RALEIGH — Some hot-button issues will grab headlines during the first couple of weeks of the new legislative session, which began in earnest when the N.C. General Assembly convened last night. “Reforming” unemployment benefits and passing voter ID are among the top issues that the Republicans who dominate the legislature…
Search Results for: Kirk Ross
Some Want More Study of Wood Pellet Plans
…where the pellets come from, how they’re harvested and whether logged tracts have to be replanted are still in flux, McDow said. Regulators are trying to work through carbon scoring for pellets and whether shipping pellets across the ocean is a threat to the “carbon-neutral” standing of biomass. “I don’t…
Can Our Forests Safely Power Europe?
…to their fuel portfolio. That changed significantly in the past few years, not here but overseas, with the adoption of rules and incentives in the European Union that made pelletized wood a more attractive fuel. While domestic demand remained weak, mainly due to growth in natural gas supplies, across the…
New Legislature, Governor Get to Work
McElraft, Cleveland Named to Chair Key House Committees Rep. Pat McElraft, R-Carteret, and Rep George Cleveland, R-Onslow, received key appropriations appointments last week after House Speaker Thom Tillis named his budget chairs for the new legislative session. McElraft will serve as co-chair of the House Natural and Economic Resources Committee…
Federation Urges CRC to Pass Groin Rules
The chairman of the state’s coastal rule-making panel expressed confidence in an Army Corp of Engineers led-permitting process for small jetties called terminal groins along the N.C. coast. Bob Emory, chairman of the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission, said yesterday that the decision to forgo new state rules for the structures…
Slow Down: Merger Idea Needs More Study
RALEIGH — A report that was mandated by the N.C. General Assembly on merging the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries and Wildlife Resources Commission recommends that legislator take more time to study the idea, citing the complexity of the task, the agencies’ different missions and a lack of public consensus….
Creosote Plant Now Superfund Site
NAVASSA — You can still see wild rice, the remnants of long gone plantations, around the marsh lands where the Brunswick River and Sturgeon Creek meet up and flow into the Cape Fear in Brunswick County. What’s not as easy to see is the extensive amount of toxic residue buried…
Will She or Won’t She?
RALEIGH — With just two days left to make a decision, Gov. Beverly Perdue’s office is keeping mum on whether she’ll veto any of the bills still on her desk, including one with a controversial provision on sea-level rise science. In the past few weeks, the pressure on Perdue to…
Legislature Tips Its Hand on Offshore Drilling
When legislation clearing the way for fracking in North Carolina’s Deep River basin first appeared it was part of an overhaul of state energy policy that also included a push to develop offshore development as well. The final fracking bill, which became law last month over Gov. Beverly Perdue’s veto,…
Sea-Level Rise Debate Brings Curtain Down
RALEIGH — When the newly re-written Coastal Management Policies Act and its controversial sea-level rise section was finally debated in the N.C. House Tuesday, there was little doubt that the issue still causes a rapid rise in temperatures. The final version of the bill, which passed the House 68-43 on…
New Bill on Sea-Level Rise Yet to Surface
RALEIGH — With Gov. Beverly Perdue still mum on whether she’ll veto the newly-minted budget or the controversial fracking bill sent to her last week, legislators pushed ahead to bring the short session to a close as early as Tuesday. The last-minute flurry of bills included a number of changes…
Clean Water Fund Gets Whacked Again
RALEIGH — Another $500,000 hit to the state’s Clean Water Management Trust Fund was among the last round of adjustments made during negotiations between state House and Senate leaders, who reached a budget deal this week. Both chambers approved the new $20.2 billion budget yesterday. Gov. Beverly Perdue has 10…