Michael Mann, director of Penn State University’s Earth Systems Science Center, has long been at the forefront of scientific research into climate change and its causes, putting him squarely at the center of debate that has swirled around the issue. His work has been heavily praised by colleagues and attacked…
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Groups Urge Veto of Environmental Bill
RALEIGH – This year’s legislative session ended Wednesday morning, but not before legislators approved the latest round of environmental deregulation that includes provisions that shield polluters from penalties if they report the violations. Within hours of the vote, 15 environmental groups petitioned Gov. Pat McCrory to veto the measure. Final…
Next Up: Major Environmental Bill
RALEIGH — With the passage of a long-sought budget agreement behind them, state legislators are expected to wrap up several major pieces of legislation this week, including at least one bill that will roll back environmental regulations. After passage of the $21.7 billion budget plan late last week, House Speaker…
New State Budget and the Environment
RALEIGH — The state Senate gave final approval yesterday to a $21.7 billion state budget that includes dozens of provisions affecting coastal policy and spending, including a weakening of sandbag rules on the beach and raising the cap on small jetties called terminal groins. Other provisions of the budget continue…
Environmental Bills at a Standstill
RALEIGH — In the immediate days ahead, the N.C. General Assembly will focus on resolving the long-running budget stalemate, but waiting in the queue are dozens of regulatory and environmental policy changes. The bulk of those changes are in two bills: House Bill 44, the Local Government Regulatory Reform Act…
Senate Plan for ‘The Rocks’ Still Unknown
RALEIGH — As House and Senate budget conferees tick through the list of unresolved issues hanging up a final deal, one provision yet to be cleared is what to do with the 140-year-old New Inlet Dam at Zeke’s Island on the Cape Fear River. The Rocks are shown as viewed…
Senate Budget Bars Federal Energy Grants
RALEIGH — A provision in the Senate’s version of the budget would prohibit the state from applying for federal grants aimed at energy planning, efficiency and spurring cleaner technologies. The move is one of the latest in a session that has seen considerable contention over the direction of state energy…
A Return to Failed Rules?
RALEIGH – 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. The 54-page bill is breathtaking for its breadth. Among a long laundry…
Coastal Issues Abound in Senate Budget Bill
RALEIGH — 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. The chamber voted 32-15 yesterday to approve the $21.5 billion spending plan. The 507-page bill now heads to a…
Conservation Funds Get Budget Boost
RALEIGH — 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. The $22.1 billion proposal was released Tuesday morning as the House Appropriations Committee convened for an all-day meeting that saw 104 amendments,…
House Weakens Environmental Review
RALEIGH — The state House, in a hurry to send as many bills through the crossover threshold before yesterday’s deadline, approved a bill Wednesday that critics and some legislators say will ultimately gut a 40-year-old law that requires environmental review of state projects. The bill now goes to the state…
Sand Bags as Seawalls; Wetlands as Drylands
RALEIGH — Bills that would make it easier to armor the state’s beaches with sandbag walls and would weaken rules meant to protect the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico rivers by taking the “wet” out of wetlands are among the coastal bills state legislators will consider this week after returning from their…