By Cassie Gavin
Senior Director of Government Relations
This was a busy week at the General Assembly, as the House and Senate raced to pass priority bills before a break until mid-November.
Legislature removes controversial multi-year ratemaking section from Duke bill
Big news on the Duke Energy bill this week: The legislature unanimously passed S 559, “Storm Securitization,” after removing the multi-year ratemaking section that Sierra Club and other environmental, social justice and industry groups opposed. That means what’s left of S 559 is a non-controversial section that will allow Duke Energy to use a financing tool called securitization for storm recovery costs.
Rep. Pricey Harrison (D - Guilford) noted before the House vote that she would like the legislature to expand the use of securitization beyond storm costs so that it could be used to close polluting coal plants. Securitization can help utilities pay off debt on uneconomic coal plants, save ratepayers money and provide an opportunity to create a pool of transition funds for communities that host old coal plants. The Sierra Club supports broadening the use of securitization for this purpose. S 559 next goes to Gov. Roy Cooper for consideration.
Please thank your House member and your senator for taking a hard look at S 559 this session rather than simply approving Duke Energy’s wish list.
Thank you for your advocacy on S 559! More than 700 Sierrans weighed in with their legislators about this bill - and it made a difference!
Legislature passes bill requiring inventory of PFAS firefighting foam
In April, Representative Harrison proposed a bill to ban a type of firefighting foam that contains harmful chemicals. H 560, “Ban PFAS in Fire Retardant Foam,” was intended to help protect firefighters and the environment from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). H 560 did not get a hearing, but today the legislature passed S 433, “DNCR Omnibus & Other Changes,” that would require the UNC collaboratory to do an inventory and study of firefighting foam to be due April 1, 2020, to the legislature. While not a ban, this is a helpful step forward. This bill will next go to the Governor for consideration.
Please thank Representative Harrison for her efforts.
Farm Act stalls in House
On Monday, the Senate passed S 315, “N.C. Farm Act of 2019,” with a vote of 40-10 despite objections by Sen. Harper Peterson (D - New Hanover) to the hog waste provision. Please thank Senator Peterson for voicing objections. Take a look at the tally to see how your senator voted.
The House has not yet taken up the Farm Act due to concerns about Section 20, “Add Hunting, Fishing, Shooting Sports, and Equestrian Activities to the Definition of Agritourism, and Limit Regulation of Catering by Bona Fide Farms,” so the bill is continuing to be negotiated.
Opportunity for Action:
Please ask your state representative to oppose the Farm Act, because it would make certain public records secret and would encourage the entrenchment of the outdated lagoon-and-sprayfield method of hog waste management that is harmful to the environment.
More good news: Legislature approves Utilities Commission appointments
You may recall that, way back in May, Gov. Roy Cooper nominated three new appointees to the N.C. Utilities Commission: Sen. Floyd McKissick (D - Durham); Kimberly Duffley, a staff attorney for the Commission; and Jeff Hughes, an engineer at UNC-Chapel Hill. Appointees have to be approved by the legislature. The legislature approved the nominees today.
This will mean a major shift in the makeup of the Commission, which is responsible for regulating the rates and services of public utilities, such as Duke Energy. The Commission determines key energy issues such as who pays for coal ash cleanup, grid modernization, and rate increases. This Energy News Network article gives more information about the appointees.
House passes disaster bill with funds for hog farm buyouts in 100-year floodplain
Yes - even more good news: on Wednesday, the House passed H 1023, “Storm Recovery Act of 2019,” which primarily provides disaster relief funding to address Hurricane Dorian damage, but also includes $5 million for hog farm buyouts in the floodplain. These state funds would combine with federal funds to work with interested farmers in the 100-year floodplain to transition away from hogs to other land uses such as crops or conservation.
The Swine Floodplain Buyout program would manage the funding; its purpose is to “reduce the potential for pollution from active animal operations by purchasing an owner’s certification to operate a feedlot within the 100-year floodplain.” H 1023 will next go to the Senate for consideration. N.C. Policy Watch reported on this in detail.
Adjournment?
The legislature passed a kind-of-adjournment resolution on Thursday that says members will come back on Nov. 13 in order to take up a limited set of bills: those that are in conference, those that are to redraw voting districts if required by a court, and appointments bills. The resolution says that the body will then adjourn until Jan. 14, 2020. Of course, this could be changed in November.