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CIB 5/30/2016: Delay in coal ash cleanup?

The General Assembly has turned to raking over the coal ash again, while primary elections are underway statewide. This week in CIB:

Legislative Watch: Raking the Coal Ash

Arguing that the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) needs independent oversight of its decisions on coal ash management, the N.C. House last week approved legislation to reconstitute the Coal Ash Management Commission (CAMC). Defending his agency and his authority, Gov. Pat McCrory immediately threatened a veto. 

People in canoes maneuver in the Dan River where a coal ash spill discolored the river in Eden.  Duke Energy said that 50,000 to 82,000 tons of coal ash and up to 27 million gallons of water were released through a broken stormwater pipe from a 27-acre unlined pond at the Dan River Steam Station which closed in 2012.
People in canoes maneuver in the Dan River where a coal ash spill spewed 39,000 tons of toxic waste in February 2014.

Under the revised SB 71, “Commission Appointment Modifications”, the CAMC would have a majority of its members appointed by the governor. Bill sponsors believe this would immunize the act from the successful court challenge which threw out the original CAMC. (In that case, the state Supreme Court ruled that rule-making commissions with a majority of legislature-appointed members were an unconstitutional infringement on executive authority.) 

Meanwhile, however, environmental advocates are raising other concerns about the bill. It would require another review of the classification of coal ash pits in the state, something which DEQ has just completed. While many conservationists would agree that DEQ under its current leadership could use more independent scrutiny, they are not in favor of delaying coal ash cleanups in the process. 

Dan Crawford, NCLCV’s director of governmental relations, reacted to the legislation: “This bill goes far beyond simply re-instituting an independent commission to execute the Coal Ash Management Act. It’s chock full of unnecessary concessions that once again provide a sweetheart deal for Duke Energy. Our fellow citizens have been forced to live on bottled water for months and months because state leaders continue to kick the can down the road. We need a common sense bill that puts people ahead of polluters, for once.”

DEQ’s recent classifications report acknowledged that none of the coal ash pits should be considered “low-risk”—an argument that conservationists have been making for some time. The conservation criticism of the DEQ report centered on its request that the legislature allow it to revisit the “intermediate” classifications after 18 months’ time to allow some dam repairs to be completed.

Criticism of SB 71’s language also focused on its terms regarding supplying clean water to well users whose water is contaminated with toxic substances (such as carcinogenic hexavalent chromium). Critics of the bill raised the concern that its provisions could undercut efforts to get permanent clean water supply arrangements for well users impacted by coal ash pollution.

The legislation was pulled from accelerated Senate consideration for further work to be done on the identified problem provisions. 

ALSO NOTED: The latest in recent General Assembly assaults on environmental protections popped up in the Senate last week: HB 169, “Regulatory Reduction Act of 2016”. The bill was jammed through Senate committee last week just minutes after environmental advocates got their first look at its 19 pages of chopping up rules and environmental reporting requirements which have offended one or another special interest lately. Among other things, provisions in the bill would undercut electronics recycling and cut back on energy efficiency efforts in our state.

The team at NCLCV offered some of its own views on the complexity of the state’s coal ash mess in a recent blog post here.


Campaign Watch: Vote in the Primary Now

Early voting is underway statewide this week in North Carolina’s special June 7 primary. Who we elect matters for our environment!

Supreme Court election: The June 7 election includes the primary for one seat on the N.C. Supreme Court. Observers of the Court believe that the single seat up for grabs this year could be a swing vote on a range of key policy issues which come before the seven-member Court. Those include critical environmental questions, from the interpretation of state statutes to hearing challenged rules and case decisions from the NC Utilities Commission and NC Environmental Management Commission. This primary will select the top two vote-getters of the four filed candidates who will continue to the fall general election ballot.

To review the official state Board of Elections guide on the judicial contest, which includes information about the candidates running, see here.

Click here for more information on the candidates and how they fit into the state’s broader political currents.

Congressional primaries: The national League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is supporting candidates in two of North Carolina’s Congressional primaries. In the Democratic primary for the 12th District, LCV Action Fund has endorsed incumbent Rep. Alma Adams. Adams scored a 97% positive rating on the LCV National Environmental Scorecard for her first year in Congress, and consistently supported clean energy, public health protections, and action to address climate change. 

Meanwhile, in the Republican primary for the 13th District, LCV’s GiveGreen contributions program includes Jason Walser, the former executive director for the Land Trust for Central North Carolina. 


Education & Resources: National Security and Climate Change

American defense and intelligence agencies have branded climate change as a leading risk factor in worsening our national security challenges at home and around the world. Improve your understanding of the relevant details in that connection through a webinar from the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE) this week. 

The one-hour webinar will be held this Thursday, June 2, at 11am. For more details and to register, see here.

That’s our report for this week.

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