Conservation Insider Bulletin, May 30

Conservation Insider Bulletin
Published weekly for the Conservation Council of North Carolina
Conservation News to Peruse & Use
Editor: Dan Besse, cib@conservationcouncilnc.org

May 30, 2008

Key bills are introduced in priority areas good and bad; the Catawba River interbasin lawsuit parties expand; another challenge is filed to EPA's newest ozone standards; and other news, this week in CIB:

--Legislative Watch: More Key Bills Reviewed; Clean Water Lobby Day
--Judicial Watch: Parties Join Catawba Water Suit
--Washington Watch: Ozone Rules Challenged
--Campaign Watch: Both Sides Considering NC Senate Contest

Legislative Watch: More Key Bills Reviewed; Clean Water Lobby Day

More Key Bills Reviewed: As anticipated, legislation to block the new coastal stormwater rules approved by the Environmental Management Commission (EMC) and Rules Review Commission (RRC) has been filed in the General Assembly. The bills, HB 2138 / SB 1967, "Disapprove Coastal Stormwater Rule" are a priority target for opposition by the environmental "Common Agenda" coalition which includes CCNC.

CIB thinks that the Charlotte Observer editorial of 5/29/08 has the right analysis of the disapproval effort: "If you want to know why government doesn't work very well, look no further than House Bill 2138, sponsored by Rep. Pryor Gibson, D-Anson. The bill, also sponsored by 11 other Democrats and Republicans, would stop new stormwater runoff rules designed to protect water quality in coastal counties that are more than 100 miles from his district... Never mind that the rules were carefully crafted over more than two years by experts concerned that existing stormwater runoff rules have been ineffective in halting the decline of water quality along North Carolina's coast.

Never mind that more than 100,000 acres of shellfish beds along the coast have been closed because they are so fouled with bacteria from feces and contaminated with fertilizer runoff and toxic heavy metals from oil and gas along the state's roads. Never mind that health officials sometimes designate areas of the coast that are not safe to swim in on a warm summer's day.

Never mind that in January the N.C. Environmental Management Commission considered, amended, debated and adopted the rules, designed to slow the increase in water pollution in an area where the pace of residential development is rapidly consuming land.

Never mind that the N.C. Rules Review Commission -- which usually takes a hard look at any environmental rules and declines to approve them if its members believe they go too far -- approved the new rules in March. In spite of all that, these legislators now would step in to block those much-needed rules...[T]he simple fact is that coastal construction is proceeding at a break-neck pace, consuming land, creating more hard surfaces and worsening water quality. The state needs stricter coastal stormwater runoff rules, not a legislative cave-in to builders who don't want to be inconvenienced by having to slow the flow of poison into waters that belong to all of us."

Another key defensive effort in the environmental Common Agenda this session will be stopping proposals to gut North Carolina's beach protection policies which bar the construction of new seawalls and other "hardening" of the oceanfront. In particular, environmental groups will focus on opposing SB 599, "Inlet Stabilization Pilot Program", which passed the Senate last year and is currently held in committee in the House. The so-called "pilot program" would simply authorize "terminal groins" to protect threatened private structures--a strategy which is an old, well-known failure, that simply shifts the point of erosion to nearby properties.

On the positive side, environmental groups will support SB 1871 / HB 2526, "Motor Vehicle Emissions Study", an effort to move North Carolina toward adoption of the California "clean cars" standards that will help fight global warming by demanding greater fuel efficiency by vehicles sold in our state.

The water planning/drought management bills reviewed in last week's CIB, HB 2499 / SB 1879, "Drought/Water Management Recommendations", incorporating recommendations from the legislature's Environmental Review Commission, will also receive support from the Common Agenda groups.

Clean Water Lobby Day: Reminder: CCNC encourages concerned conservationists to come out for Clean Water Lobby Day at the General Assembly this Wednesday, June 4 in Raleigh. Focus issues this year will include water management, coastal stormwater rules, and steep-slope development rules in the mountains. The day's activities will begin with a 9 a.m. meeting of conservation advocates at the N.C. History Museum, 4 E. Edenton Street, in Raleigh, and continue with meetings with legislators throughout the day until 3 p.m. For more information, contact the CCNC office via carrie@conservationcouncilnc.org. Clean Water Lobby Day is a cooperative effort sponsored by a coalition of 20 organizations, including CCNC and other conservation groups around North Carolina.

Judicial Watch: Parties Join Catawba Water Suit

The City of Charlotte, Duke Energy, and a water system serving Union and Lancaster counties have been allowed to join as parties in the lawsuit by South Carolina against North Carolina over withdrawals from the Catawba River basin. South Carolina sued North Carolina last year after the N.C. Environmental Management Commission (EMC) partially approved a request by the cities of Concord and Kannapolis to transfer millions of gallons of water per day from the Catawba to the Yadkin basin. The newly authorized parties say that their own withdrawals from the Catawba could be affected by the suit's outcome, but that neither state government fully reflects their interests.

The addition of these parties may simultaneously expand the breadth of issues to be reviewed, and complicate the case's settlement. The "special master" named by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case allowed the new parties' entry into the case. Since the lawsuit originated as a case between two states, the U.S. Supreme Court has unusual original jurisdiction over the case. Decisions by the designated "special master" are reviewable only by the Supreme Court itself.

Washington Watch: Ozone Rules Challenged

The environmental law group Earthjustice this week filed a second lawsuit challenging EPA's new ozone standards as too weak to protect public health, on behalf of a number of environmental and public health organizations (including the American Lung Association). A similar claim has previously been filed on behalf of 11 states, by Connecticut's state attorney general. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia will hear the case.

Campaign Watch: Both Sides Considering NC Senate Contest

The U.S. Senate seat contest between incumbent U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) and challenger N.C. Sen. Kay Hagan (D-Guilford) has clearly moved onto a front-burner spot for both sides of the struggle for control of the Senate. Recent polls showing the race to be a statistical dead heat have sparked interest by national endorsing groups, including the national League of Conservation Voters (LCV).

On the anti-environmental side, one of the national flat-earth groups which continues to oppose action on global warming, the "Club for Growth", is financing a series of broadcast ads aimed at six senators including Dole. The ads exhort her to oppose legislation coming up for a vote in the U.S. Senate which would mandate American action on climate control. Dole is currently a co-sponsor of the bipartisan legislation. Look for any waffling by Dole on that bill to provide a sense of whether she plans to try to run to the middle or move to the right-wing on environmental issues in this campaign.