INC NEWS - call to action (complete)

[RW Pickle]

Sorry about the last post. No idea what happened to the rest of the text.
Unfortunately, because I didn't realize it was missing text, this Bill
made its way through the legislative process and was ratified yesterday.
At the end of this email is the story on the ratification yesterday by the
Legislature. They managed to fix some of the issues, but it ended up being
a watered down. But it's better than it was heading out to be...

The NCGA (North Carolina General Assembly) is currently considering a bill
that has changed dramatically since it was first written (at least the
House version has). It stands to be defeated in the Senate, but that'll
only cause the 2 sides to get together and work on a compromise. The Bill,
which is set to replace the moratorium on landfills in NC (enacted last
year for one year only; it was scheduled for two but the powerful waste
lobby had it reduced to one) that expired yesterday. If passed, it will
put NC as the 5th largest trash importer in the USA. I can see it now,
instead of "First In Flight", our license plates can read "Firth In
Trash".

The House substantially changed the Bill as written and stands to get
vetoed by the Senate. this just means it'll end up as a compromise;
something NC can not stand for. It will put the burden of cleanup or
failure on the taxpayers and not on the waste disposal companies. In one
community, it'll allow a dump to be built to the height of a 27 story
building! The editorial pasted below (from the N&O) refers to it as "Mt.
Trashmore" after a simular mountain of trash that was created in
Virginia).

The editorial is pasted below; it tells you more about the Bill. Please
take a moment to contact your State Legislators (House and Senate; 6 of
them represent Durham) and let them know that we do not want NC to become
a dumping ground for trash from our industrial neighbors to the north. The
entire east coast is in trouble when it comes to dumps (and the lack of
them). So if NC passes this Bill, decades of trash will end up here in NC
without the protections a watered-down Bill would provide. The same thing
happened 15 years ago when we opened the doors to hog farming (and its
waste). Let's not let the same thing happen with trash.

_____________________________________________________

Editorial: Published: Aug 01, 2007 12:30 AM	Modified: Aug 01, 2007 03:02
AM	NewsObserver.com

Mt. Trashmore?

The state House has gutted a bill to regulate giant landfills seeking a
home here. The Senate's approach is better

Mountains of trash, much of it shipped in from other states, is serious
business. Yet the state House is treating the issue like another stroll in
the park. It's not.
The General Assembly last year put a temporary halt to new landfills after
private firms proposed building four mega-dumps in eastern and southern
counties. That moratorium expires today. Instead of a comprehensive bill
addressing the regional dumps, the House this week approved a gutted bill
that invites confusion and provides minimal oversight.
The House version originally was identical to a Senate bill, which takes
the kind of comprehensive approach that's needed. Legislation passed by
the Senate would identify ecologically fragile areas around which new
landfills could not be built. Beyond that, it would require environmental
studies for a proposed dump, to determine if human health or the area's
ecology might be harmed. The House measure also would require an
environmental impact study. But why allow a dump near a wildlife preserve
to be considered in the first place, and then force neighbors and state
agencies to go through the arduous study process?
The House also stripped from its bill a requirement that garbage companies
maintain a clean-up fund to be tapped in case their landfill fails or
closes. If a clean-up is necessary, companies should get the bill. The
Senate approach, which has that feature, is smart policy and it treats
taxpayers fairly.
Much of the pressure to water down the regulations has come from solid
waste companies whose plans would turn North Carolina into one of the
nation's top five importers of garbage and debris. The Black Bear landfill
in Camden County in far northeastern North Carolina would become home to
three million tons of trash a year, most of it from out of state, piled
into a mini-mountain 270 feet high. The landfill surely would be visible
from afar in the table-flat Camden landscape. What a scenic lure for
travelers coming down from Virginia on busy U.S. 17.
The Alligator River dump in coastal Hyde County would accept 900,000 tons
a year; Riegel Ridge in Columbus County would take in a half million tons
annually. Owners have dropped for the moment a proposal for a landfill in
Scotland County whose capacity would have been 1.5 million tons a year.
These counties all could use the jobs a landfill would bring, but not
without careful conditions.
North Carolina has become attractive to the solid waste trade because the
state is centrally located on the eastern seaboard, rural land is cheap,
and the state doesn't levy a landfill surcharge as some states do. In a
similar way, the factory-style hog industry discovered Eastern North
Carolina 15 years or so ago. The lack of regulation on swine farming led
to a series of stubborn and expensive problems for the state's people and
its environment. There's no reason to let history repeat itself.
Another virtue of the Senate legislation is that it includes a tax on
trash put into landfills. Part of the $1.50-per-ton fee would finance
recycling programs in this state, and the money would also help clean up
outmoded, unlined landfills. North Carolina cities would pay the fee as
well, but in return would get help improving their recycling programs.
With the Senate reported ready to reject the House version of the bill,
legislators from both sides will try to resolve their differences. North
Carolina cannot allow itself to go forward without strong landfill
regulations in place, and senators must work to avoid a compromise that
would put the state at risk over the long haul.