House passes Moffitt budget amendment keeping TVA funds in WNC

MOUNTAIN XPRESS: Last Wednesday, an amendment sponsored by Rep. Tim Moffitt (R-Buncombe) passed the North Carolina House as a part of Senate Bill 229. The bill subsequently passed the full House on Monday night. The Moffitt amendment ensures that funds received by the state from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) lawsuit will be given only to 16 Western North Carolina counties that are served by the TVA or are in the Tennessee River watershed.

“Any funds received from a settlement in the TVA lawsuit should directly benefit the counties served by the TVA,” Moffitt said. “My amendment ensures that Western NC counties will have exclusive access to the TVA settlement funds.”

The Moffitt amendment also specifies that the funds only be used for Environmental Mitigation projects. The amendment will provide $2.25 million per year for five years to the following counties: Avery, Buncombe, Burke, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Transylvania, Watauga, and Yancey.

“More than two million dollars per year over the next five years will be a critical asset for Western North Carolina counties and their agricultural communities,” Moffitt said. “I am pleased to have had a role in such an important action for counties in the Western part of the state.”