By Cassie Gavin
Director of Government Relations
The NC General Assembly was back in Raleigh this week, mostly to meet the redistricting deadline of Sept. 1 set by the US Supreme Court. The Legislature also took up up two veto overrides and considered taking up a veto override of House Bill 576 “Allow Aerosolization of Leachate,” which the Sierra Club opposes.
Still time to voice opposition to ‘garbage juice’ bill
As a reminder, H 576 would force DEQ to allow a landfill wastewater-spraying technology. Currently, DEQ has the discretion to review such technologies and determine whether they are safe or not; or perhaps allow them under certain permit conditions. The bill potentially puts landfill workers and neighbors at risk from an unproven process. Governor Cooper vetoed H 576 on the basis that scientists, not the Legislature, should decide whether the technology can safely dispose of contaminated liquids from landfills. The House put off consideration of this veto override until Monday, Aug. 28.
Opportunity for Action
There’s still time to ask your House Representative to oppose H 576 and let the veto stand.
There have been new developments around this issue this week. Two waste management companies said that they are not interested in using the aerosolization technology that the bill would require DEQ to allow - that is, two of the very companies that Rep. Jimmy Dixon, the lone bill sponsor, was apparently trying to help are not interested. Republic Services, one of the waste companies, issued a statement saying that the company tested the technology with no success. The other, Charah, withdrew a request to DEQ to do a pilot project using a similar technology. It appears that the bill is now an industry handout looking for an industry. To learn more about this, check out this detailed NC Policy Watch story.
Ask lawmakers to protect drinking water from industrial chemicals
Also this week, the legislative Environmental Review Commission (ERC) met in Wilmington to address the GenX contamination of the lower Cape Fear River, which provides drinking water to parts of New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties. The ERC is a body made up of House and Senate members that normally meets between sessions to examine environmental issues and make recommendations to the General Assembly. The last time the ERC met was in April 2016.
GenX is the trade name for a chemical that falls into the category of “emerging contaminants” that DuPont and then Chemours have been discharging into the Cape Fear River from a Bladen County plant since the 1980s. Chemours voluntarily stopped discharging GenX in June of this year after the chemical was found in Wilmington’s drinking water, but some remains and there is no perfect filtering solution. The situation has ignited local concerns about water quality and caused citizens and local legislators to demand action to stop the contamination and prevent future contamination.
Governor Cooper asked the Legislature for $2.5 million to help the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Health and Human Services address GenX by ensuring long-term monitoring, analysis and enforcement. Erin Carey, NC Sierra Club’s coastal coordinator, and Priss Endo, a NC Sierra Club Cape Fear Group leader, spoke at the ERC meeting in favor of providing DEQ the funds it needs. Some members of the ERC questioned the need for agency funding so it’s unknown whether the Legislature will agree with the governor’s request. Since the NCGA is currently in session, lawmakers could do so. Sen. Trudy Wade, co-chair of the ERC and longtime champion of environmental regulatory repeal, said that the ERC would meet again in September about GenX. To learn more about this issue, read this detailed NC Health News story.
Opportunity for Action
North Carolinians should be able to have a drink of water without worrying about contamination from toxins. Use our form to ask your lawmakers to provide state agencies with the funds they need to keep our drinking water safe.
Thanks for taking action!