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…
Search Results for: Kirk%20Ross
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….
Toxic Air Battle Joined Anew
RALEIGH — A battle that began earlier this year over legislation cutting back the state’s air toxics program starts up anew this week when state regulators seek public comment on changes to regulations on toxic air emissions. Legislators passed a bill in June that exempts from state law the emissions…
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…
A Failing Grade on the Environment
RALEIGH — Republicans didn’t hide their desire when they took over the N.C. General Assembly last year to reshape the state’s environmental regulations and, along with it, its top regulatory agency, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Using the recession as its backdrop and rules cost jobs as its…
Senate Panel OKs Sea-Level Rise Bill
Coastal Review Online will post a roundup of coastal legislative news every Friday while the N.C. General Assembly is in session. RALEIGH — Unfazed by a heavy barrage of worldwide criticism and outright ridicule by sources ranging from Scientific American to the “Colbert Report,” the N.C. Senate’s Agriculture, Environment and…