MountainTrue staff were able to thank the Department of Environmental Quality’s Chief Deputy Secretary John Nicholson (far left) and Secretary Michael Regan (center) in person for their recent historic decision to require Duke Energy to dig up all of its remaining coal ash ponds in North Carolina.

This time of year, protecting Western North Carolina’s shared places means taking road trips to Raleigh.

With the General Assembly now running full steam, MountainTrue staff are making regular visits to the state capitol to speak up for our mountains. We made our second visit of the year last week to have conversations with a number of key legislators as well as the leadership at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.

At the General Assembly, we had good visits with Representatives John Ager, Kevin Corbin, Josh Dobson, Susan Fisher, Cody Henson, Chuck McGrady and Ray Russell, as well as Senators Deanna Ballard and Chuck Edwards.  Thank you to all of these lawmakers for making time for us.

Much of our conversation focused on funding for a variety of conservation efforts in Western North Carolina. These include improvements to the French Broad Paddle Trail, creating permanent public access to the Green River and removing a dam on the Watauga River to improve water quality and fish habitat  improving public recreation and reducing flooding.

Another priority for MountainTrue this year is to increase the state’s investment in water quality testing in our region. While North Carolina regularly tests its beach waters to protect public health, there is no comparable effort for WNC’s rivers and streams. This is true despite our region’s rapidly growing population and the increasing number of tourists who now swim, paddle, wade and tube in our untested rivers and streams. Unfortunately, these waters are often of lower quality than we’d like them to be. In 2017 and 2018, more than three-quarters of the streams monitored by MountainTrue did not pass the EPA safe water quality standard for E. coli at some point in the year.

We’re also calling on lawmakers to re-establish the Wastewater Discharge Elimination (WaDE) Program, which before its demise reduced bacterial pollution by identifying pollution associated with straight pipes and failing septic systems in Western North Carolina. Between 2002 and 2010, the program surveyed 28 separate areas, visited 13,379 homes and identified 2,016 violations.

Then at the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), we had a brief few moments with Sec. Michael Regan and were able to give him two thank you cards – one for him and another for Gov. Cooper – signed by MountainTrue staff for the administration’s recent, historic decision to require Duke Energy to dig up all remaining coal ash ponds in North Carolina.

Then we got down to business, with conversations about MountainTrue’s legislative agenda, concerns about several water quality issues in the North Toe and Green Rivers and some ideas about improving the process the Department uses to engage and educate the public during public meetings.  Overall we’ve found that Department officials have consistently been willing to listen to our concerns and, in most cases, work with us to find shared solutions.

MountainTrue’s next Raleigh road trip is scheduled for early May. If you would like to plug in and help support our policy agenda, please contact our Advocacy & Communications Associate Eliza Stokes at eliza@mountaintrue.org. And as always, thanks for the support that makes our legislative advocacy efforts possible!

This week in Raleigh, lawmakers are beginning what is likely to be a long, drawn-out political tug-of-war between newly empowered Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and a GOP legislature that has been reduced in size and influence.

And a good deal of the push and pull will be over the environment.

Cooper, of course, is feeling his oats after the November election reduced the number of GOP lawmakers in both the House and Senate to numbers too modest to override his vetoes. For the first time since the election of 2016, both sides will be forced to negotiate and compromise in order to get anything done.

Republican leaders are talking a good game of cooperation and bipartisanship. Whether both sides can come together to come up with bipartisan solutions remains to be seen.

When and if lawmakers do get down to negotiating, they are likely to have a number of major environmental issues to wrestle with, including:

Open Space Trust Funds – Two of the state’s most important conservation funds, the Clean Water Management Trust Fund and the Parks and Recreational Trust Fund, are caught up in a nasty political battle over executive power and gubernatorial appointments. The question of who appoints the members of these and other state boards and commissions has put them at risk of extinction by GOP lawmakers looking for ways to force Cooper to make concessions on his appointment authority. Look for this fight to continue well into the 2019 session.

Water Protection – Last year, the General Assembly was roiled by the issue of what to do about the presence of “emerging contaminants” like GenX in the state’s drinking water. The issue dominated two separate special sessions, the regular summer session, and spilled over to the November elections – when a number of lawmakers in the Cape Fear region got pounded by their opponents and voters for being too slow to act on water quality protection. Look for Cooper to renew his call for substantial new investments in the Department of Environmental Quality to protect drinking water supplies. This is likely to remain a budget priority this year.

Storm Preparedness – After Hurricane Florence, Cooper released a disaster recovery plan that included substantial new investment in wetland protection, coastal resilience, hog farm buyouts and other measures to get North Carolina ready for “the next big one.” To date, lawmakers have funded traditional recovery efforts – with relief for farmers topping all expenditures – but have not invested much in the way of preparedness. With the six-month anniversary of Florence in March during the budget process, our hope is that the legislature will better address preparedness and adaptation.

Here at MountainTrue, we are refining our legislative priorities for lawmakers and will share them in our next update. Until then, thanks for supporting our advocacy efforts in Raleigh!

Legislators were in Raleigh for a day last week to open the 2019 session of the North Carolina General Assembly. Surrounded by their families, lawmakers took their oaths of office, elected their officers – and then promptly recessed. They will reconvene Jan. 30 and meet weekly until they complete their work some time later this year.

Quick reminder: in odd-numbered years, North Carolina lawmakers begin their work in January and, historically, complete it some time in the summer. In even-numbered years, session begins in May. Because North Carolina does not limit the length of the session, there is no hard deadline for completing their work.

As expected, GOP Speaker Tim Moore of Cleveland County relied on his party’s majority in the House to become speaker for a third, two-year term. In the Senate, GOP Sen. Phil Berger of Rockingham was elected to lead the Senate for the fifth consecutive session.

Moore also announced a few key committee appointments, two of which have important implications for Western North Carolina conservation and environmental advocates. Complete House committee assignments are not expected until late January.

Henderson County GOP Rep. Chuck McGrady was re-appointed as co-chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, which oversees the development of the state’s $24 billion state budget. First elected in 2010, McGrady – former national president of the Sierra Club – has promoted a pro-environment policy agenda while also becoming a trusted member of the House GOP caucus and Moore’s leadership team. While some environmental advocates would like McGrady to be a stronger critic of the GOP legislature’s environmental record, there is no question that he has sponsored a number of key environmental bills, stopped or improved many harmful environmental bills, and boosted funding for open space conservation and other environmental investments. McGrady’s return to the appropriations leadership will be his last, as he is widely expected to retire after the 2019-20 legislative term.

WNC has another (rising) appropriations chair in GOP Rep. Josh Dobson, whose district includes Avery, McDowell and Mitchell counties. Dobson has quietly developed a reputation as a thoughtful, accessible, no-ego lawmaker with considerable policy expertise in health and human services. His promotion to full appropriations chair could give McGrady a natural ally in the appropriations give-and-take within the House GOP caucus, in negotiations with the Senate and with Governor Roy Cooper.

In the Senate, committee appointments were announced late last week. Notable for environmentalists is Henderson County GOP Sen. Chuck Edwards’ appointment as co-chairman of the Senate appropriations subcommittee on Natural and Economic Resources, which develops the Senate’s spending plan for all state environmental conservation programs. Should McGrady and Edwards team up, they could direct considerable resources to WNC. Also notable: WNC GOP Sen. Ralph Hise will chair the powerful Senate Finance Committee, which reviews all tax and fee changes. And WNC GOP Sen. Jim Davis returns to his leadership spot as senior chair of the appropriations subcommittee that oversees transportation funding.

Here at MountainTrue, we are finalizing our legislative agenda for 2019 and scheduling visits to Raleigh throughout the year to speak up for Western North Carolina’s environment. Look for a detailed outline of our 2019 priorities in an upcoming MT Raleigh Report, and thank you for all your support for our policy work!

Hurricane Florence nears the east coast of the United States on Sept. 12. (Photo credit: NOAA Satellites)

On October 8, the North Carolina General Assembly took less than a day to earmark close to $400 million in Hurricane Florence disaster recovery funding. Lawmakers also shifted another $450 million into a disaster recovery fund with a promise to use it in the near future for additional Florence recovery efforts.

The legislature’s action came swiftly in a bipartisan vote that legislative leaders hailed as historically fast and generous.

That it was done quickly is beyond debate.

Whether the legislation is sufficient to address disaster victims’ immediate needs, or the long-term challenges storms like Hurricanes Florence and Michael pose to the state, is another matter.

For starters, let’s remember that initial estimates put the total damage caused by Florence at more than Hurricanes Floyd and Matthew combined. And that roughly one million households – or 26 percent of all North Carolina households – have been affected by the storm.

We should also keep in mind that scientists are now confident that the unprecedented havoc Florence wreaked is the new normal, as the reality of climate change asserts itself in increasingly dangerous weather patterns across our state.

Given the size of Florence’s impact and the risk of future storms, it’s no wonder that in his recovery plan, Gov. Roy Cooper identified more than $3.7 billion in unmet needs after private and federal disaster recovery is accounted for. Cooper recommended investing $1.5 billion to address this need – including the initial down payment of $750 million he asked lawmakers to appropriate.

On paper, lawmakers’ $800 million disaster appropriation appears to go above and beyond Cooper’s request. In fact, their investment is much more modest – $400 million, most of which is matching funds necessary to draw down federal assistance. The remaining $400 million is set aside in the new state disaster fund that is not available for recovery until and unless the General Assembly votes to spend it. Nor is the legislature required to do so – it can simply leave the funding where it is or vote to use it for non-disaster needs.

Republican leaders insist that they will open up the state’s coffers as the state’s disaster needs become clearer. They reasonably point out that the state is still assessing Florence’s full impact and that they will be back in Raleigh for yet another special session right after the November elections.

Here’s hoping they keep their word. With so many hurting from Florence and with so much to do to prevent similar catastrophes, we would have preferred a bolder approach. The need to provide additional housing assistance for Florence victims, for example, is immediate and will not diminish in coming weeks.

Slightly less pressing but just as obvious is the need to make North Carolina stronger and safer before the next storm. It is long since time to move hog farms out of eastern North Carolina flood zones. The state should also move quickly to help people who live in flood zones – many of whom are on limited incomes – to find safe homes away from rivers and streams that flooded during Matthew and flooded again during Florence.

Gov. Cooper’s recovery plan included immediate investment in these efforts and others that would make North Carolina safer, cleaner and more sustainable. Sadly, the disaster aid bill approved earlier this month does little to make the state more prepared for the next storm.

 

And What About Western NC?

 

While Western North Carolina was largely spared by this season’s storms, they should encourage those of us who live here to consider the lessons they pose for our region. After all, it wasn’t so long ago that many of us were threatened by wildfires, flooding and mudslides that destroyed too many homes and took too many lives.

For starters, this year’s storms urge us to consider how we can make our communities safer and more resilient. The General Assembly’s investment in landslide mapping for WNC counties is a good example of the kind of preparation we need. The fact that approval of this funding came two years after Hurricane Matthew – and in the same month that landslides destroyed at least 30 homes and left five people dead here – only demonstrates how much we need to speed up our work on preparedness and safety.

Particular attention is needed in those areas of Western North Carolina where preserved open space meets human development. It’s along these borders, for example, that wildfires pose the greatest danger to people and property. Preparing for bigger storms also requires that we review our stormwater systems and reassess our assumptions about flood risk to make sure we are prepared for worse storm events to occur much more frequently.

And really, once and for all, let’s end the ridiculous debates about whether climate change is “real.” This tedious argument does nothing to help us as a state and is an insult to the many thousands of North Carolinians who lost their homes and loved ones this fall.

The sad reality is that Florence and Michael are just the latest in a series of wake up calls that too many of our leaders have slept through for too long. We owe it to those hurt by these storms to wake up and prepare, now, for the next ones.