11/28/2011

Legislators returned to Raleigh last night, and once again took up SB 709, the Dirty Energy Bill.

• Legislative Watch: Legislators Consider Pursuing Dirty Energy
• Washington Watch: Definition of 'Waters' Key to Protection
• Education & Resources: Think Before You Frack

Legislative Watch: Legislators Consider Pursuing Dirty Energy

Legislators returned to Raleigh last night (November 27) for their fourth "special session" of the year, and a damaging new direction for North Carolina energy policy--SB 709--was on the agenda. The bill was passed by both legislative chambers earlier this year, but Governor Bev Perdue wisely vetoed this proposal to run our state full speed ahead onto the shoals of offshore drilling and into the murky depths of "fracking".

Now the General Assembly is considering an override of that veto. As of CIB press time, the N.C. House was not expected to make a final decision last night, but the bill is up for debate any time during this latest (hopefully brief) session.

SB 709, the so-called Energy Jobs Act, would be better known as the Dirty Energy Bill. It would simultaneously promote drilling off the pristine Carolina coast, jeopardizing our coastal resources and the jobs which depend on them; and speed through the development of "fracking" for natural gas extraction, without adequate protections for groundwater.

Washington Watch: Definition of 'Waters' Key to Protection

The ability of laws like the Clean Water Act to protect our waters and wetlands depends in large part on how the law defines the "waters" to be protected. For years, the definition of "waters of the United States" protected by the Clean Water Act broadly covered streams and wetlands that are key to protecting our surface and groundwaters, and the human uses and wildlife that depend on them. During the past decade, however, a new anti-regulatory majority on the U.S. Supreme Court has been calling those protections into increasing question.

As a result, the Environmental Protection Agency under the Obama Administration initiated a new guidance process to legally confirm the established broad protections for our critical clean waters and wetlands. The proposed guidance for its agency staff and others applying the law was issued in May 2011, and the formal public comment period closed last summer.

The EPA is now considering whether to kick this issue over to a full formal rulemaking procedure. If it does, it will be extremely important for conservationists around the nation to be ready to vigorously defend protections of our waters and wetlands. We can't protect clean drinking water, swimming and fishing, or birds and other wildlife if our basic laws don't cover the discharges, dredging, filling, and dumping done to most of our waters and wetlands. Yet that is precisely the dangerous state of affairs which some powerful special interest groups are pushing to create.

A link to the full background of this complex, but critical issue can be found here: http://water.epa.gov/lawsregs/guidance/wetlands/cwawaters.cfm?utm_source=delivra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nlc-frupdate%2011/18/2011%2009:37:48

Education & Resources: Think Before You Frack

A new paper just released by Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions recommends a set of seven key safeguards for NC state legislators to consider before approving any use of "fracking" for natural gas exploration in our state. These advance cautions include securing data on groundwater prior to drilling, adequately funding programs which would be responsible for regulating the drilling, requiring tough safety measures, and planning for disposal of wastes before they start to be generated. Authors of the paper based their recommendations on a study of problems created by the industry in other states, and steps which seem to help reduce those problems.

The study paper can be found in full online here: http://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/nc-hydraulic-fracturing/paper