Legislative Watch: No Action on Clean Water
State legislators last week adjourned until May, without providing the funding needed for state agencies to deal with toxic GenX and other “emerging” water pollutants.
The state House had passed legislation which conservationists regarded as providing a ‘down payment’ on the equipment and training needed for NC Dept. of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to begin addressing this pollution. The state Senate changed that bill to reject the needed new scientific equipment and divert most of the other funding to a semi-public entity controlled by an ally of Senate leader Phil Berger. Unable to agree on any relevant action, the House and Senate last week threw up their collective hands and went home until May.
In a tweet, Gov. Roy Cooper blasted the legislature’s inaction, calling it “unconscionable” and saying, “Legislators are going home after doing nothing to protect clean drinking water for NC families.”
In criticizing the General Assembly’s failure to act, NCLCV Executive Director Carrie Clark pointed out, “It has been months since this story first hit the airwaves and communities still face uncertainty over whether or not it’s safe to drink from their taps. Residents who rely on the Cape Fear River for their livelihoods and for their source of drinking water remain in fear.” When presented with an opportunity to act, she said, legislative leaders instead “decided to pack up and leave Raleigh instead of doing their job.”
