Education & Resources: Six Years of Destruction

Six years of a legislatively imposed starvation diet has left North Carolina’s principal environmental protection department too weak to do its job. A new summary of the impacts paints an alarming picture.

Gov. Roy Cooper’s new leadership team faces an acute human resources challenge as it takes the wheel of a dangerously shrunken Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Targeted by legislators anxious to undercut its ability to craft and enforce effective rules and permits, DEQ today has been stripped of key divisions and lost an alarming percentage of staff positions from critical sections.

For example:

18% overall reduction in water quality and water resources staff.

41% reduction in water quality/water resources staff in DEQ’s seven regional offices that are responsible for most of the discharger site visits and inspections.

45% reduction in state sedimentation control staff (since 2008); these are the staff responsible for enforcing erosion control requirements on major construction sites regulated by the state to protect streams, rivers, and lakes from muddy runoff.

Every 12-14 months: Average frequency of inspection by state staff of erosion control sites, based on current staffing levels.

42%: Percentage of industrial waste discharge water quality permits which have expired and need to be updated and renewed, due to inadequate staffing levels.

The analysis, written by environmental attorney and former NC Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources deputy director Robin Smith, concludes: “Loss of staff has already lengthened some permitting times and the department’s permitting programs are not in a good position to respond to increased development activity as the economy continues to improve. Staff reductions have also affected DEQ’s ability to provide compliance assistance and enforce environmental laws. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has expressed concern about the failure of federally delegated programs in DEQ to follow the department’s enforcement policy. EPA has also questioned the adequacy of the state’s stormwater program.”

Gov. Cooper and his new environmental leadership team have their work cut out for them and will need the encouragement and support of citizen conservation advocates in the critical task of restoring a neglected and abused environmental protection department for North Carolina.

Up next: meet the latest conservationists joining Cooper’s administration in 2017 >>