By Cassie Gavin
Senior Director of Government Relations
This week at the NC General Assembly saw major controversy in the Senate over Governor Cooper’s appointment to lead the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Dionne Delli-Gatti. The House moved forward a bold resilience bill that would provide substantial funding for flood prevention and resilience planning. Other environmental bills that we’ve been following, including the Farm Act and the anti-tree bill, did not move this week.
Opportunity for Action
Please use our action page to reach out to your Senator to ask them to oppose H 496, the anti-tree ordinance bill. The News & Observer published a helpful editorial about this bill this week.
Senate Refuses to Accept Qualified DEQ Secretary Appointed by Cooper
DEQ is responsible for regulating polluters and has led the implementation of Governor’s Executive Order 80 on climate change by creating a clean energy plan for the state. Delli-Gatti has a strong energy policy background and was expected to be a bold leader on climate change, as well as the first female Secretary.
A Senate committee indicated on Wednesday that they would recommend against Delli-Gatti’s confirmation. The move was met with major opposition from the committee’s Democratic senators. Senators Woodard (Durham, Granville, Person), Salvador (Mecklenburg), Murdock (D - Durham) and Garrett (Guilford) spoke up strongly in favor of Delli-Gatti, citing her extensive qualifications. These include serving in the Air Force, earning a master's degree in Environmental Science from the University of North Texas, and spending six years as a governmental liaison with the EPA's Atlanta regional office. Woodard also objected to the committee chair’s refusal to allow Delli-Gatti to respond to questions, even though she was present. Please send Senator Woodard an email to say thanks for leading the effort to support DEQ.
Then, on Thursday afternoon, the full Senate voted on the resolution to disapprove Dionne Delli-Gatti’s confirmation as head of DEQ. Senators Newton (R - Cabarrus, Union) and Edwards (R - Buncombe,Henderson, Transylvania) led the charge against Delli-Gatti’s appointment while Senators Woodard, Salvador, Mayfield (D - Buncombe), Garrett, and Blue (D - Wake) argued for her approval. The resolution to not approve Delli-Gatti’s nomination passed 26-20 along party lines. Soon after the vote, Governor Cooper released a statement saying that she would instead serve as his new Director of Clean Energy. The current Chief Deputy Secretary of DEQ, John Nicholson, will serve as interim secretary. Read more at NC Policy Watch.
Helpful Resilience Bill Approved by House Committee with Bipartisan Support
This week, the House Environment Committee unanimously approved H 500, “Disaster Relief & Mitigation Act of 2021,” which would increase the state’s investment in long-term resiliency efforts rather than just disaster recovery. The bill is sponsored by Republican Representatives Miller (Brunswick, New Hanover), Bell (Greene, Johnston, Wayne), Brenden Jones (Columbus, Robeson) and McElraft (Carteret, Jones). The measure would expand the NC Office of Recovery and Resiliency so that the agency can help with local resiliency planning and flood prevention. The bill does include some funding for hardened structures such as levees, which can be harmful to the environment. Better, natural flood control measures like land conservation are also funded. Any hardened structures would be subject to further review and permitting requirements, so overall the bill is still a positive step. H 500 will next be considered by the House Appropriations Committee. Read more about this bill.