[Durham INC] FW: NC Sierra Club Legislative Update 05-03-13

[Pat Carstensen]

See the report on the Frankenstein bill.  Another example of what it might gut: what we do about contamination from dry cleaning establishments

Date: Fri, 3 May 2013 16:33:10 -0400
From: cassie.gavin at sierraclub.org
Subject: NC Sierra Club Legislative Update 05-03-13
To: NC-CONS-FORUM at LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG

Dear Friends,


It was a roller coaster at the NC General Assembly this week as House Bill 298, the bill that would repeal North Carolina’s renewable energy portfolio standards (REPS), seemed to arise from the ashes of being voted down in Committee last week. The sponsor of the bill, Rep. Hager
 (R - Burke, Rutherford), put the bill back on the House public 
utilities committee calendar generating yet another meeting packed with 
press, lobbyists and the public, but then did not bring the bill up. 
Since the bill was voted down by a bipartisan 18 to 13 vote last week 
but there was no motion for an unfavorable report is remains in 
committee and since Rep. Hager chairs the committee H 298 could reappear
 there at any point before crossover (the deadline before which a bill 
must pass at least one house to be considered this session). Crossover 
deadline is currently May 16th, but may be pushed to May 23rd or later.

Meanwhile, the Senate companion bill to H 298, Senate Bill 365, was approved by the Senate Finance Committee
 Wednesday after a lively debate and four passionate speakers against 
the bill from the poultry, swine, agriculture and energy industries. 
Senators Stein (D - Wake) and McKissick (D-
 Durham, Granville) spoke strenuously against the bill urging committee 
members to consider the success of the solar industry in NC and the risk
 that this bill will scare away investment and jobs. When the vote was 
called the bipartisan “no” voice votes sounded louder than than the 
“yes” votes to those present, but when senators asked for a vote-count 
the chair, Sen. Rabon
 (R - Bladen, Brunswick, New Hanover, Pender), hastily adjourned the 
committee meeting. “North Carolina is not a banana republic,” Sen. Josh 
Stein said after the meeting.

How you can take action:



Please
 thank the following Senators who showed their support for clean energy 
in NC by voting “no” against Senate Bill 365: Sen. Blue, Sen. Clark, Sen. Clodfelter, Sen. Ford, Sen. Jenkins, Sen. McKissick, Sen. McLaurin, Sen. Nesbitt, Sen. Stein, Sen. Walters, Sen. Barringer, Sen. Hunt, Sen. Jackson, Sen. Meredith, Sen. Tarte, Sen. Tucker and Sen. Hartsell.


And the Frankenstein “Regulatory Reform Bill of 2013” morphed and was passed by the Senate this week.


Senate Bill 612, sponsored by Senators Brown (R- Jones, Onslow), Jackson (R- Duplin, Johnston, Sampson) and Brock (R- Davie, Iredell, Rowan), is an omnibus environmental bill with many bad parts that was approved by the Senate Thursday. Senator Hunt (R
 - Wake) successfully proposed a good amendment to remove a section of 
the bill that would have gutted the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico riparian 
buffer rules. The bill remains extremely concerning since it would still
 do the following:


prohibit local environmental rules more stringent than state or federal;

require repeal or revision of all existing environmental rules more stringent than federal;

allow power plants to contaminate groundwater beneath surface drinking waters;

allow on-site disposal of power plant debris with minimal pollution-prevention techniques; and

direct the state to petition the Corps to allow wetland mitigation outside the watershed where development will occur.


How you can take action:



Please thank Senator Hunt for his positive amendment to S 612. And please contact your representatives in the House
 to let them know that you are opposed to this bill because of the 
drastic negative effects it could have on local environmental rules, 
especially those affecting water quality.

Lots of action on the horizon …


Many
 bad bills that have been languishing will likely be rushed through 
committees in the coming weeks to meet crossover. These include the 
following, which are on the calendar for next week:


House Bill 201 “Reinstate 2009 Energy Conservation Codes”: In 2012, the
 Building Code Council adopted a revised Energy Conservation Code 
requiring 15% more efficiency for new residences and 30% more efficiency
 for new commercial buildings. H 201 would reverse this progress and 
take the Energy Conservation Code back to 2009.


House Bill 74 “Periodic Review and Expiration of Rules”:
 H 74 would make entire categories of rules, including health and 
environmental, expire automatically in 10 year cycles unless re-adopted.
 Other states have tried this are having problems with important rules 
expiring unintentionally. 

Best regards,
-- 
Cassie Gavin, Director of Government RelationsSierra Club - NC Chaptercassie.gavin at sierraclub.org
19 W. Hargett Street, Suite 210Raleigh, NC 27601919.833.8467 x 104



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