A New Nominee for NCUC Flies in the Face of Science and Clean Energy Progress

An old enemy of the protection of public health and high environmental standards has just been nominated for another key position of power in North Carolina. Donald van der Vaart, a high-profile and reliable pitchman for pro-polluter policies in multiple positions since 2015, has been nominated by State Treasurer Brad Briner to become a member of the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC).

As a member of the NCUC, van der Vaart would be in the position of overseeing Duke Energy’s plans to expand methane gas infrastructure and their “Carbon Plan” (including their proposals to delay critical reductions in greenhouse gas emissions). Dan Crawford, NC League of Conservation Voters (NCLCV) director of governmental relations, panned the prospect of van der Vaart on the NCUC. “Putting somebody like Van der Vaart to oversee the state’s energy future is dangerously irresponsible and ideologically driven,” said Crawford. “It clearly shows the treasurer values fossil fuel and corporate polluter interest over public health, consumer protection, and climate resilience.” 

Crawford was even blunter in an interview with Inside Climate News, calling van der Vaart’s NCUC appointment “short sighted and a violation of the public trust. This appointment flies in the face of science and clean energy progress. It’s like letting an arsonist guard the fire station.” 

The Arsonist’s Background

Van der Vaart first rose to public prominence in North Carolina in 2015 as former Gov. Pat McCrory’s Secretary of Environmental Quality, where he made a name for himself as an air quality regulator who fought against stronger controls on air pollution, as well as a supporter of offshore drilling and fracking. After being forced out of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) when Roy Cooper was elected governor, van der Vaart landed a spot as an environmental science advisor to the first Trump Administration. 

In 2019 he was named by Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger to the NC Environmental Management Commission. In 2021 he was appointed by newly elected NC Chief Justice Paul Newby as the Chief Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) in the Administrative Office of the Courts. As chief ALJ, van der Vaart reversed the denial of a mining permit adjacent to Umstead State Park, and interfered so badly in North Carolina’s clean water protections that environmental groups petitioned the US EPA to take over the state’s environmental permitting program. 

The statute allowing the State Treasurer to make one of the executive branch appointments to the NCUC is still under challenge by Gov. Josh Stein, who has said he will seek review of its constitutionality in the NC Supreme Court.