MT Raleigh Report: Final Update on the Farm Bill

Those of you who receive MountainTrue’s legislative updates know that we’ve been mobilizing people across the region in recent weeks against the Farm Act, SB711. This legislation includes drastic new limitations on citizens’ rights to protect their homes and their health against large agricultural industrial operations like hog and chicken plants.

The GOP-controlled legislature approved SB711 along largely partisan lines a few weeks ago. On June 25, Gov. Cooper vetoed the bill, citing its impact on the environment and its limitations on property rights.

You can read more about the problems with this legislation here and here.

MountainTrue Co-Director Julie Mayfield states:

“With SB711, the North Carolina General Assembly has put the interests of large corporations above the interests of communities and homeowners. This has never been how things have been done in Western North Carolina.”

Despite overwhelming grassroots opposition to this bill, the legislature voted to override Cooper’s veto of SB711. Below is a list of WNC legislators and how they voted on the override. (Remember: those who voted FOR the override voted to support the bill. Those who voted AGAINST the override voted to oppose it).

We encourage you to take a moment to see how your lawmaker voted on this critical issue.

And a big thanks to all of you who helped us mobilize support against this bill – we hope you will continue to join us in speaking up for WNC’s environment and the health of the people who live here.

WNC Members of the NC Senate who supported SB711 by voting to override Gov. Cooper’s veto:

Deanna Ballard (R-Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Watauga)

Jim Davis (R-Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Jackson, Macon, Swain)

Chuck Edwards (R-Henderson, Buncombe, Transylvania)

Ralph Hise (R-Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Yancey)

WNC Members of the NC Senate who opposed SB711 by voting to uphold Gov. Cooper’s veto:

Terry Van Duyn (D-Buncombe)

WNC Members of the NC House of Representatives who supported SB711 by voting to override Gov. Cooper’s veto:

Mike Clampitt (R-Haywood, Jackson, Swain)

Kevin Corbin (R-Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon)

Josh Dobson (R-Avery, McDowell, Mitchell)

Cody Henson (R-Henderson, Polk, Transylvania)

Tim Moore (R-Cleveland)

Jonathan Jordan (R-Ashe, Watauga)

Michele Presnell (R-Haywood, Madison, Yancey)

WNC Members of the NC House of Representatives who opposed SB711 by voting to uphold Gov. Cooper’s veto:

John Ager (D-Buncombe)

Susan Fisher (D-Buncombe)

Brian Turner (D-Buncombe)

Hugh Blackwell (R-Burke)

Chuck McGrady (R-Henderson)

What’s Going On With the NC Farm Bill?

Action Expired

6/26/2018

Last night Governor Roy Cooper vetoed SB711, a dangerous bill that would greatly limit the constitutional right of North Carolinians living near industrial hog farms to seek justice in the courts for nuisance and pollution of their air and water. The General Assembly will vote later this week on whether or not to override Governor Cooper’s veto.

This is when we need your calls more than ever. Will you make a quick call to your state representative now to make sure Governor Cooper’s veto of SB711 stands? If you don’t know who your representative is, you can use the “Who Represents Me?” tool on the NC General Assembly website here, and find your representative’s phone number here.

The Facts About SB711:

This bill was drafted to protect Smithfield Foods, an out-of-state industrial hog operation owned by Chinese business interests, from a lawsuit brought by neighbors of industrial hog farms in Eastern NC. The intention is to protect a foreign corporation from liability where rural communities of color are disproportionately impacted by operations they own or control through contracts.
This bill is not about protecting farmers, it’s about protecting profits. All of the pending lawsuits are against Smithfield through its subsidiary, Murphy-Brown. The only entity paying damages (or potentially liable) in these cases is Smithfield. While some of the facilities are operated by contract growers, the only defendant in the lawsuits is Smithfield.
SB711 allows only neighbors within half a mile of an industrial farm to file a lawsuit, but the claim must be brought within one year of the establishment of the operation. Since there’s been a moratorium on new hog CAFOs (Confined Animal Feeding Operations, also known as large industrial animal operations) since 1997, new operations are not being established. This prevents any neighbor from being able to pursue a nuisance suit. This runs contrary to nuisance theory (and general statute of limitations) where the claim arises when the harm actually occurs, not when the potential for harm begins.
This is not to mention neighbors of industrial farms who live more than half a mile away, who will have no longer have any standing to sue for nuisance. Water pollution moves animal waste hundreds of miles downstream, and odor and bacteria are carried by the wind, so neighbors farther than half a mile from hog farms will continue to be effected.
SB711 would also severely limit local governments’ ability to regulate large agriculture operations – including poultry plants.

You can still take action. If your state representative voted YES on SB711, ask them to support Governor Cooper’s veto. If your NC House Representative voted NO on SB711, call and thank them for supporting North Carolina homeowners, and ask them to stand strong to support Governor Cooper’s veto of this dangerous bill. Here’s how some of WNC’s House Reps. voted on SB711:

Chuck McGrady (Henderson): No

Cody Henson (Henderson, Polk, Transylvania): Yes

Kevin Corbin (Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Macon): Yes

Jonathan C. Jordan (Ashe, Watauga): Yes

Michele D. Presnell (Haywood, Madison, Yancey): Yes

Susan C. Fisher (Buncombe): No

John Ager (Buncombe): No

Brian Turner (Buncombe): No

Tim Moore (Cleveland): Yes

Mike Clampitt (Haywood, Jackson, Swain): Yes

Josh Dobson (Avery, McDowell, Mitchell): Yes

And for the record, here’s part of the statement Governor Cooper released after his veto:

“North Carolina’s nuisance laws can help allow generations of families to enjoy their homes and land without fear for their health and safety. Those same laws stopped the Tennessee Valley Authority from pumping air pollution into our mountains…Giving one industry special treatment at the expense of its neighbors is unfair.”

Thank you for standing up for North Carolina homeowners and for clean air and water in the state we love.

Before You Go Out on the Watauga: Check the SwimGuide for the Latest Water Quality Reports

Watauga Riverkeeper Monitors Water Quality at Eight Locations; Data Posted to International Website

Swimmers, paddlers and anglers heading out for a day on the river have a new resource for checking water safety, the SwimGuide.org – a website that provides free real-time water quality information for over 7,000 beaches, lakes, rivers and swimming holes in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, the Bahamas and Australia.

Watauga Riverkeeper and MountainTrue High Country Director Andy Hill runs MountainTrue’s weekly bacteria monitoring program through which volunteers adopt sites and take regular samples.

“The Swim Guide is an amazing resource and our participation is only possible because of our dedicated volunteers,” explains Watauga Riverkeeper and MountainTrue High Country Director Andy Hill. “They’re providing a crucial service to our community, reassuring people and families when it’s safe to get out and swim, fish and paddle.”

Data from our bacteria monitoring program is now loaded up to the SwimGuide.org for the following eight locations:

Guy Ford Road Bridge in Bethel, North Carolina
Price Lake in Blowing Rock, North Carolina
Shook Branch Swimming Area in Hampton, Tennessee
Tester Road AW Access in Butler, Tennessee
Watauga Point Recreation Area, Watauga Lake in Hampton, Tennessee
Watauga RIver 321 Access Upper Gorge Park in Sugar Grove, North Carolina
Watauga River at Valle Crucis Community Park in Banner Elk, North Carolina
Wilbur Dam Put-In, Watauga River at Elizabethton, Tennessee

The monitoring done at sites listed at Swim Guide is to document and alert the public to the elevated e. Coli levels that typically follow heavy rain events. Additionally, MountainTrue also does VWIN (Volunteer Water Information Network) monitoring for chemical parameters and SMIE (Stream Monitoring Information Exchange) monitoring – which documents organisms in the benthic zone to give us a holistic picture of water quality.

Results and historical data are available at swimguide.org. There is also a free smartphone Swim Guide App available for download from Apple App Store and Google Play. A Green status icon means that most recent test results met relevant water quality standards, a red icon means that the most recent tests failed, and a grey icon means that the site hasn’t been tested within the past seven days.

Check the Water Quality of Your Favorite Rivers and Streams

Swim Guide delivers free real-time water quality information for over 7,000 beaches, lakes, rivers, and swimming holes in Canada, the U.S., Mexico, New Zealand, the Bahamas, and Australia.

Visit

MountainTrue Raleigh Report: The End (of the Session) is Near, CCA Goes to Raleigh & More

CCA members with just some of the legislators they’ve met with this week in Raleigh. From left to right: Holly Cunningham (CCA), Alan Rosenthal (CCA), Rev. Scott Hardin-Nieri (CCA), Rep. Susan C. Fisher, Sen. Terry Van Duyn, Rep. Brian Turner, Rev. Bill Garrard, Rep. John Ager, and Rev. Kevin Bates (CCA).

2018 Farm Act, Veto Overrides and Constitutional Amendments

The 2018 North Carolina General Assembly has started its slow march toward adjournment. Here’s a quick update about what to expect before legislators go home.

Last week, lawmakers approved a flurry of bills in anticipation of an expected adjournment later this month. Lawmakers plan to restrict their work during the remainder of June to local bills and constitutional amendments – which do not require the Governor’s signature – as well as veto overrides. Keep in mind that veto overrides require a three-fifths vote in both chambers, or 72 votes in the House and 30 votes in the Senate. A three-fifths vote is also required to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot.

On the veto override front, the two biggest environmental bills of the session – the 2018 Farm Act and the legislature’s annual regulatory “reform” bill – are now on the Governor’s desk. A veto of the Farm Act is widely expected. There are 74 Republicans in the House and 35 in the Senate, so a strict vote along party lines would override the vetoes. However, collecting the needed votes for an override is a very different game in each chamber. Expect the Senate majority to easily and quickly override any veto of these bills. In the House, however, the vote is likely to be much closer, with many environmental groups (including MountainTrue) and other opponents of the bill working hard to find the votes to sustain a veto.

Lawmakers are also expected to consider putting several constitutional amendments on the fall ballot – largely, it appears, in hopes of motivating certain groups of voters to get to the polls. Some of the proposals include a constitutional amendment protecting the “right to hunt and fish,” a voter identification requirement and a limit on personal income taxes.

Creation Care Alliance of WNC Goes to Raleigh

The Creation Care Alliance of WNC traveled to Raleigh this week to meet with legislators. Among the issues they discussed were clean and renewable energy, landslide hazard mapping and trout and hemlock tree protection.

Thanks for supporting MountainTrue’s advocacy efforts. Keep an eye out for our legislative alerts and opportunities to help us speak out for the environment in Raleigh.

Open Letter: We Stand with the City of Asheville in Opposing Cascading Section A of the I-26 Connector Project

This rendering by the Asheville Design Center shares our vision for the Patton Avenue/Bowen Bridge corridor to be a multi-modal, urban boulevard that serves as a gateway to downtown.

June 18, 2018

French Broad River MPO

339 New Leicester Highway

Asheville, NC 28804

Dear MPO leaders:

On behalf of our members and supporters, Asheville on Bikes and MountainTrue write in opposition to cascading Section A of the I-26 Connector Project from the statewide to the regional tier of projects. We firmly believe that negotiations between the City of Asheville and NCDOT on outstanding design questions related to the Connector Project should be completed and incorporated into the final Environmental Impact Statement before the project moves forward. We cannot support cascading Section A until this occurs.

We recognize that the City’s negotiations with NCDOT to date have produced several good outcomes including new bike/pedestrian facilities, good greenway connections, a Section A with six lanes instead of eight, and a much-improved redesign of the Amboy Road interchange (though no one has yet seen revised maps that reflect these design improvements). However, there has not yet been success in determining the number of lanes going across the river and in the design of the Patton Avenue/Bowen Bridge corridor. The City of Asheville remains committed to making this corridor a multi-modal, urban boulevard that serves as a gateway to downtown, but NCDOT is not yet committed to these outcomes.

Until negotiations with NCDOT are complete and the drawings are updated so that the City can say with confidence that the project will increase livability for the residents of Asheville, advance active transportation, and meet the City’s vision for the redevelopment of Patton Ave, we stand with the City of Asheville in opposing cascading Section A. We strongly encourage NCDOT to continue to work with the City of Asheville to reach agreement on these critical design issues.

Sincerely,

Mike Sule, Executive Director Bob Wagner, Co-Director

Asheville on Bikes MountainTrue

Stop the Smithfield Foods Protection Act

Action Expired

ACT NOW and tell the North Carolina House of Representatives to Vote No on SB711, the 2018 NC Farm Act.

Sections 9 & 10 of the NC Farm Act of 2018 (SB711) were written with one purpose in mind, to shield Smithfield Foods – an out-of-state company owned by Chinese business interests – from a lawsuit brought by people who live near industrial hog farms in Eastern North Carolina.

Sections 9 & 10 are wide-sweeping, and effectively remove the common law of nuisance – one of the basic tools for the public to protect their communities from agricultural polluters. Imagine if a big animal operation moved in across your street and your home value plummets because of the noise, pollution and smell. Under SB711, you would not be able to go to court to protect your family or to recover damages to your home value, not unless your new neighbor is violating some other law. Even then, that may not be enough.

The FACTS about the 2018 Farm Bill and Its Assault on NC Property Rights

Supporters of SB711 say it is needed to protect NC farmers.

FACT: The hog-related provisions of SB711 will protect one company: Smithfield Foods – now owned by Chinese business interests – with more than 3 billion in annual hog sales from a lawsuit currently being litigated RIGHT NOW in federal court by NC attorneys on behalf of NC citizens who live near industrial hog farms in Eastern NC.

Smithfield claims that without the public nuisance provisions in SB711, it will be forced to leave NC.

FACT: Smithfield made similar threats when it faced similar legal challenges from the Missouri Attorney General. After a court order forced the company to cover hog lagoons in the state and make other changes to control odors, Smithfield complied and continues to make handsome profits from its Missouri operations.

Supporters of SB711 say Smithfield cannot afford the changes in hog lagoon operations the lawsuit may force the company to make.

FACT: Smithfield can easily afford to upgrade its NC operations. This out-of-state company owned by a Chinese conglomerate earns about $2 billion in annual profits on $20 billion in hog-related revenues; the top four executives at Smithfield got paid $245 million between 2010 and 2015.

Supporters say SB711 will not hurt NC property rights

FACT: SB771 effectively removes the common law of nuisance – one of the basic tools to protect property rights – and all but removes the right of citizens, local governments and the state seek relief in court. Indeed, under SB711, the right to go to court is basically eliminated even if the source of the nuisance moves in after you. Example: a big animal operation moves in across the street from your home. Your property values plummet because of the noise, pollution and smell. Under SB711, you cannot go to court to protect your property unless there is some other law your new neighbor is violating. Even then, that may not be enough.

Property attorney and former GOP Rep. Paul “Skip” Stam says the public nuisance sections of SB711 “are a serious and direct threat to the private property rights of citizens throughout the state.”

Writing to several legislators on June 6, former NC Supreme Court Justice Robert F. Orr said that the nuisance sections of SB711 “would substantially infringe and deprive your constituents all across our State of fundamental property rights.”