MountainTrue, a nonprofit conservation organization in western North Carolina, has joined forces with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) to initiate a River Debris Cleanup Program. This initiative aims to address the ongoing impacts from Tropical Storm Helene using $10 million in state funding. The funds were allocated through the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management and sub-granted to NCDEQ.
The program is set to complement existing federal debris removal efforts by FEMA, which focus on immediate threats to public health and safety or economic recovery. Despite these efforts, smaller streams and tributaries remain affected by debris, posing risks to tourism and recreation industries in the region.
Over the next 18 months, MountainTrue will deploy paid cleanup crews across western North Carolina. Since Hurricane Helene, they have removed nearly 3 million pounds of trash and debris from the hardest-hit counties. The new initiative plans to clean over 150 miles of river throughout Western NC. Crews will work alongside MountainTrue’s volunteer programs to clear waterways, stabilize stream banks, and engage local communities. Existing operations are already established on rivers such as French Broad, Green, Broad, and Watauga.
“We’re committed to helping western North Carolina recover and rebuild, and this investment will help clean up debris still left in our rivers,” said Reid Wilson, Secretary of the NC Department of Environmental Quality. “This initiative represents a critical opportunity to restore our waterways, protect our communities and support local economies dependent on outdoor recreation and tourism.”
“This is more than a cleanup—it’s a recovery effort that puts people back to work and brings communities together to restore the rivers we all depend on,” said Hartwell Carson, Clean Waters Director with MountainTrue. “We’ve already seen how much progress is possible when local crews and volunteers work side by side. With support from NCDEQ and the State of North Carolina, we’re scaling that success across the region to protect water quality, support outdoor recreation, and help western North Carolina bounce back stronger than before.”
The targeted counties for this program 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 as well as Eastern Band Cherokee Indians.
MountainTrue will manage various aspects of the program including site selection prioritization crew safety training supervision volunteer coordination community outreach monitoring reporting marketing donor engagement
For more information about MountainTrue’s River Debris Cleanup Program or involvement opportunities visit https://mountaintrue.org/cleanup-crew/.
For more information about NC Department Environmental Quality visit www.deq.nc.gov.
