Western North Carolina’s congressional representative and a state senator pushing a bold Helene-related recovery plan are at loggerheads over the bill’s potential effects, with both issuing barbed statements about the other’s take on the proposal.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards says a state bill sponsored by Republican state Sen. Tim Moffitt that would eliminate a provision requiring owners of flooded properties to rebuild to modern standards if the damage exceeds 50 percent, would circumvent federal flood policy and place North Carolina property owners out of compliance with the program.

“I think we’ll find that Senate Bill 266 might not be completely thought out,” Edwards, R-N.C., said in an emailed statement to Asheville Watchdog. “Since Helene hit, I’ve been engaged on the matter of reviewing the National Flood Insurance Program for the sole purpose of western North Carolina’s recovery. What I’ve discovered is circumventing federal flood policy that exists to protect the most vulnerably located structures in the 100-year floodplain from further damage is not the right approach.”

As The Watchdog reported May 7, Moffitt is shepherding the bill through the North Carolina state legislature, with the measure unanimously passing the state Senate that day and now headed to the state House. The House on May 8 passed the bill on first reading and referred it to the Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations.

The bill includes a plan that would waive for two years the state building code’s “50 percent rule,” which requires any building with flood damage costing more than half its value to be rebuilt to newer, stricter building codes. Moffitt says the measure would clear up uncertainty surrounding flooded properties and spur rebuilding in the region, which was hard hit by Tropical Storm Helene.

Moffitt said previously that once the bill passes the state house, he will have to work with the federal government, as its provisions will require approval through the National Flood Insurance Program. Moffitt, who represents Henderson, Polk and Rutherford counties in the state Senate, says Edwards is mistaken in his take on the bill.

“With all due respect to Congressman Edwards, it appears there has been a misunderstanding regarding Senate Bill 266,” Moffitt said via email. “These are complex issues, and it’s an easy mistake to make.”

Moffitt said one of the most significant obstacles to rebuilding in flood-damaged areas is the requirement to meet the new base flood elevation standards.

“This requirement is triggered when damage to a structure exceeds 50 percent of its pre-storm market value,” Moffitt said. “In many communities, entire neighborhoods were lost. In others, most properties surpassed that 50 percent damage threshold. As a result, this mandate now affects not just hundreds or thousands of structures and families, but potentially many more in terms of lost jobs and stalled economic recovery.”

Moffitt said policymakers have to be cautious “not to overcorrect in response to rare, catastrophic events.”

“Reactionary policies can inadvertently hinder recovery efforts,” Moffitt said. “It is equally our duty to identify and address obstacles standing in the way of that recovery.”

Edwards, who served in the state Senate from 2016 to 2023, said the bill would place the entire state “out of compliance with NFIP’s minimum floodplain management standards and jeopardizes its NFIP eligibility. 

“From the mountains to the coast, all 595 participating North Carolina communities would be at risk of losing access to flood insurance coverage across more than 132,000 policies totaling $4.3 billion in coverage,” Edwards said. “Even worse, the bill would make it harder for North Carolina to recover from future flood disasters by making homeowners in the 100-year floodplain ineligible for disaster recovery aid, including FEMA Individual Assistance, which has been so heavily relied on by the folks of NC-11.”

The 11th Congressional District covers 17 mountain counties, including Buncombe.

A chilling effect on real estate?

Edwards said that perhaps the “most chilling” effect of Moffitt’s bill would be on real estate.

“Real estate transactions, such as closings and refinancings, with mandatory purchase requirements would be halted, and federal mortgage insurance or loan guarantees, including VA loans, would no longer be available to properties in the 100-year floodplain,” Edwards said. “Furthermore, the already-strained housing market would be frozen in the floodplain.”

Moffitt maintains that SB 266, which proposes a “Historic Flood Exemption,” would “challenge overreach” from the Stafford Act, which provides the framework for federal disaster relief. Also, the bill will “highlight the limitations of the National Flood Insurance Program.”

“The bill calls for a Congressional re-evaluation of these federal frameworks,” Moffitt said. “It acknowledges that no building codes — past or present — could have anticipated or prevented the devastation caused by a 1,000-year flood event. Some structures, despite being built to modern code within the 100-year floodplain, were still completely destroyed. Yet we continue to impose those same standards on others. Why?”

Moffitt acknowledges the state bill can’t take full effect without federal action, but he also said “its passage at the state level signals the need for change and sets the stage for federal involvement.”

In his statement, Edwards said the mountains are full of “resilient, strong people” and that he understands and supports “the urgency that folks feel to get back to normal.” But Edwards continued, “it cannot be at the expense of the long-term access to federal benefits and resilience of our entire state.

“I also understand that building to new code standards can be expensive, but that is exactly what the $110 billion disaster aid package I drafted and passed in December is meant to address,” Edwards said.

He also noted that North Carolina and the City of Asheville are slated to receive a total of $1.625 billion in Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery funding to help the region recover, “including for this exact reason — to help homeowners fund resilience and retrofit projects that conform with new codes.”

Moffitt said frequent use of terms like mitigation and resiliency may be well-intentioned, but they raise concerns. 

“These efforts, if not carefully balanced, risk stripping rights from those already victimized by the storm, and may further harm them through inflexible regulation,” Moffitt said. “History has shown us, notably with Hurricane Katrina, that sweeping, one-size-fits-all policy changes don’t always yield the desired results and can create unintended consequences.”

Moffitt also noted that over the past few months he’s worked with members of the U.S. House and Senate, as well as the White House, on Helene response.

“I remain optimistic that we can build the momentum necessary to bring about the federal reforms that will make SB266 a reality,” Moffitt said. “After all, the barriers we face are not immutable laws of nature — they are man-made policies. And what lawmakers have created, lawmakers can also change.”

Western Carolina University political scientist Chris Cooper said that despite the bill’s easy passage in the Senate, that doesn’t mean it will sail through the House.

”Heavy lift’ is an apt phrase’

“There’s an old adage that says, ‘The other party is your opposition; the other chamber is your enemy,’” Cooper said. “And we see a lot of bills that get through one chamber and don’t ever see the light of day in the other.”

If it does get through both chambers, the measure will need that key federal approval, and Cooper doubts that will be easy to come by.

“As we can see from Edwards’ (response), the prospects are not particularly likely,” Cooper said, noting that Moffitt acknowledged the entire process would be a heavy lift. “‘Heavy lift’ is an apt phrase. It is unlikely to be successful.”

Cooper also noted that the bill has already created odd political bedfellows, as all Senate members voted in favor, including Democrats such as Julie Mayfield, D-Buncombe, and Sen. Phil Berger Sr., president pro tempore of the Senate and a longtime state Republican power broker. 

“For Chuck Edwards to be on a different side than Phil Berger Sr. is unheard of,” Cooper said. “‘Strange bedfellows’ doesn’t begin to describe what’s happening here.”

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Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. John Boyle has been covering Asheville and surrounding communities since the 20th century. You can reach him at (828) 337-0941, or via email at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org. The Watchdog’s local reporting during this crisis is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.

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