Executive Watch: Cooper Vetoes Hog Pollution Protection Act
Will North Carolina protect corporate hog giants at the expense of poor neighbors? Not if I can help it, says Governor Roy Cooper.
Gov. Cooper on Friday vetoed HB 467, called by its sponsors “Agricultural and Forestry Nuisance Remedies” but dubbed by CIB the Hog Pollution Protection Act. This is the bill that would severely limit the ability of neighbors damaged by pollution from factory-style hog and poultry operations to win compensation in court.
In his veto message, Gov. Cooper said, “The agriculture and forestry industries are vital to our economy and we should encourage them to thrive. But nuisance laws can be used to protect property rights and make changes for good. We used nuisance laws to force the Tennessee Valley Authority to stop air pollution from flowing into North Carolina and we won damages to improve air quality. Special protection for one industry opens the door to weakening our nuisance laws in other areas which can allow real harm to homeowners, the environment and everyday North Carolinians. Therefore, I veto the bill.”
Opponents of this legislation point out that it limits the compensation that can be won by injured neighbors to the market sales value of their property. That creates an unusually direct blow against environmental justice for poorer communities. To be blunt, laws that encourage the siting of polluting facilities in poor communities just plain stink.
In an interesting juxtaposition of events, last week the plaintiffs in multiple lawsuits against corporate hog giant Murphy-Brown (the subsidiary of Smithfield Farms) also presented major new evidence that airborne hog farm pollution was more serious and far-reaching than its defenders claim. Those serious legal cases against corporate hog farm pollution were what motivated the introduction of HB 467 in the first place.
“House Bill 467 was nothing more than a sweetheart deal for a corporation whose practices inflict real harm on the health, property values, and incomes of its neighbors,” said NCLCV Director of Governmental Affairs Dan Crawford. “North Carolina families and property owners should be able to exercise their right to obtain just compensation, to breathe healthy air, and to have the quality of life they deserve. Governor Cooper did the right thing for North Carolina communities by vetoing H467.”
The margins of passage for the bill in both the House and Senate were very close to the 3/5 majorities required to override a veto. This suggests that the override votes could be close and the lobbying on both sides vigorous. NCLCV encourages conservationists to urge their legislators to sustain Gov. Cooper’s veto.
