, apartments, hotels, or recreational vehicles that keep you near your home, job, or school. Bills such as electricity and water may also be eligible.
The quickest way to apply for FEMA is online at DisasterAssistance.gov. You can also apply by phone at 1-800-621-3362.
To apply in person in Buncombe County, visit the Asheville Mall Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. A mobile Disaster Recovery Center is open today, Monday, Dec. 9, at Fairview Public Library from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Private Property Debris Removal Program
As of Monday's briefing, almost 1,100 property owners in Buncombe County have applied for the PPDR program. County officials provided the following reminders on the PPDR process:
Low-Income Energy Assistance Program
The Low-Income Energy Assistance Program is now accepting applications for one-time heating bill assistance for low-income households. Payments go directly to heating vendors. Application periods include:
Use one of the following methods to apply:
Waste Pro to FCC transition
FCC, the new trash and recycling pickup service provider for unincorporated Buncombe County, is continuing its transition into the community. Last week, 15,000 carts were removed and replaced. Today, Dec. 9, FCC crews are working to service missed locations where carts were not delivered.
If you have no carts, place materials in secured bags for Waste Pro to pick up on collection day. If you have had no carts for several days, call FCC at 828-820-7022 and FCC will prioritize cart drop-off at your home.
After Waste Pro picks up its bins, FCC will deliver new bins to your home within 24-48 hours. The bins will match the ones you currently have, and if you purchased a bear cart from Waste Pro, FCC will simply place an FCC sticker on the cart.
Trash pickup will continue as usual in December with new FCC bins. However, as of January, you will need to be subscribed to FCC for your trash and recycling to be picked up. If you choose not to subscribe, you must opt-out before quarterly billing begins.
Current Waste Pro customers must sign up with FCC at fccenvironmental.com/buncombe to continue service in the new year. FCC will send a mass email to everyone who has signed up with directions to the FCC portal during mid-December.
Carts will be removed during your recycling collection. Waste Pro subscribers have two recycling collection weeks for service collection during December. Please leave your carts at the curb on your recycling collection day until 9 p.m.
On Friday, Dec. 13, household hazardous waste will be accepted at the landfill from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This applies to residential household hazardous waste only, not commercial.
Officials added that those with Asheville addresses may receive trash service through the county and vice versa. Receiving a City of Asheville water bill does not automatically mean you receive city-provided trash and recycling. The easiest way to confirm who provides your trash and recycling services is by checking your carts - if you have a City of Asheville cart, no action is needed, and your service will not change.
Where are Community Care Stations located in Buncombe County?
There are four Community Care Stations remaining in most impacted Buncombe communities:
Stations will remain open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. to continue serving residents in these highly impacted areas. Buncombe County will provide any additional information about these sites as soon as possible.
Buncombe County lead testing
Asheville Water Services representative Clay Chandler told the public that, as of Dec. 9, the department had received more than 6,600 requests for lead testing. They are working to increase capacity for processing requests by collaborating with other NC laboratories, and more details will be available as soon as they are available. Due to the high demand, there is an estimated 4-6 week turnaround time for test results.
Chandler added that nine of the 159 samples taken from mid-to-late November had detectable levels of lead on the first draw (water that had sat in pipes for a minimum of six hours). Only three of these exceeded the action level of .015 parts per million. After flushing for 30 seconds, none of the 159 samples had detectable lead levels.
Water turbidity at North Fork Reservoir
Chandler also provided updates on the watershed at North Fork. As of Dec. 4, Water Services was able to get an aerial view of the area via drone. Trees pulled from the ground by Helene are creating sand and silt that flow into the reservoir at North Fork. Turbidity levels were at 11.9 at 8 a.m. Monday. Best estimations show that turbidity levels can be expected to hover between 10 and 12 for the foreseeable future.
Chandler added that this may be "the new normal" and stressed the importance of the Corps of Engineers pre-treatment system, which is currently being integrated and activated, and sedimentation basins for existing filters.
"We are one weather event like a blowing snowstorm, or as we get into the spring and summer months, a super intense thunderstorm with heavy winds, from the turbidity at North Fork and Bee Tree reaching a point where it puts our existing filtration and treatment processes out of commission," Chandler said.
Storm debris collection in Buncombe County, Asheville
As of the Dec. 9 briefing, 453,870 cubic yards of storm debris have been collected in Buncombe County, 171,478 of which were collected in Asheville.
Trucks will be collecting debris in the following zones of Asheville today, Dec. 9:
There will also be two debris separation crews and seven tree crews in multiple zones.
Low-income homeowner storm repairs
The Asheville Regional Coalition for Home Repair is a single intake point for low-income homeowners with storm damage who need home repairs. The city has allocated $1,465,000 to support this work in the community. ARCHR is made up of the following organizations:
Community members interested in applying can do so at ashevillehabitat.org.
The city also provided $750,000 for rental assistance to Eblen Charities and Grace Covenant Presbyterian. Rental aid applications can be submitted over the phone for the program managed by Eblen Charities at 828-255-3066 or by visiting eblencharities.org/programs. For the program managed by Grace Covenant, visit the church at 789 Merrimon Ave. from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Sunday.
More information on these relief programs can also be found at ashevillenc.gov/helene/relief-assistance.
Asheville Helene recovery newsletter
As the city shifts from emergency response to early recovery efforts, it will switch from daily information sheets to weekly updates by email. Beginning Thursday, Dec. 12, the city will distribute information on recovery efforts through a weekly roundup e-newsletter.
You will automatically be added to the weekly roundup distribution list if you receive daily update emails. To subscribe, visit ashevillenc.gov and click on the "sign up for updates" button.
Asheville City Council sessions
Asheville City Manager Deborah Campbell invited the community to an Asheville City Council recovery work session on Tuesday, Dec. 10, at 3 p.m. The work session will be facilitated and focused on long-term recovery planning. It will be followed by a formal city council meeting at 5 p.m. Public comment is not accepted at work sessions. The meetings can be viewed live or after the meetings on the city's YouTube channel, accessible through ashevillenc.gov.
A regular business meeting will follow the city council meeting, including numerous recovery-related requested actions on the agenda. A public hearing was held to revise the 2024-2025 Housing and Urban Development Annual Action Plan after the city was rewarded with a $1.7 million grant for Helene's recovery. Staff is recommending the $1.7 million be used to help fund rental assistance, business stabilization grants, homeless emergency shelters, and community development grant program administration.
Iris Seaton is the trending news reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at [email protected].