[Durham INC] Send a letter: Stand Up for Trees! Stop NC HB 496

[Pat Carstensen]

Thanks Bonita for flagging this.

H495 was passed by the NC House but the Senate hasn't acted on it.  Right now, it is part of the "lard" in the budget, along with:


  *   Anti-tree ordinances: H 496<https://www.ncleg.gov/BillLookUp/2021/h496>, which was passed by the House but hasn't moved in the Senate, would prohibit communities from adopting tree protection ordinances to regulate the removal of trees from private property without legislative permission. Provisions from H 496 were added by the House to the budget. Trees provide heat-lowering shade and beauty to neighborhoods and downtowns, and help reduce water runoff and mitigate carbon emissions.

  *   More Protections for Billboard Industry: The billboard industry regularly seeks giveaways from the legislature to limit local government controls over signage. We support local government efforts to regulate billboards to protect trees and community aesthetics. Similar provisions were in a bill passed by the legislature in the last session, but which was vetoed by Governor Cooper.

  *   Disallow Local Stormwater and Buffer Protections: A provision would bar all local stormwater ordinances and riparian buffer protections that are not required by federal or state law. This would hamper local flexibility, and makes no sense at a time when many N.C. communities are trying to protect residents from intensifying storms and flooding. (REALLY bad for Durham)

  *   Less Funding for Environmental Projects in Eastern N.C.: North Carolina’s attorney general awards grants to nonprofits and local governments annually to improve and protect natural resources through the Environmental Enhancement Grant (EEG) program<https://ncdoj.gov/protecting-the-environment/eeg/>. These funds came from a legal agreement with Smithfield Foods to address pollution from hog farms projects, particularly in eastern N.C. A budget provision would redirect EEG funds to the Division of Public Instruction for "environmental enhancements" at schools - not the intended purpose of the program.

Generally, it is more effective to re-write this kind of letter slightly and send the comments directly to the decision makers.  In this case:

  1.  Thank members of the Durham delegation for all they do (they are all on the right side of these issues .
  2.  Write Governor Cooper to tell him we don't want these provisions in the budget.
  3.  If you have friends and family in more conservative areas (where the local representatives need to be "re-educated"), ask them to write their legislators to oppose the bill.

Regards. pat




From: INC-list <inc-list-bounces at lists.deltaforce.net> on behalf of bonita green <nitab48 at gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2021 9:24 PM
Subject: [Durham INC] Send a letter: Stand Up for Trees! Stop NC HB 496



Friends,

I wrote a letter for the Action Network letter campaign: Stand Up for Trees! Stop NC HB 496.

We need your help! Last month the North Carolina General Assembly introduced a bill that has the potential to increase the rapid loss of trees and green space across our beautiful state. Every 2 seconds, we lose a football field worth of trees. In the past 150 years, we have lost half of the topsoil worldwide. Worse yet, 2/3 of our aquifers on this planet are running dry, based on NASA monitoring. We cannot afford ANY steps backward right now. HB496 is a very big step backward for all of the issues listed above - trees, soil, and water are essential to us having a healthy planet. This bill will give developers free rein to cut down all trees on every site, disregard soil erosion, and contaminate local water. This is not just bad for our communities, but it's bad for business too! The gains we have made in our local cities to protect trees, soil, and water have been due to efforts by local citizens and officials. The results represent our local decision-making power as a community. We do not need the state telling us that we have no right to save and protect our local environment. I urge you to vote NO on NC HB 496.

Can you join me and write a letter? Click here: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/stand-up-for-trees-stop-nc-hb-496?source=email&

Thanks!

be a kind human
Bonita Green
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