Coastal stormwater rules would be rolled back to the failed standards of almost a decade ago under a sweeping reconstituted regulatory bill that is moving quickly through the state Senate and has even business-friendly regulators alarmed.
Legislature
Coastal Issues Abound in Senate Budget Bill
The state Senate yesterday passed a biennial budget plan that once again contains numerous coastal provisions, including money for inlet dredging, improvements at the state ports and oyster restoration.
Bill Speeds Approval of Sewage Plants
Legislators are considering a measure to create a privatized, fast-track permit approval process for some sewage-treatment facilities that would bypass state and county agencies.
Conservation Funds Get Budget Boost
The state House begins debate today on its version of the biennial budget, which features a hefty boost in spending for conservation and clean water projects.
Q&A: What Is SEPA, How Will It Change?
What’s the purpose of the State Environmental Policy Act? And what will happen if a bill proposing changes to it passes the N.C. Senate? This Q&A helps breakdown these questions and more.
House Weakens Environmental Review
In a late-night session, the N.C. House approved a bill that critics and some legislators say will ultimately gut a 40-year-old law that requires environmental review of state projects.
Sand Bags as Seawalls; Wetlands as Drylands
Bills working their way through the N.C. General Assembly would make it easier to armor the beach and would weaken buffer rules by taking the “wet” out of wetlands.
McCrory Budget and the Environment
The proposed budget that Gov. Pat McCrory released last week cuts money to a grant program that protects water quality and sensitive land and continues the whittling of the state’s major environmental agency.
Proposed Move of State Parks Causes Jitters
Some worry that the protection of natural resources will get shortchanged if Gov. Pat McCrory succeeds in moving state parks to the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, which is more geared toward attracting customers.
A Look Ahead at the Legislative Session
The N.C. General Assembly will start the new year with a few new faces, but the script will largely remain the same. Learn what’s on the environmental agenda in 2015.
One Commission to Review Them All
The Rules Review Commission could ultimately alter key rules for enforcing environmental policy. Learn who the members are, what their power is and which constitutional question they’re sparking.
Lawmakers Weaken Wetlands Protections
In what has become an annual rite, the N.C. General Assembly Friday passed more regulatory changes that weaken environmental protections. Small pockets of coastal wetlands were in the crosshairs this time.
Now You See It… Now You Don’t
Some controversial coastal provisions that were included in earlier versions didn’t make it into the final state budget that Gov. Pat McCrory signed yesterday.
An End of Session Twist
The Senate came short of passing an omnibus bill, including several controversial environmental provisions, previously seen and rejected by the House.
New Funding Formula Sinks Road Projects
The Mid-Currituck Bridge is one of many proposed road projects in Eastern N.C. that get short- changed in a new highway funding formula.
Environmental Bills Chug Along
Last week, while tempers flared in the N.C. General Assembly over the state budget, the long-awaited coal ash legislation passed the state Senate and the House approved its versions of a diverse set of regulatory changes.
