Hotlist 6/22/2016: Problems with process & pollution
House Bill 593 – “Amend Environmental & Other Laws” – will impair the quality of North Carolina’s water and harm its beautiful beaches. We encourage members of the Senate to vote “No” on this bill. Before I dive into the specifics of HB 593, let’s talk about how it was introduced. This 14-page bill was made […]
Hotlist 6/10/2016: More action, less mussels
Greetings: First SolarBees, and now mussels? It’s time to get serious about cleaning up Jordan Lake. To refresh your memory: Jordan Lake is an artificial reservoir that provides drinking water to over 300,000 North Carolinians in addition to serving as a recreation area to over one million visitors every year. In 2002, the EPA deemed […]
Regulatory reduction bill threatens public health, natural resources
House Bill 169 – “Regulatory Reduction Act of 2016” – would have serious negative impacts on the health and well-being of North Carolina residents and our natural resources. We are asking members to vote “No” on HB169 because of the following provisions: Section 1.1 removes the authority of agencies to implement rules if the five-year […]
Hotlist 5/25/16: Vote No on SB71
It is time to take real action on coal ash instead of continually failing to hold Duke Energy accountable. Please vote NO on Senate Bill 71. As a reminder: coal ash is a toxic by-product of coal combustion as a result of the electricity generation process. The EPA currently regulates coal ash and has tasked […]
HotList 9/15/2015: URGENT: Bad environmental provisions remain in NC Budget
Greetings, As many of you know, the conference report on H97 – Appropriations Act of 2015 – is out. The NC Senate is voting this afternoon with the NC House slated to vote later this week. While many of the worst of the worst environmental provisions were removed from the final draft budget, there are […]
HotList 8/4/2015: How will the General Assembly respond to the Clean Power Plan?
Hello, How will the NC State Senate vote on its version of House Bill 571? This measure, intended to delay compliance with the Clean Power Plan until impending legal issues are resolved, is risky business for our state. If passed, HB 571 could potentially place the plan-making process into the hands of the federal government, […]
HotList 7/29/2015: Why H571’s PCS needs to go
Hello, The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is expected to release their carbon emissions rule early this August. These first-of-their-kind standards, part of the Clean Power Plan (CPP), mark an effort to reduce carbon pollution from existing power plants. Using data collected from each state, the CPP will set state pollution targets aiming to reduce […]
HotList 7/13/2015: Electronic Recycling Program gutted by House Bill 765
Greetings, Let’s talk again about the concerning, overarching deregulation bill, House Bill 765. Already passed by the NC Senate and forthcoming for debate in the House, the Regulatory Reform Act of 2015 contains many damaging provisions, including one that repeals recycling requirements for e-waste. The electronics recycling program (which easily passed the General Assembly in […]
HotList 7/02/2015: Senate’s version of H765 attacks environment on all fronts
Greetings, House Bill 765 began quite modestly, passing the House as a three-quarter-page statement addressing vehicle and load specifications for the transportation of gravel. Its most glamorous provision: requiring the use of a tarpaulin (one of those words that is much cooler in its full form like facsimile or memorandum). The Senate’s Proposed Committee Substitute […]
HotList 6/25/15: Environment takes hit in Senate budget
Greetings, If this heat is not enough to get under your skin, I am sure the current budget debate will do the trick. The Senate’s version of House Bill 97 (2015 Appropriations Act) passed the Senate late last week and included a variety of controversial changes tucked neatly into its 508 pages. On Tuesday, the […]
