RALEIGH — State Sen. Tom McInnis was one of 16 members of the General Assembly recently appointed to a committee to “study options for flood mitigation involving river debris removal (and) spillways.”
The appointment was announced last week in a joint statement by Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, and House Speaker Rep. Tim Moore, R-Cleveland.
According to a press release, the committee includes eight members each from the Senate and House of Representatives who will study “the means of mitigating flood damage caused by extreme rainfall events.”
Committee members will consider increased efficiency in debris removal, flood control techniques — including spillways and other water redirection methods — and modifying riverbed courses to lessen the sediment deposits in the river basins that received at least 10 inches of rainfall during Hurricane Florence in September.
Rising waters from the Trent, Neuse, Cape Fear and Lumber rivers left much of Eastern North Carolina flooded for days following the storm.
Most of the committee members are from the areas most affected by Florence flooding: Sen. Bill Rabon, co-chair, R-Bladen; Sen. Danny Britt, R-Robeson; Sen. Ben Clark, D-Cumberland; Sen. Michael Lee, R-New Hanover; Sen. Norm Sanderson, R-Pamlico; Sen. Erica Smith, D-Northampton; Sen. Andy Wells, R-Catawba; Rep. Brenden Jones R-Columbus, co-chair; Rep. Jimmy Dixon, R-Duplin; Rep. Pat McElraft, R-Carteret; Rep. Elmer Floyd, D-Cumberland; Rep. Charles Graham, D-Robeson; Rep. Holly Grange, R-New Hanover; Rep. Phil Shepard, R-Onslow; Rep. John Szoka, R-Cumberland.
The committee is expected to submit a report by 2020.
“Hurricane Florence’s devastation makes it clear that we need to work in every direction to protect lives and property from future flooding,” Berger and Moore said in a joint statement. “This committee’s work will be integral to the comprehensive resiliency planning that will take place over the coming years.”
McInnis, R-Richmond, faces Democratic challenger Helen Probst Mills from Moore County in next week’s election. He won the seat in the 2014 race against then-Sen. Gene McLaurin.
