The state House today gave final approval to Senate Bill 734, an omnibus regulatory reform bill.
"In what seems to have become an annual tradition, the bill contains a number of provisions sought by regulated industry at the expense of the environment. This year's regulatory giveaways primarily benefit coastal developers at the expense of water quality," said Dustin Chicurel-Bayard, communications director of the NC Sierra Club.
A provision of special concern is one that weakens protection for wetlands. The bill effectively eliminates protection for isolated wetlands in Eastern NC by raising the acreage threshold for when a permit must be sought to impact wetlands an acreage higher than the size of most isolated wetlands. Isolated wetlands are important for flood control, groundwater recharge and habitat.
"The isolated wetlands section is a giveaway to developers, especially for those in Eastern NC. Builders east of I-95 will now be allowed to destroy isolated wetlands of one acre or less without having to do mitigation, as is now required," Chicurel-Bayard said.
S 734 also includes a measure to allow any person to petition the Secretary of DENR to waive the standard 25 mph speed limit in a state park or forest for a special event. There is now no cap on the speed limit for a special event.
During the course of the session, it became understood that the purpose of the provision was to remove the only known obstacle to the Division of State Parks issuing, for the first time ever, a permit for exclusive use of the main attraction of a state park for private purposes. This measure was sought by political backers of Gov. McCrory to allow a car race to the summit of Pilot Mountain State Park.
"Without debate or discussion of this specific provision, the House cleared the way for the McCrory administration to open up state parks for car races," Chicurel-Bayard said. "The question now is how the administration plans to use this new authority, and if they will involve the public in making changes to the public’s access to their parks."