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EPA launches civil rights inquiry into DEQ’s permitting of biogas systems on hog farms
By: Lisa Sorg, NC Policy Watch January 14, 2022 The Environmental Protection Agency is opening an investigation into whether state regulators violated civil rights law when last spring, they granted permits to four industrialized hog farms that are installing anaerobic digesters to produce biogas for renewable energy. The investigation is in response to a complaint against the NC Department of Environmental Quality filed by the Southern Environmental Law Center, which is representing several community groups. SELC alleges that when DEQ granted the general permits to the Smithfield-owned farms, the agency failed to protect the surrounding communities from air and water pollution. A disproportionate share of the hundreds of families who live around the hog operations in Duplin and Sampson County are Black and Latino. Under a federal civil rights law, known as Title VI, entities that receive federal funds can’t from discriminate on the basis of race, color, or national origin —intentionally or unintentionally. “We are excited that the EPA decided to investigate this complaint. As a ‘watch dog’ for those most negatively impacted by the hog industry, we consider the investigation of this complaint as a step in the right direction. Nevertheless, we also understand that there is much more work to be done,” said Robert Moore, president of the Duplin County Chapter of the North Carolina NAACP, in a prepared statement. The SELC complaint met the administrative requirements for the EPA to proceed; next the agency will determine whether the complaint has merit. DEQ has 30 days to respond to the EPA. If the EPA finds the underlying issues of the complaint are valid, the case would initially go to mediation, which is legally required. Parts of the SELC complaint to the EPA are similar to one it filed to the state Administrative Office of the Courts. Earlier this week, Administrative Law Judge Donald van der Vaart ruled that DEQ legally permitted industrialized hog farms to install the digesters on their waste lagoons. Van der Vaart previously served as DEQ secretary under then-Gov. Pat McCrory, and was known for his anti-regulatory stances. The SELC’s state filing did not address civil rights laws. This is the EPA’s third civil rights inquiry into DEQ’s handling of industrialized hog farms since 2014. That year, under DEQ Secretary John Skvarla, the Waterkeeper Alliance, NC Environmental Justice Network and REACH (Rural Empowerment Association for Community Help) filed a complaint alleging that the state’s general permitting process for swine farms disproportionately burdens communities of color. The EPA ordered the parties into mediation, but in 2016 — under van der Vaart’s tenure — those talks broke down after DEQ brought members of the N.C. Pork Council and the Pork Producers to a confidential mediation meeting. In turn, Elizabeth Haddix and Mark Dorosin, who at the time worked for the UNC Center for Civil Rights, filed a retaliation complaint against the agency. In 2018, under Secretary Michael Regan, DEQ reached a settlement with the UNC Center for Civil Rights and its clients. The key points included air and surface water monitoring, greater public participation and transparency, and new complaint and violation point systems. Regan is now the EPA administrator. Read the article on NC Policy Watch
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Honoring Dr. King, His Legacy, and the Work that Remains
We recognize the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. not only on the third Monday of January, but all year round. Environmental Justice is Social Justice, and this January 17th, we continue to acknowledge and reflect on the work that remains to be done for racial equity. Belinda Joyner, our Northeastern Organizer based in Garysburg, honors the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. below: As we approach the Birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. there's a sadness and happiness. Sad because he's no longer with us and happy for the LEGACY he left behind. The Dream that someday ALL GOD'S CHILDREN would come together as one and the INJUSTICE we face still today will one day be a thing of the past. That's why I can't set back and be silent. Like Dr. King, I have to be a VOICE for My People because those same INJUSTICES we faced then we are still facing them today. So we must continue the fight, we must continue to stand for those who feel like they can't. And I quote Dr. King as he sat in the Birmingham Jail from the letter that he wrote to his Fellow Clergymen "Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our fear-drenched communities, and in some not too distant tomorrow the radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation with all their scintillating beauty" - Belinda Joyner, Clean Water for NC Northeastern Organizer
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Biden Administration Announces Crackdown on Toxic Coal Ash Pollution
By: Earth Justice, January 11 For the first time, the federal government is enforcing rules that require the coal industry to clean up toxic coal ash waste. This pollution can leak into groundwater and drinking water sources. Earthjustice was deeply involved in passing the original coal ash rules as part of our mission to secure clean air and drinking water for all. Since then, we've been fighting in court to make sure the government upholds them. Coal ash is the leading source of water contamination in the U.S. Coal ash contains a long list of toxic chemicals, including arsenic, radium, and other carcinogens, as well as several metals that can impair children’s developing brains. There are 738 regulated coal ash dump sites in the U.S. Coal ash ponds hold enough ash to fill train cars that circle the earth more than 5 times over. According to analysis of the industry’s own test results, 91 percent of coal plants severely polluted the underlying groundwater to levels that exceed federal safe standards for drinking water. Coal plants are disproportionately located in communities where people suffer higher incidences of cancer, asthma and more. The EPA just told several coal plants they must follow federal rules about how coal ash is managed. On January 11 the EPA responded to nine power plants that applied to delay closure of their toxic ash ponds. The EPA did not grant any of the nine applications: it rejected three outright, found four incomplete and one ineligible, and indicated it would only conditionally approve one application after compliance violations were resolved. This is the first time the EPA is interpreting and enforcing the federal government’s rules on coal ash since those rules were passed in 2015. The Trump administration tried to roll back the rules, even after a federal court sided with Earthjustice and ordered the government to strengthen coal ash regulations. Most coal facilities have taken measures to hide toxic coal ash contamination and leave their plants in a condition that will permanently plague local communities with hazardous chemicals. The EPA needs to reverse this course and hold utilities responsible for cleanup and safe closure of toxic ash ponds. Today marks the first step of this process. The EPA’s decisions will have wide application and set a precedent for the hundreds of U.S. coal plants and the coal ash ponds and landfills they manage. [View a map of coal plants contaminating groundwater] The EPA’s decisions establish that: Coal ash ponds can’t be closed with ash sitting IN groundwater. Across the nation, at least 150 ash ponds are within five feet of groundwater, with a lot of those sitting in direct contact with the water. Leaving ponds of toxic waste in contact with groundwater creates never-ending leaching of dangerous chemicals like arsenic, cobalt, cadmium, lead and radium, which can cause cancer and neurological harm. Coal plant operators must clean up groundwater contaminated by coal ash and cannot get away with “do-nothing” solutions that simply wait for the toxic metals to be diluted or flow into the nearest drinking water well or surface water. Coal plant operators must openly and honestly determine the extent of water contamination caused by coal ash at their plants and can no longer hide behind intentionally false sampling and analysis that conceals the true extent of the poisoned groundwater. Read the article on Earth Justice
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PRESS RELEASE: DHHS Launches Low Income Household Water Assistance Program
JANUARY 3, 2022 - The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program will expand to include all low-income households needing assistance in paying their water bill. LIHWAP was created in December 2021 after the State of North Carolina was awarded more than $38 million in federal funds to establish a new water assistance program for households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Beginning Monday, Jan. 3, 2022, households with a current water/wastewater bill can begin applying for LIHWAP assistance if they meet the eligibility requirements, whether or not their water service has been disconnected. Households that have had their services disconnected or are in jeopardy of having their services disconnected can continue to apply. "Due to the pandemic and its impact on our economy, many households are struggling to maintain their water service," said Tara Myers, NCDHHS Deputy Secretary for Employment, Inclusion and Economic Stability. "LIHWAP will continue to help families in North Carolina keep their water running, a basic human need that’s critical for good sanitation and better health." LIHWAP is a temporary emergency program that helps eligible households and families afford water and wastewater services. The program provides a one-time payment for eligible low-income households directly to the utility company. LIHWAP runs through September 2023 or until the funds run out. Individuals can apply online at epass.nc.gov. Individuals can also apply by printing a paper application from epass.nc.gov and dropping it off at or faxing it to their local county Department of Social Services or by calling their local county Department of Social Services to apply by phone. To be eligible for LIHWAP, a household must have at least one U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen and: Have income equal to or less than 150% of the federal poverty level Have household services that are disconnected, in jeopardy of disconnection or have a current outstanding bill Be responsible for the water bill Households can apply through Sept. 30, 2023, or until funds are exhausted. For more information on this program and eligibility, visit the LIHWAP website at www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/social-services/energy-assistance/low-income-household-water-assistance-program-lihwap. × ICYMI: We just published our newest report "A Pandemic's Impact: Utility Disconnections, Evictions & Houselessness". Included is a list of resources for individuals facing economic hardships caused by the pandemic.
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PFAS, climate change, mining and hazardous waste: 2022 will be another critical year for the environment in North Carolina
By: Lisa Sorg, NC Policy Watch January 3, 2022 On the first day of 2022, the neighbors’ air conditioners were running. The temperature at Raleigh-Durham International Airport hit 78 degrees, a record for the date; at 1:51 p.m. the high humidity even produced a heat index of 79. A heat index. In January. This was a redux of December 2021, the third-warmest December at RDU and Fayetteville since records were kept, according to the National Weather Service, and the second-warmest at the Greensboro station. While not every meteorological blip can be attributed to climate change, the patterns are clear and troubling: The weather is warmer and wilder, and more often destructive. Late last year, a drought in North Carolina contributed to dozens of wildfires, including a 1,000-acre blaze at Pilot Mountain. The drought drags on: As of Dec. 28, 2021, all 100 counties in the state were in some stage of drought, half of them classified as severe. (Today’s torrential rains will likely change the drought status for several counties; a new report comes out every Wednesday.) Climate change and its effects will continue to be the most pressing environmental issue of 2022, not just in North Carolina, but also worldwide. How we tackle the existential threat to humanity depends on overcoming political resistance and inertia. The state’s Clean Energy Plan, while ambitious, still falls short. Turning out the lights at night in state buildings, while admirable, fails to hold corporations accountable for their substantial role in the crisis. The plan focuses on reducing and eliminating carbon emissions from coal-fired power plants — laudable — but it doesn’t fully address methane emissions from natural gas and biogas. In addition to climate change, North Carolina faces several environmental crises: Perfluorinated compounds in drinking water. The proliferation of the mining industry, subject to anemic regulations rivaled only by those governing the poultry sector, which have virtually none. Hazardous waste, air pollution, environmental justice. All of it, and all but ignored by state lawmakers. That’s where regular North Carolinians come in: Monitoring, reporting, complaining, protecting, advocating for themselves their neighborhoods, their futures. Here are four major environmental issues to watch in 2022. As the year progresses, the list will certainly grow. PFAS, GenX, Chemours and the snail-like pace toward regulation This spring the EPA plans to announce a new — and much more stringent — health advisory goal for GenX, a type of PFAS, or perfluorinated/ poly-alkylfluorinated compound. That’s the good news. Chemours will likely be required to offer alternate water supplies to even more well owners whose drinking water the company contaminated. The bad news is a health advisory goal is not legally enforceable, and setting one — known as a maximum contaminant threshold — for GenX and two other types of PFAS will take several years. More bad news: There are 5,000-plus types of PFAS, and unless the EPA regulates them as a class, doing so individually will take, well we’ll all be pushing up daisies by the time that happens. On Dec. 28, the EPA announced it would grant a petition from six environmental groups in southeastern North Carolina, which had asked the agency to require toxicity testing of 54 types of PFAS. The EPA’s announcement, though, was a half-truth. The agency will require Chemours to test only nine PFAS; the toxicity of roughly two-dozen others will be extrapolated from existing studies. Nine additional PFAS could be studied in the future, and 15 did not meet the criteria, the EPA said. Environmental groups were outraged, noting that the agency’s proposal fell far short of the petition’s requests. Dana Sargent of Cape Fear River Watch posted on Twitter: “As the director of an environmental nonprofit who trusted the folks of this EPA to do the right thing, I am furious. As a poisoned community member grieving the loss of a firefighter brother whose cancer could be explained by this data, I am heartbroken.” In other Chemours news, ever recalcitrant, the company is taking the NC Department of Environmental Quality to court over a $300,000 fine the agency assessed the company over air pollution. The contested case hearing before an administrative law judge has not been scheduled. Fuel to the climate change fire: biogas, wood pellets Montauk Renewables representatives spoke to residents of Turkey, in Sampson County, about a proposed facility that would process hog waste and other organic matter, like saw grass, into beneficial products, allegedly without emitting air pollution or wastewater discharge. (Photo: Lisa Sorg) In the Sampson County town of Turkey, Montauk Renewable Energy plans to haul hog waste from area lagoons (likely in a vacuum truck to avoid potentially slickening Highway 24 with manure from semis) to a former furniture factory on the town’s west side. There tons of waste would be processed through a closed-loop system to turn manure into compost and other beneficial materials — allegedly without producing harmful emissions. At a public meeting last month, Joe Carroll and Martin Redeker, the latter of whom invented the technology, explained the process, and brought jars of compost and processed hog manure to prove the materials didn’t smell. (It didn’t.) The company has a small test site in Magnolia that turns hog waste energy into electricity that it then sells to the grid; Four County electric co-op has a substation next door. The Turkey site, if it receives all required permits, could still produce biogas, possibly to power the building. At this point, no major pipeline infrastructure is planned. Turkey residents are concerned about potential odor, flies and traffic, as well as the fact the town would be sandwiched between two hog waste/biogas facilities. A couple of miles east on Highway 24, Align RNG, a partnership between Smithfield Foods and Dominion Energy, will collect biogas from at last count, 15 (as yet mostly unidentified) hog farms outfitted with digesters on their lagoons. The gas from the lagoons will be sent through new pipelines in Sampson and Duplin counties to the Align RNG facility, and from there, injected into a conventional natural gas pipeline. Opponents of the Align RNG project point out that 1) it still puts the state on track to rely on natural gas infrastructure, and 2) solidifies the outdated system of disposing waste in lagoons. Leftover waste is still held in open pits that stink, and it is still sprayed on fields, which can harm water quality and contaminate drinking water wells. Enviva’s four wood pellet plants — in predominantly Black and Latinx communities in Hertford, Northampton, Sampson and Richmond counties — continue to burn North Carolina trees to burn for fuel in Europe. Not only does the wood pellet industry contribute to carbon emissions, the timbering for the fuel source removes vital natural flood protection. But Active Energy’s proposed wood pellet plant in Lumberton, in Robeson County, appears to be kaput. In May 2021 the company received a Notice of Violation from DEQ even before the plant operated; its engineers changed the production process without notifying DEQ, a process that would have increased harmful air emissions. Since then, Active Energy temporarily moved to Maine, where its CoalSwitch technology also failed. Shares of the company, traded on the London Stock Exchange, are down 54% since October; investors are griping about promises that have yet to come true. Meanwhile, Lumberton residents, many of them members of the Lumbee tribe, are relieved that their community won’t be burdened with more air pollution. Mining and mystery drilling Hundreds of people attended a public hearing in Gastonia, most of them opposed to a proposed lithium mine near Cherryville. (Photos: Lisa Sorg) One of the most-anticipated DEQ decisions for 2022 involves a proposed behemoth lithium mine near Cherryville, in Gaston County. At a public hearing in November, hundreds of residents turned out to oppose the 1,500-acre mine, fearing contamination of the groundwater and private drinking water wells. Piedmont Lithium, the company behind the mine, has contracted with Tesla to provide the essential element for electric car batteries. Unlike vehicles that run on fossil fuels, electric cars don’t emit pollutants from their tailpipes — pollutants that contribute to climate change. However, extractive industries, like mining, still exact an environmental toll. New technologies could provide companies with less damaging ways to get at the lithium, but miners must learn from their coal and petroleum counterparts, whose practices — mountaintop removal, oil spills — have destroyed neighborhoods and shorelines, harmed public health and decimated ecosystems. DEQ is expected to announce its decision before spring; Gaston County officials, though, will likely weigh in. And opponents can still delay the permit via the courts. Residents of Hamptonville, in Yadkin County, could know the outcome of the mystery drilling that’s been happening on 700 acres of farmland since last spring. Residents — 44 of them adjoining the land — are concerned drilling could threaten their drinking water wells. Jack Martin of Synergy Materials has refused to disclose what he’s found or even what he’s looking for, but told Policy Watch and neighbors that once his investigation is complete, possibly this month, he’ll host a public meeting to unveil his plan. Granite? Silica? Lithium? Fracking? The property is owned by former State Rep. Wilma Sherrill, but Synergy has an option to buy it. Shortly before the holiday break, DEQ announced it had granted a controversial mining permit to Carolina Sunrock for its 426-acre operation in Prospect Hill, in southeastern Caswell County. The mine, in the works since 2019, has divided the county: It was the subject of a zoning referendum, which narrowly failed; figured prominently in the 2020 county elections, resulting in a complaint by Bob Hall, former director of Democracy North Carolina, over allegations of illegal political advertising. In what appears to be an intimidation tactic, Carolina Sunrock sued 55 people over their objections to the mine and associated asphalt plants in Prospect Hill and the Black community of Anderson Township. Represented by Durham attorney Bill Brian, Carolina Sunrock even subpoenaed private emails from resident Leslie Winner, among those spearheading opposition to the mine. Residents have not decided whether to challenge the permit before an administrative law judge. The state Mining Act favors industry — Martin Marietta wrote the law — but it is possible to secure additional environmental protections. Snow Camp residents recently won concessions from DEQ and a different mining company in settlement that grew out of a contested case against the agency. And opponents of the Wake Stone quarry near Umstead State Park also scored a small victory when an administrative law judge ruled DEQ had erred in authorizing a buffer request for a bridge for their mining operation over the sensitive Crabtree Creek. Critical cleanups: progress or stalemate? The former ABC One-Hour Cleaners site in Jacksonville has been on the Superfund site for 33 years. Money from the federal infrastructure law will help pay for a cleanup. (File photo: Lisa Sorg) Huntersville is heading into Year 2 of the aftermath of the Colonial Pipeline disaster that spilled at least 1.3 million gallons of gasoline in a residential neighborhood, including the Oehler Nature Preserve. The cleanup is nowhere close to being finished, and will likely take at least a decade. The spill occurred on Aug. 14, 2020, when a portion of the pipeline failed. The extent of the environmental damage — especially to the groundwater — is still unknown. DEQ has cited Colonial for failing to provide a full accounting of the spill, the largest such onshore accident since at least 1991. Nor is it clear why PFAS was found in runoff at the spill site and in water containing fire suppressant, when that material was advertised as PFAS-free. In October, DEQ petitioned a Mecklenburg County Superior Court judge to force Colonial to provide this critical information, but the agency has yet to fine Colonial for its deficiencies. This could be the year. The Tarheel Army Missile Plant, 204 N. Graham-Hopedale Road, in East Burlington (Archival photo: DEQ) Two years for a cleanup seems short considering remediation of the former Tarheel Army Missile Plant in Burlington is in Year 30. Yes, the East Burlington neighborhood, which is predominantly Black and Latinx, has been waiting 30 years for a solution to the contamination at the 22-acre site. The U.S. Army, which is responsible for cleaning up the contamination in the groundwater, filed yet another environmental assessment to DEQ last year, but so far that has translated into no action. Meanwhile, groundwater tainted with cancer-causing solvents continues to seep beneath the neighborhood and into a nearby stream that eventually feeds the Haw River. Aboveground, property owner David Tsui is on the hook for containing and removing contamination in the dozen-plus buildings. DEQ documents show he plans to renovate the few uncontaminated buildings, one for office space and two others for storage. Those upgrades began last fall, but the contaminated buildings that border private homes are not on the renovation list. The neighborhood desperately needs answers, as well as indoor air testing to ensure hazardous vapors from the solvents have not entered private homes. 30 years is too long to wait; DEQ and the Army must ensure meaningful action occurs before Year 31. On a more hopeful note, the new federal infrastructure law is funding stalled cleanups beginning this year at 49 Superfund sites, including four in North Carolina. One of those, Policy Watch reported in February 2020, is ABC One-Hour Cleaners near Camp Lejeune. The former dry cleaners is now in Year 33 of being on the Superfund list, which contains some of the most toxic and intractably polluted areas in the country. But after $1 million in taxpayer money, the cleanup of solvents in the groundwater should be nearly finished. Instead, because of contractual disputes, recalcitrant business owners, broken equipment and even hurricane damage, the cleanup has failed. As a result, the contaminated plume has expanded and threatens Northeast Creek and the New River. The estimated cost of the new cleanup, which includes only soil, not groundwater, is $3.34 million. Once the system is built — about a two-month project — the EPA projects it will take two years to reach clean up goals for the soil. Three more Superfund projects will also receive funding: The 15-acre Hemphill Road TCE site in south Gastonia, went on the Superfund list in 2013 because the business had contaminated private drinking water wells with hazardous solvents. Those households have alternate water supplies now, but the groundwater contamination persists. In Yadkinville, the 80-acre Holcomb Creosote site has been on the Superfund list since 2012. The wood-treating business contaminated the soil, sediment, groundwater, surface water and on-site structures. Ram Leather Care in Charlotte, another dry cleaning and leather-restoration business, has been on the Superfund list since 2003. Although households were connected to the public water system in 2008, there is a risk that hazardous vapors from contaminated groundwater and soil have entered nearby buildings. Read the article on NC Policy Watch
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Court of Appeals rules NC lawmakers were within their authority to all but outlaw hog nuisance lawsuits
By: Lisa Sorg, NC Policy Watch December 21, 2021 A three-judge panel from the state Court of Appeals unanimously ruled against an environmental justice group today, deciding that North Carolina legislature had the authority to make it difficult, if not impossible, for people to sue hog farms for nuisance. The ruling affirmed a lower court’s decision. The amendments to the Farm Acts of 2017 and 2018 “are a valid exercise of legislative and the State’s police powers,” wrote Justice John Tyson. Nor are they “a special or private law, and do not deprive a prospective plaintiff of the right to a jury trial.” Judges Jefferson Griffin and Fred Gore concurred. Civil rights attorneys Burton Craige and Elizabeth Haddix represent the plaintiffs — REACH, a group of eastern North Carolina residents — in challenging the Farm Acts of 2017 and 2018 — House Bill 467 and Senate Bill 711, respectively. The defendants were State Rep. Tim Moore and State Sen. Phil Berger; the NC Farm Bureau had filed as an intervenor with the defense; the state Department of Agriculture had filed a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the defense. Lawmakers had passed both bills in direct response to federal nuisance lawsuits filed against Smithfield Foods by hundreds of neighbors of industrialized hog farms. In five of those federal cases, juries eventually awarded millions of dollars in damages to the neighbors. The remaining 20 or so cases were settled out of court. The litigation was filed before the Farm Acts were passed; now those types of lawsuits would unlikely be filed. The plaintiffs’ attorneys initially argued before Wake Superior Court that provisions in the acts deprived neighbors of agricultural and forestry operations fundamental property rights. In 2020, that court dismissed the plaintiffs’ constitutional challenges. The plaintiffs appealed, and earlier this month, their attorneys asked the appellate court to apply what’s known as a “means-ends” test to determine the constitutionality of the Farm Acts. Is the law necessary to accomplish the government’s goals? Is the law reasonable in its degree? And is the law enacted for a public purpose? Craige argued that the Farm Acts met none of those requirements. Under the Farm Act of 2018, neighbors can’t sue unless they do so within a year that the farm begins operating. Since all of North Carolina’s hog farms began operating before 1997, when a moratorium on new or expanded farms went into effect, it’s nearly impossible to sue for nuisance. Nor can plaintiffs recover punitive damages, which juries can award in cases of “willful or wanton conduct.” In four of the five federal cases, juries awarded plaintiffs punitive damages; in the fifth case, the judge prohibited the jury from doing so. The law also set a geographic radius — half-mile from the problematic farm — for neighbors who are eligible to sue for nuisance. Hog farms are exempt from nuisance suits, as long as the state has not cited them for civil or criminal penalties for water quality violations in the past three years; the law does not consider degraded air quality as a nuisance. Farms and forestry operations can’t be sued for nuisance if the ownership or type of agriculture changes — from chickens to hogs, for example. These entities are also immune even if they expand or install new technology — like biogas systems, which are proliferating in eastern North Carolina. Because of these restrictions, Craige argued, “no change, however radical will meet the threshold.” The appellate judges disagreed. The 2017 and 2018 Farm Acts, Tyson wrote, underscore the state’s policy in promoting agricultural and forestry activities and production by defining and limiting nuisance claims against those industries. “Limiting potential nuisance liability from agricultural, forestry, and related operations helps ensure the State’s stated goal to protect agricultural activities in North Carolina and to encourage the availability and continued “production of food, fiber, and other products,” Tyson wrote. He added: “Our State’s long-asserted interest in promoting and preserving agriculture, forestry, horticulture, livestock, and animal husbandry activities and production within North Carolina clearly rests within the scope of the State’s police power.” When the legislature was debating the Farm Acts, several lawmakers described the nuisance provisions as a “carve-out” for agriculture and forestry. But the appellate court ruled that since the laws are generally applicable to these industries, they do not create a special protected class. “A private law is confined to particular individuals, associations or corporations,” Tyson wrote, citing previous court cases. Although Smithfield Foods has a near-monopoly in North Carolina — Prestage Farms being the only other major pork producer — it was not singled out by name in the Farm Acts. Plaintiffs’ attorneys could appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court, but it’s unclear if they will do so. Haddix could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. Read the article on NC Policy Watch
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Our Policy Wishlist for Private Well Users in 2022!
Direct advocacy with communities on the ground for safe water and clean air is just one part of our Environmental Justice work! Policy development is a key aspect to ensure meaningful, sustainable change. We are excited to share our Well User Protection policy recommendations with our membership & NC legislators in 2022! Support Our Work Today Almost one third of North Carolinians rely on private wells for their drinking water - a source that is not protected under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. In partnership with UNC-Chapel Hill and the statewide Well Water Working Group, our team at CWFNC has developed two policy recommendations that we will be publishing in 2022 with the goal of raising support for these protections on the state level. Increased Funding for Private Well Tests Cost can be a major barrier for regular testing of private wells, particularly for low-income households. We believe this obstacle can be addressed by the Bernard Allen Fund, created in 2006 to improve the state’s response to private well water contamination and provide low-income households with a safe drinking water supply. Recommendations for the Fund include increasing funding available, providing a public application, increasing the household income limit or providing a sliding scale, and further addressing testing of naturally-occurring contaminants to better address threats to safe drinking water for well users. Requiring Well Testing Before a Real Estate Transaction A safe drinking water supply is essential to human health as well as protecting the value of residential property. If a real estate transfer is finalized before the property owner or renter discovers that the groundwater is contaminated, there may be limited options to remediate the issue. CWFNC believes that adequate testing is essential to due diligence prior to the purchase or rental of any property supplied by a private drinking water well, and is exploring policy initiatives in other states to help develop a similar policy recommendation here in NC. Thank you to all our new and recurring members for sustaining our Well User Protection policy work in 2021! We look forward to sharing more of this work and with you into the New Year! If you haven't given yet, consider donating to Clean Water for NC today and receive a tax deduction before the end of the year! Support Our Work Today
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Happy Holidays from CWFNC: A Year of Thanks!
Another uniquely challenging year is coming to an end, as many communities continue to struggle with economic insecurities, health burdens, and social justice challenges during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While work on-the-ground again remained limited in 2021, we have done our very best to stay in touch with community members by email, phone, and Zoom, as well as to plan, inform and advocate for Environmental Justice. This Holiday Season, we would like to reflect on the amazing work our team has accomplished in 2021 to address disparate environmental health impacts faced by our rural, low-income, and BIPOC neighbors. Please enjoy our Photo Year in Review, and we look forward to sharing many more community successes with you in the New Year! Our Northeastern Organizer, Belinda Joyner, speaks out against the polluting wood pellet industry and its Environmental Justice impacts on communities in North Carolina during a rally at the legislature building in Raleigh. Rachel Velez, the Water Justice Program Director, organizes private well testing bottles in preparation for an upcoming outreach campaign in Union County. A main focus of our project is to promote environmental health literacy in underserved communities. July 5, 2021 marked the one year anniversary of the defeat of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline! While a victory for countless communities, we continue to review restoration plans and working with partners to restore easements back to property owners. Clean Water for NC staff hosted our Fall Virtual Meeting in September focused on “The Intersection of Civil Rights & Environmental Justice“! Many thanks to our speakers Belinda Joyner and Naeema Muhammad, as well as our 100+ participants! Amanda Strawderman, Polluter Accountability Program Director, monitors air emissions from an industrial animal waste-to-energy plant in Anson County. She sits on the NC CAFO roundtable and is working with groups to develop Environmental Justice policies requiring permitting authorities to consider EJ and cumulative impacts of a proposed facilities. Clean Water for NC joins in celebration with all the groups and community members who have worked effortlessly to STOP the MVP Southgate extension from cutting through North Carolina. In early December, it was announced that the VA Air Board denied a key permit for the Southgate project – a massive victory for our land, air, water, and communities! As with all our work, these actions and successes could not have been possible without the support of our dedicated membership. Consider making a gift today to promote our work towards Environmental Justice for all NC communities. Happy Holidays! We hope for a peaceful, prosperous and joyous season for you as we head into 2022. Our offices will be closed December 22nd – December 31st. If you have any questions or concerns and would like to contact a member of staff, please email our Executive Director, Veronica Oakler: veronica@cwfnc.org
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Unexplained drilling on land owned by former lawmaker alarms neighbors in Yadkin County
By: Lisa Sorg, NC Policy Watch December 12, 2021 Firm headed by developer with links to mining and fracking is looking for something on former State Rep. Wilma Sherrill’s property For the past six months, mysterious drilling has been conducted on a vast tract of land north of Hamptonville, in Yadkin County, and the company president behind the project is refusing to disclose what he’s looking for and why. Dozens of Yadkin County residents, many whose families have lived in the area for generations, are alarmed that the property might be become a mine, as the depth of the drilling holes has increased…
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NC governor vetoes bill that would keep local governments from banning natural gas
By: Adam Wagner, Raleigh News & Observer December 9, 2021 Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a bill Thursday that would have prevented local governments from banning natural gas in new construction and limited public information about drinking water. No local governments in North Carolina have moved to ban natural gas from new construction, but some governments in California and the Northeast have. That led to a nationwide push by the natural gas industry to enact state laws preventing future bans, which have now been enacted in at least 20 states. “This legislation undermines North Carolina’s transition to a clean energy economy that is already bringing in thousands of good paying jobs,” Cooper said in a statement. “It also wrongly strips local authority and hampers public access to information about critical information that impacts the health and well-being of North Carolinians.” For House Bill 220 to become law, 72 members of the N.C. House of Representatives and 30 members of the N.C. Senate would need to vote to override Cooper’s veto. When the bill returned to the House for concurrence in late November, it passed 57-46. Environmental groups said the legislation would prevent future action by local governments to curb the impacts of climate change, while Republicans who supported the legislation said it would protect consumers’ ability to choose the source for their heating and appliances. “The heavy hand of government has no place in the personal decisions North Carolinians make for their households,” Rep. Dean Arp, a Union County Republican who is among HB 220’s primary sponsors, said in a written statement. Elsewhere in the country, banning natural gas is part of the effort to “electrify everything,” shifting cooking and cleaning to electric stoves and heat pumps. The thinking is that as electricity continues to be increasingly generated by renewable sources like solar and wind, electrified homes will contribute less to climate change than those with appliances and heat powered by natural gas. The NC Home Builders Association was among the trade groups supporting the passage of HB 220. An association lobbyist previously told The News & Observer that the organization was worried that banning natural gas in construction could cause prices to increase and limit consumers’ energy options. The Natural Resources Defense Council, which has opposed similar legislation nationwide, praised Cooper’s veto. In a written statement, Luiz Martinez, the NRDC’s Asheville-based director of Southeast energy, said, “North Carolina must be able to pursue new policies to combat climate change, create clean energy jobs, and make our communities healthier — and HB220 would have prevented that.” Together, North Carolina’s commercial and residential buildings were responsible for the equivalent of 11 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2017, according to the N.C. Greenhouse Gas Emissions report released in January 2019. That was about 7.3% of the state’s gross emissions that year. In a written statement on Nov. 29, June Blotnick, the executive director of CleanAIRE NC, said, “City and county governments have been the vanguard of fighting climate change. This bill is a swipe at their ability to protect their constituencies.” A public records provision in the vetoed bill would prevent the public from obtaining detailed plans and vulnerability information about electricity generation or distribution; treatment or distribution of water; and wastewater outfalls. Environmental groups were worried that the language in HB 220 would prevent the public from obtaining detailed information about drinking water treatment or the locations of lead pipes. In a written statement, Cynthia Satterfield, the N.C. Sierra Club’s state director, said, “We support safeguarding our critical infrastructure, but we also support the public’s right to know how its water is being treated, and to have adequate information to provide comment on infrastructure projects.” The public records exemptions were originally introduced in House Bill 911. As the bill made its way through the House, a bipartisan group of legislators worked together to remove the wastewater collection and outfall exemptions. They also clarified that information about lead service lines would remain public. But HB 911 has stalled in the Senate for months, and the Senate added the original exemptions to HB 220. That raised some concerns among a bipartisan group of legislators in the House and, evidently, with Cooper. Read the article at Raleigh News & Observer
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