05/21/2012

The start of the 2012 legislative budget session brings out more bad anti-environmental proposals, this week in CIB:

• Legislative Watch: The Real Death Panel; Frantic for Fracking; No Science Wanted Here
• Nuclear Update: What, Me Worry?
• Conservationists: WakeUP Wake County

Legislative Watch: The Real Death Panel;  Frantic for Fracking;  No Science Wanted Here

The General Assembly is back in town, and the start of this session looks grim for our environment.

The Real Death Panel: Forget about the mythical "death panels" of health care. There's a real one operating now in the North Carolina state legislature. It's named the Regulatory Reform Committee, and its mission--cheerfully accepted--is to seek out and destroy environmental rules and pollution controls which have annoyed the special interests of the pollution lobby. As a beginning, last week it slapped down two big bills for consideration in the 'budget session' which started May 16.

The first is innocently titled, 'The Regulatory Reform Act of 2012' (SB 810)--an accurate title only if by "reform" one means "weakening". Among other changes, it would bar environmental inspections of industry without a minimum of seven days advance warning. After all, it's only polite to give one's host a little time to tidy up before guests arrive. Turn on any emissions control equipment switches that may have been accidentally left off, place a nice throw rug over any stray pipes, make sure all the paper stacks have been straightened up, that sort of thing. It would hardly do to leave anyone with the impression that they weren't absolutely trusted. Just a formality to have us drop by, you see. And while we're making these little technical fixes, let's tie some additional red tape around the environmental rulemaking process, make sure that air quality concerns are not addressed in water discharge permits, demote various drinking water well rules to the status of suggestions, and a few similar updates.

The second bill is similarly captioned the 'Boards and Commissions Efficiency Act'. In this case, 'efficiency' is ensured by such reforms as knocking six members appointed by the governor off the key Environmental Management Commission. By coincidence, the eliminated positions just happen to be seats occupied by citizens and technical experts who don't represent the interests of the regulated industries. A long list of eliminated boards also includes bodies like the Legislative Commission on Global Climate Change--but since climate change isn't real anyway, of course, the loss there is minimal.

Frantic for Fracking: Meanwhile, don't forget about fracking. The leaders of the N.C. Senate certainly have not. Legislation was introduced last week to fast-track preparation for fracking in North Carolina, despite cautions sounded in the study prepared by the state Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) at the direction of the legislature. DENR's study warned that additional information on the location and water conditions around shale gas deposits needed to be obtained, and a new regulatory framework carefully crafted, before fracking for natural gas could be safely developed in our state. Never mind, says Sen. Bob Rucho (R-Mecklenburg)--it's full speed ahead. The Rucho Fast Frack bill is SB 820, which he has charmingly entitled, the 'Clean Energy and Economic Security Act.' No subtlety about his election-year message here.

On a more positive note, a bipartisan set of House leaders continues to prepare their more deliberate and careful alternative bill on fracking. In the meantime, citizen groups concerned with the dangers of fast-tracking fracking are organizing a call-in day to state legislators on May 23. In support of this effort, NCLCV encourages its members and volunteers to call your state legislators in Raleigh on May 23, with the message: "Don't rush to drill."

"There are all kinds of issues associated with fracking relating to water consumption, water contamination, air pollution, infrastructure impacts, etc. We also lack consumer protections for landowners, a number of whom have already been taken advantage of by speculators," notes Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford). She also points out, "Natural gas prices are at a record low and the industry concedes that it will likely not explore NC's resources until 2035, so we have plenty of time to consider whether and how we should allow fracking to proceed in NC."

Not sure of the contact information for your legislators? You can get it here: http://www.ncleg.net/representation/WhoRepresentsMe.html

No Science Wanted Here: Finally on legislation last week, we're sorry to note that the Senate Agriculture and Environment Committee rolled out a proposal to instruct the Coastal Resources Commission (CRC) to ignore evidence of accelerating sea level rise in making its projections of future impact of rising sea levels on coastal development and environment. The bill goes on to bar coastal local governments from planning based on better science than the CRC would be allowed to use. This incredible exercise in deliberate ignorance reminds us of the infamous Tennessee legislative attempt, some decades ago, to declare that henceforth pi would be equal to 3. For further background and analysis on this latest campaign to legislate us back to the stone age of knowledge, see N.C. Policy Watch's article here: http://www.ncpolicywatch.com/2012/05/17/a-rising-tide-of-willful-ignorance-2/

Nuclear Update: What, Me Worry?

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has seen the lessons from the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in Japan, and has apparently learned precisely nothing. In the first major overhaul of rules controlling community planning for nuclear plant accidents in the United States since the Three Mile Island accident in 1979, the NRC has weakened already inadequate standards, not strengthened them.

In the revamped rules, communities within 50 miles of nuclear plants will be allowed to undertake fewer exercises on the possibility of major accidents, and plan for the evacuation of fewer people. But rest assured--literally rest assured, since one new requirement is that some exercises be held which assume that little or no harmful radiation has been released. Yes, it's the Alfred E. Neumann "What, Me Worry?" Plan, and communities must now practice saying, "There was no risk to the public." For further comments on the new approach, see the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy website, www.cleanenergy.org.

Conservationists: WakeUP Wake County

CIB this week takes a moment to recognize one of the citizen groups sponsoring our Green Tie Awards Dinner on June 20: WakeUP Wake County. WakeUP is taking a lead role in promoting public involvement in future transportation decision-making, especially planning for the more environment-friendly option of public transit. WakeUP recognizes the critical role transportation systems play in shaping human impact on the environment, and on human health as well. It's working to spread that information, and get more citizens actively involved. For more information on WakeUP, see its website: http://www.wakeupwakecounty.org/cms/

For details and to reserve tickets for the Green Tie Awards Dinner in Raleigh on June 20, go to: http://nclcv.org/what/honoring/green_tie_2012/