Senate trying to block hog waste regulations

The NC Senate today (Wed., 7/29) amended and then passed a bill (HB 1335) to place a moratorium on rule making by the Environmental Management Commission.

The amendment, adopted by a large vote, limited the effect of the bill to any “permanent rule regarding any requirement to test water quality by animal feeding operations”. This will prevent the bill from stopping most rule making activities (such as those regarding Falls Lake), but it will stop a proposed EMC rule regarding hog farms in Eastern North Carolina.

Some of the senators who opposed the limiting amendment expressed a belief that the EMC should be stopped from adopting any rules because EMC rules are anti-business.

The bill would prevent any rule from being adopted before July 1, 2011. Under existing state law rules adopted after that date must then go to the Rules Review Commission. Following RRC approval the rule will not go into effect until the end of the next session of the General Assembly, so the legislators may review and block the rules. This bill would stop affected rules from going into effect before the summer of 2012.

Thankfully, most rulemaking is not affected. But for the sake of the many people who have to put up with the smell of hog farms, let’s hope that this very bad bill is killed by the House.

NC Senators trying to stop environmental regulations

There are a number of members of the NC Senate who don’t like environmental regulation, and will try to stop all regulations.

First, there was Sen. David Hoyle’s bill, SB 866. That bill would prevent any agency from adopting rules that “results in additional costs of persons subject to the rule…” except for certain exceptions, such as those required by state or federal law or court orders. Since all regulations have some costs, even minor amounts of time for businesses to notify employees, this bill would have the effect of eliminating all regulation not required by law or court order. That bill passed the Senate by a vote of 38 to 10. Fortunately, the bill appears to be stalled in the House.

Now, because of opposition to a proposed rule requiring more monitoring of hog farms’ waste operations, some senators want to require a moratorium on regulations from the Environmental Management Commission. Under the rules it is not possible to introduce a new bill this late in the session. First, SB 106, a bill considered to be dead, was amended to turn it into the EMC moratorium bill. Later, HB 1335 was amended to be used for the EMC moratorium.

This bill would apply only to regulations adopted by the Environmental Management Commission and it would prevent the EMC from adopting any permanent rule until July 1, 2011. Rules adopted by the EMC and other agencies must be reviewed and approved by the Rules Review Commission and then delayed until the General Assembly has a chance to disapprove or modify the rule. Therefore, if the bill is approved EMC rules will be blocked until the summer of 2012.

The current language of the bill will apply to all EMC rules. It is expected that the bill will be modified to narrow its scope to apply only to rules concerning hog farms. However, it will still be a very bad bill.

Large Wind Turbines in NC mountains

The NC Senate Finance committee, a few hours ago, approved an amendment to a bill that would prevent the construction of large wind turbines in certain mountain counties. In addition, the bill would impose strict siting requirements on wind turbines in the coastal area. This is a victory for those who love to watch the birds soar along the ridge lines in the mountains, as well as those who love the views in the mountains.

In the coastal areas wind turbines have the capability of greatly disturbing the habitat of birds that fish in our sounds. While direct birds strikes is the most well known and discussed problem of wind turbines, (and, of course, very bad for the bird that was struck) another, less well known effect is on the bird habitat. Often birds in the hills and mountains soar on the updrafts. In coastal areas birds often feed in one area of the sounds and sleep in trees on land. They commute each morning and evening from one area to the other. Lines of wind turbines interrupt these commuting patterns and force the birds to move to other areas. In the mountains they prevent the birds from using the ridge lines for hunting small game.

I certainly hope that the full Senate and the House will approve the bill. Yes, we do need to find alternative forms of energy, but not at the expense of the birds and other wildlife.

Transit Bill in Limbo

The Transit bill, HB148, is still lingering in the Senate Finance Committee. As pointed out in a previous post, the bill should have cleared by committee by now and come before the full Senate.

It is understood that the holdup is a dispute about the 1/4 percent sales tax authority that would apply to 94 counties (all except three counties in the Triangle, two in the Triad, and Mecklenburg, which already has a sales tax supported transit system).

It is unlikely that many, if any, of these counties would even put the sales tax on the ballot. This is particularly true if the state sales tax has to be raised to balance the budget. The environmental community may have to decide if the 1/4 cent tax for the other counties is worth jeopardizing the transit plans for the Triangle and the Triad.

Another factor is the House. If the Senate removes the authority for the 94 counties the House will have to concur with that change. Some believe that this authority was instrumental in getting the original House approval.

The session is nearing an end. Let's hope some agreement can be reached soon.

Transit bill in Senate Finance Tuesday

HB 148, the bill that will allow certain counties, including those in the Triangle and the Triad regions, to raise sales tax to provide for rail and enhanced bus transportation, will be considered by the Senate Finance committee on Tuesday, 6/30, at 1pm in room 544.

We can expect action on the floor of the Senate later in the week.

The real challenge, after the bill basses the General Assembly and is approved by the governor, will be to get a referendum passed in the counties to implement the new power. More than that, if we are to reduce fossil fuel consumption, reduce greenhouse gasses, and reduce traffic congestion, will be to get people to use the transit systems.

Beach Bag Ban Bill now law

The bill to outlaw most plastic and non-recycled paper bags from three outer banks counties passed both houses of the General Assembly, was approved by the governor, and is now law (SL2009-163).

Jordan Lake Rules Pass General Assembly

A bill, HB 239, to enact rules for the Jordan Lake reservoir, was approved by the General Assembly Monday night and will go to the governor for her expected approval.

The Environmental Management Commission, with approval by the Rules Review Commission, adopted rules to protect Jordan Lake from nutrient pollution that cause the growth of algae that can produce toxins. Bills were introduced in the General Assembly to disapprove the rules. One bill, HB 239, was turned into a bill that approved most of the new rules relating to new development near the lake and tributaries to the lake. The bill replaced regulations concerning existing development with compromise language.

Fuel economy of state cars

The Senate, on Tuesday, 6/16/09, unanimously passed HB1079, Energy-efficient state motor vehicle fleet. This bill will require the Department of Administration to give preference to new passenger vehicles that have a fuel economy that is in the top 15 percent of that class of vehicles. Police and other emergency vehicles are exempt.

The bill had already been passed by the House. Because of a technical amendment to the bill in the Senate, the bill will be sent to the House for concurrence before being sent to the Governor for her approval.

In the General Assembly

Some more recent action in the General Assembly:

SB 1018, which will ban plastic and non-recycled paper bags in three Outer Banks counties, was approved by the House Environment Committee on Tuesday, June 9. The bill, which has been passed by the Senate, is now in the House Commerce Committee.

HB 1079, to improve the energy efficiency of the state owned motor vehicle fleet, was reported favorably by the Senate Commerce Committee on Thursday, June 11, and now goes to the full Senate for votes.

SB 586, File Lis Pendens for Certain Erosion Actions, will requre the filing of notice of pending litigation relating to erosion controls. This will allow purchasers of property to know about litigation involving the property and aid enforcement of erosion regulations. The bill was given a favorable report by the House Environment Committee on Tuesday, June 9, and now is in the House Judiciary I committee.

A bad bill delayed

HB 1583, DOT Vegetation Removal Changes, was expected to be considered by the House Transportation committee on Wednesday, June 3. However, due to lack of time the bill was postponed until a future meeting of the committee. The NC Chapter of the Sierra Club is fighting this bill. It would expand the amount of vegetation (trees and shrubs) that can be removed from highway right-of-ways to make billboards and business more visible to cars. This is a bad bill and any delay is welcome.

News coverage of Falls Lake delay

The Raleigh NC News and Observer has published a couple of stories and an editorial about the delay in the Falls Lake rules:

Rules on Falls Lake stagnate May 25, 2009

Officials turn attention to Falls Lake cleanup May 27, 2009 (Durham edition)

Faster on Falls June 1, 2009 (editorial)

Falls Lake Rules Delay

The Environmental Management Commission (EMC) was required to write nutrient management rules for Falls Lake by an act (section 3 of Session Law 2005-190) of the General Assembly that was signed into law on July , 2005. That act required that the rules be implemented by July 1, 2008. In August, 2006 an act, SB 1523, SL 2006-259 of the General Assembly extended the deadline by one year. So under current law the rules must be developed by July 1, 2009. That is only one month from the date of this post.

The EMC adopts rules written by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

DENR has now asked the General Assembly for another extension. Early this past April, HB 1099, then in the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee, was amended to extend the deadline by 2 years 5 months, until November 30, 2011. The extension was then changed to one year, with a requirement that the rules be developed by July 1, 2010. HB 1099 has passed the House with the one year extension; it is expected that attempts will be made in the Senate to increase the extension.

Falls Lake is already impaired and is getting worse. The rules should have been adopted long ago; any extension will allow the lake to become even more polluted. The rules will not go into effect on the date set by the General Assembly. That date is for the EMC to adopt rules. After the EMC adopts the rules they are then reviewed by the Rules Review Commission, a several month process. After the RRC reviews and approves the rules, they are reviewed and perhaps modified by the General Assembly. If the July 1, 2010 date is kept, the rules will be presented to the General Assembly in January of 2011 and will likely not get fully adopted until the summer of 2011