Science says burning wood pellets is a bad idea; you’ll likely hear the...
Hunt Forest Resources, based in Youngsville, just north of Raleigh, will thin and burn, replant and spray, harvest and haul your hardwoods and pines, as the company’s website says, “to maximize your...
View ArticleSenate Ag, Natural Resources Committee recommending $2.4 million for DEQ to...
The Senate, under scrutiny for failing to even confer or debate a GenX bill that unanimously passed the House, has now come up with its own version, including substantive changes. The proposed...
View ArticleSenators trade barbs over funding bill directing DEQ to spend $2.4 million on...
At a public forum earlier this month, a man from Bladen County asked state environmental and health officials a direct and desperate question: “Are we guinea pigs?” he pleaded. “I don’t want to die...
View ArticleEPA to lawmakers: Audit shows no issues with DEQ’s wastewater permitting,...
This is a developing story. Senators Wells, Wade, Rabon and Lee aren’t immediately available for comment because the Senate is in session. The NC Department of Environmental Quality passed federal...
View ArticleSenate passes bill on GenX funding, gives a few breadcrumbs to DEQ
After an acrimonious committee meeting earlier this week, the Senate passed a drastically different version of House Bill 189 today, sharply reducing proposed funding to the Department of Environmental...
View ArticleClass size omnibus passes easily, despite stiff opposition to Board of...
An omnibus bill alleviating some of the headaches associated with North Carolina’s class size crisis easily passed the state House by a 104-12 margin Tuesday, despite continuing opposition from top...
View Article“Frankenstein’s monster”: House Bill 90 heads to governor’s desk
Note: NC Policy Watch education reporter Billy Ball is blogging about the class-size portion of the bill. Over the past week, House Bill 90, originally titled “NC Truth in Education,” earned a new...
View ArticleAnother day, another violation for Chemours over GenX, PFOA contamination
During a House floor debate last month on GenX legislation, Rep. Pat McElraft took an unusual stance: defending Chemours, the spin-off company of DuPont responsible for widespread pollution in drinking...
View ArticleGov. Roy Cooper won’t veto class size, Board of Elections, pipeline omnibus
Gov. Roy Cooper says he won’t veto an omnibus bill that eases North Carolina’s class size crisis, despite several parts of the bill that he calls “political attacks and power grabs.” “Our kids in...
View ArticleGov. Cooper’s office: Lawmakers have “imperiled” pipeline agreement by...
In a letter to lawmakers today, Kristi Jones, chief of staff for Gov. Roy Cooper, implied that a $57.8 million mitigation fund for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline could be in jeopardy now that lawmakers...
View ArticleEx-DEQ chief Donald van der Vaart could lead EPA Council on Environmental...
Donald van der Vaart, the controversial former NC DEQ secretary, is a leading candidate for a top EPA post, E&E News reported yesterday. Van der Vaart, who long had his sights on an EPA job, has...
View ArticleLoopholes in the draft coal ash landfill rules; two public hearings scheduled...
The public hearing started with an apology and without many members of the public. Only four days before, the NC Department of Environmental Quality had published a notice on its website that it would...
View ArticleWith House Bill 189 on the agenda, today’s River Quality Committee meeting...
Bring snacks and a thermos of coffee, because today’s House Select Committee on River Quality meeting could be epic. Starting at 9:30 a.m. and scheduled for four and half hours, the meeting will cover...
View ArticleGenX found in rainwater near Chemours plant, likely source of groundwater...
Rain is likely a source of GenX groundwater contamination at and near the Chemours plant, according to test results released today by the NC Department of Environmental Quality. Samples from two rain...
View ArticleNC Utilities Commission approves part of Duke’s rate hike. Here’s how you’ll...
If for the one month you unplugged every appliance and electronic, unscrewed every light bulb, and forsook heat or air conditioning — living by candlelight, blankets or paper fans, and Sterno — you...
View ArticleCompany surveying Atlantic Coast Pipeline route in NC lacks a current state...
The Thrasher Group, which has been surveying areas in Nash County along the Atlantic Coast Pipeline route, is not licensed to practice in North Carolina. Andrew Ritter, executive director of the...
View ArticleEthics complaint vs House Speaker Tim Moore alleges he sought preferential...
Campaign for Accountability, a Washington, D.C., watchdog group, has filed an ethics complaint against House Speaker Tim Moore, alleging that in 2014 and 2015, he tried to receive preferential...
View ArticleDEQ extends public comment period on draft coal ash rules
The public has extra time to comment on the state’s draft rules governing the design, construction and operation of coal ash landfills. The NC Department of Environmental Quality announced today that...
View ArticleGroundwater wells near Marshall, Cliffside coal ash basins have a thallium...
This post has been updated with radium results at the Marshall plant. Elevated levels of thallium, a cancer-causing chemical element often found in coal combustion residuals, was detected in more than...
View ArticleBeautiful but potentially lethal, beryllium found in groundwater at Allen plant
Last week, Policy Watch published a story about groundwater contamination in wells around four of Duke Energy’s coal ash ponds. We covered Marshall and Cliffside on Monday; today, we look at the...
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