By Cassie Gavin
Senior Director of Government Relations
This week, we saw the House and Senate move several environmental bills through committees. Legislators are busily aiming to pass priority bills before the end of the session while a select group of legislators negotiates the state budget. Speculation is rampant about when session will close, but there is little clarity yet on a solid end-date.
Passage of a budget is the main focus at the General Assembly right now. As a reminder: The Senate’s version of the budget would increase fees for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, and delay important updates to swine farm permits. It does not include Gov. Roy Cooper’s requested amount of funding for DEQ to work on emerging contaminants such as GenX. Since the majority party no longer has a veto-proof supermajority, it would seem that the budget conference committee would need to work with the governor to finalize a budget - but it’s unclear if that’s happening. See this memo from the governor’s office for more details about the process.
House gives Duke Energy bill a makeover, but it’s still harmful for customers
A revised S 559, Storm Securitization/Alt. Rates, was approved by the House Finance Committee on Wednesday by a party-line vote (Democrats voted no, Republicans yes). The bill was changed to reflect input by a limited group of stakeholders (not including environmental groups). The revisions offer some improvements, including limiting multi-year rate plans to three years instead of five and setting a limit on the authorized return on equity that Duke Energy could collect with banding. But overall, the changes do not ensure that customers will be protected and that we don’t lose accountability and transparency in the ratemaking process. Representatives Deb Butler (D - New Hanover), Wesley Harris (D - Mecklenburg), Brandon Lofton (D - Mecklenburg), and Graig Meyer (D - Caswell, Orange) deserve thanks for asking tough questions in committee.
Opportunity for Action
Please reach out to your House representative and ask them to oppose S 559 because the bill would protect the interests of Duke Energy shareholders at the expense of customers. Even if you have done so before, it’s worth calling or emailing again to let them know that the edited bill is still problematic.
Senate committee approves helpful EV charging bill but adds solar regulation
The Senate Finance Committee approved H 329, Renewable Energy Amends, which is now a mash-up of legislation to help electric vehicle charging combined with a requirement for the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) to make rules for the disposal of solar panels and energy storage batteries. Essentially, a re-worked S 568, Recycling and Restoration/Renewable Energy, sponsored by Sen. Paul Newton (R - Cabarrus, Union) was added to S 329 as a compromise with the solar industry. The solar industry opposed S 568 because it may have increased the price of solar by adding new fees and requirements. H 329 requires the EMC to establish rules for managing solar panel and battery storage waste for the decommissioning of solar and wind farms. In committee, DEQ noted that the agency does not have the funding or staff to advise the EMC with the work the bill requires. Please thank Senators Wiley Nickel (D - Wake), Harper Peterson (D - New Hanover) and Mike Woodard (D - Durham, Person, Granville) for asking great questions in committee about how this proposal would impact clean energy. H 329 will next be considered by the Senate Rules Committee.
Senate approves Farm Act, House makes revisions
On Monday, S 315, The Farm Act, sponsored by Senators Brent Jackson (R - Duplin, Johnson, Sampson), Norm Sanderson (R - Carteret, Craven, Pamlico), and Todd Johnson (R - Union) was passed by the Senate on a 31-14 vote. Senators Peterson and Woodard proposed changes to improve the Farm Act but the majority did not vote with them. The N.C. Sierra Club opposes this bill due to three provisions having to do with CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations): a provision to make secret certain Soil and Water Conservation District documents that are now public records, an exemption to odor rules, and a provision to allow swine farms to modify waste management systems without installing environmentally superior technology. Please thank your senator if they voted “no”.
The House Agriculture Committee took up a revised version of the Farm Act for discussion on Wednesday. The good news is that the exemption to odor rules was deleted, but the other two objectionable provisions remain. And a new, seemingly unnecessary, section was added to require soil testing at utility-scale solar farms. The same committee plans to vote on S 315 on Tuesday morning.