North Carolina Attorney General Jeff Jackson on Thursday toured a Hillsborough pump station that has become one of the focal points in a fight over canceled federal funding. 

Jackson wrapped up his visit by calling on FEMA to restore hundreds of millions in grant funding for storm water projects across the state, including the pump station at Hillsborough's wastewater  treatment plant. The town had been awarded nearly $6 million in FEMA grants to move the pump station out of the Eno River floodway. The Trump administration later canceled the grant program. 

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The Hillsborough pump station flooded during Tropical Storm Chantal, forcing 75% of the town's sewage into the Eno River. 

“We are taking about millions of gallons of untreated sewage being swept to the Eno River which is dumped into the Falls River, which is the one I live next to,” Jackson said.

Jackson stressed that the pump station's grant money was coming from a non-partisan program signed into law by Trump during his first term in office. 

"There's nothing woke about this pump station," Jackson said.

WRAL recently asked the White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt about the canceled funding.

"The president wants to make FEMA more efficient, and he wants state and local governments, so your governor and your state and local elected officials, to lead and make decisions in times of crises," Leavitt said. "The federal government and the president will be there to provide the resources but ultimately state and local officials need to make these decisions on the ground."  

Last week, North Carolina joined 19 other states in suing FEMA over its decision to cancel the grants. 

"Those funds were not FEMA's to cancel," Jackson said, noting congress had approved their allocation. 

Jackson said Thursday that they are seeking a preliminary injunction and hopes to have a hearing in a matter of weeks. 

"I believe we are on strong legal footing," he said. "We are going to make sure the law is upheld." 

Some of the canceled emergency grants in North Carolina include:

• Salisbury was awarded $22.5 million to relocate its pump station along the Yadkin River to higher ground so it can be safely accessed during storms to maintain a drinking water supply. A release from Jackson’s office states that the existing pump station often gets flooded and can be surrounded by water for days at a time after a storm. The city had invested $3 million in local funds for this project before it was canceled.

• Hillsborough was awarded nearly $7 million to relocate its pump station out of a flood plain, expand its water and sewer capacity, maintain emergency water connections with Jordan Lake and other water reservoirs. The river pump station recently flooded due to Tropical Depression Chantal. It prevented the town from being able to treat its wastewater.

• Gastonia was awarded $5.9 million to restore the banks of Duharts Creek and relocate sewer lines to prevent floodwater damage.

• Mount Pleasant was selected to receive more than $4 million to improve stormwater drainage and secure electrical wires to greatly reduce the risk of losing electric and telecommunications services during storms and floods.

• Leland was selected to receive $1.1 million to relocate the town’s sewer system away from Sturgeon Creek, which Jackson’s office said often floods after storms and natural disasters.