Congressman Urges Army Corps to Finalize Rocky Broad River Plan

Congressman Tim Moore (R, NC-14) wrote a letter urging the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to finalize a permanent plan to redirect the Rocky Broad River by September 27, 2026, two years after Hurricane Helene devastated North Carolina. The request seeks to provide long-term certainty for communities in the Hickory Nut Gorge, where the storm's catastrophic damage continues to hinder rebuilding and economic recovery.

“Following conversations with residents, business owners, and local officials, it is clear that the continued uncertainty surrounding the Rocky Broad River's course remains one of the most significant obstacles standing between these communities and a real recovery,” Moore wrote in the letter.

USACE and its contractors extracted millions of cubic yards of sediment and debris from western NC after Hurricane Helene. It's unclear exactly how much was removed from the area in question, between Bat Cave and the mouth of Lake Lure. 

The entirety of the river basin flowed into the lake during Helene's destruction. Lake Lure operations concluded last November, when over a million cubic yards of sediment were removed, officials said. 

Beginning in the mountains and flowing into the inner piedmont, the headwaters of the Broad River originate upstream of Lake Lure in Buncombe, Henderson, McDowell, and Rutherford Counties. The boulder-strewn section of the Broad River in Bat Cave and Chimney Rock is locally known as the Rocky Broad River. Flat, Hickory, and Reedypatch Creeks are the largest tributaries above Lake Lure; Buffalo Creek forms a major arm of the lake; and Cove, Mountain, and Cleghorn Creeks are tributaries below the Lake Lure dam, according to the NC Department of Environmental Quality 2008 report on the Broad River basin watershed.

Congressman Moore emphasized that establishing a permanent river alignment is essential to restoring certainty for families, businesses, and local governments rebuilding.

“While the Corps has made meaningful progress, the mission is not complete. Businesses and families cannot fully rebuild. The river's current temporary alignment is not a long-term solution, and the uncertainty poses a threat to the region's economic recovery. A finalized plan for the Rocky Broad River is needed,” he added.

Congressman Moore, of Kings Mountain, represents the 14th Congressional District of North Carolina, including Cleveland, Gaston, Burke, and Rutherford Counties, as well as parts of Mecklenburg and Polk Counties. He faces Democrat LaKesha Womack, of Charlotte, in the upcoming general election.