DEQ delays water quality decision, dealing setback to Atlantic Coast Pipeline
Just a week ago, the utility companies behind the Atlantic Coast Pipeline had urged federal regulators to fast track their application, citing “contractual obligations.” Their letter claimed that “the...
View ArticleChemours’s lawyers fight back against DEQ; let’s parse the arguments
Chemours’s attorneys have accused the NC Department of Environmental Quality of disregarding “even the most basic rudiments of fair play and process,” when it required the company to stop discharging...
View ArticleNC appeals court rules against NC WARN in Greensboro solar power case
The nonprofit environmental group NC WARN was acting as a public utility when it provided solar power to a Greensboro church, the NC Appellate Court ruled 2-1 today. The decision favored Duke Energy,...
View ArticleIllegal oil and gas commission postponed, one statement of economic interest...
The state oil and gas commission, which had planned to meet, albeit illegally, in Sanford tomorrow, has been postponed for at least a month. Jim Womack, whose chairmanship is in dispute, told Policy...
View ArticleTo get Duke Energy flood maps near coal ash basins, local governments had to...
Duke Energy won’t tell you if live in an area that could flood if one of its coal ash basin fails. And local emergency managers can’t tell you, that is, if they want a copy of the secret maps. This...
View ArticleIn veto, Gov. Cooper calls HB 56 “cynical legislation that does nothing to...
On the House floor in the final minutes of the August session, Democratic Rep. Darren Jackson had a crystal-ball moment. He called out his Republican colleagues for their last-minute, controversial...
View ArticleTheir wells contaminated, residents near Chemours plant will receive bottled...
State environmental officials announced today they have instructed Chemours to provide bottled water to 11 households whose private wells tested above the health goal of 140 parts per trillion set for...
View ArticleThe Week’s Top Five on NC Policy Watch
1. Oil and gas commission goes rogue, schedules illegal meeting to challenge fracking moratoriums With energy companies anxious to start drilling, the two-year fracking moratoriums in Lee and Chatham...
View ArticleUnder scrutiny, Duke Energy makes public previously secret flood maps near...
In a sudden but not wholly unexpected turn, Duke Energy announced this afternoon that it will release confidential maps that show areas that could be flooded if a coal ash basin or dam failed. The...
View Article5 things to expect at Duke Energy’s rate hike hearing
One of the few things less popular than an rate hike is a Duke Energy rate hike. On Monday in Raleigh, the North Carolina Utilities Commission is holding a public hearing regarding Duke Energy...
View ArticleProtesters turn up heat on Duke’s big rate hike
No commotion. No clapping. No signs. No singing. With the rules of decorum laid out by Capitol Police, Duke Energy Progress District Manager Marty Clayton opened the rate hike hearing Monday night by...
View ArticleGenX crisis deepens as DEQ finds more drinking water wells contaminated
Eight more private drinking water wells near the Chemours plant in Fayetteville have levels of GenX in them that are higher than the state’s health goal, according to preliminary results released...
View Article600 miles is not enough: Atlantic Coast Pipeline to expand
Seven hundred, 800 miles? How far will the Atlantic Coast Pipeline go? Farther than North Carolina, it turns out. The Associated Press reported this morning that the ACP will extend well into South...
View ArticlePleading fear and ignorance, House lawmakers get schooled on GenX
(The Senate Select Committee on North Carolina River Quality meets today at 2 p.m. in Room 1027/1128 of the Legislative Building.) The neighborhood immediately north of the Chemours plant, which...
View ArticleCape Fear utility’s PR firm tweaked press release to cast doubt on Gov....
Eckel & Vaughan, a high-powered public relations firm, advised the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority to change language to make it appear Gov. Roy Cooper was disinterested in GenX contamination in...
View ArticleNew legislation would resurrect fracking proponent Jim Womack’s career on the...
Jim Womack, a fracking proponent and dethroned oil and gas commissioner, appears likely to get his wish to return to that board. This morning, the House Rules Committee proposed a substitute for Senate...
View ArticleDEQ nixes yet another part of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline proposal
The NC Department of Environmental Quality has rejected the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s erosion and sediment control plan, dealing yet another setback to the $5.5 billion project. In a letter dated Sept....
View ArticleFacing lawsuit, NC Department of Agriculture agrees to provide public records...
Under the McCrory administration, it was pain-staking, if not impossible to pry public records from the hands of state agencies; requests for the taxpayer-funded information languished for months, even...
View ArticleDEQ names head of science advisory board, will tackle emerging contaminants...
A distinguished UNC professor who has written about the Flint water crisis and other drinking water contamination issues, is the chairman of the newly formed state Secretaries’ Science Advisory Board,...
View ArticleFERC approves Atlantic Coast Pipeline; lawsuits are likely
In a Friday night surprise, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission voted 2-1 to approve the $5.5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline, 160 miles of which will run through eastern North Carolina. However,...
View Article