EPA Administrator Michael Regan will meet Thursday with North Carolina lawmakers to assess communities ravaged by Hurricane Helene and discuss the federal government’s ongoing response.
The briefing in western North Carolina will include Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) and local officials, EPA said.
The bipartisan gathering comes as former president Donald Trump and his allies have spread lies about the hurricane response, including that aid was not reaching Republican areas. Democrats and some Republicans have decried the falsehoods in the wake of the storm, although some — like Tillis — have claimed that Trump is not to blame.
Many households in and around Asheville have gone without clean drinking water for nearly two weeks after the storm wreaked havoc on water lines and pipes and made a mess of major water sources such as the North Fork reservoir. The storm also washed away roads, wrecked entire neighborhoods and destroyed power grid equipment.
