Legislative Watch: Industry Cheerleader Named to ‘Conservation’ Seat
NC Senate Leader Phil Berger wants us to believe that an advocate for the fracking industry is really a representative for a “nongovernmental conservation interest.”
At Berger’s request, the NC Senate has named fracking enthusiast and Lee County Commissioner Jim Womack to the state’s Oil and Gas Commission, to fill a seat reserved by law for a conservationist. The affiliation used to qualify Womack for that seat, the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH), is alleged by public interest researchers to be a “front group for industry” whose members produce articles and papers defending industry interests.
Read more about Womack’s connections and the real ties of ACSH here.
The Senate’s “conservation” appointment stands in marked contrast to the members appointed by NC state executive agencies to another key environmental board.
