Gov. Cooper to Veto House Bill 56 | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Press Release:

    RALEIGH: Today, Gov. Cooper will veto House Bill 56, An Act to Amend Various Environmental Laws. Gov. Cooper shared the following veto message:

  • "Clean water is critical for our health and our economy and this legislation fails to appropriate any needed funds to the departments in state government charged with setting standards and enforcing laws to prevent illegal chemical discharges into rivers used for drinking water. In addition, it weakens protections from river pollution and landfills and repeals a local plastic bag ban supported by local governments and businesses that was passed to protect the environment."

    Gov. Cooper shared additional thoughts on House Bill 56 in a Medium post:

  • "Clean drinking water is vital to every person and community in North Carolina and stopping threats to our water safety is a top priority for state government.
  • The discovery of the chemical GenX in the Cape Fear River has emphasized that the threat posed by emerging, unregulated compounds will require resources to protect water across the state.
  • When it comes to drinking water, there is no room for political posturing or hollow solutions. We must keep our eye on the ball to monitor our waterways and ensure that all North Carolinians can have full confidence in the water they drink.
  • The legislation passed by the General Assembly, House Bill 56, provides no resources to the state agencies charged with protecting drinking water and preventing illegal chemicals from being discharged into our rivers. It gives the impression of action while allowing the long-term problem to fester. And it unnecessarily rolls back other environmental protections for landfills, river basins, and our beaches.
  • This cynical legislation fails to address the concerns of families in the Cape Fear region and does nothing to protect drinking water statewide going forward.
  • That is why I am vetoing it.
  • In recent years, state regulators have suffered repeated budget cuts that have left resources stretched thin - nearly 70 positions have been cut from the water quality department of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) alone since 2013. These cuts are particularly glaring when comparing North Carolina to other states.
  • North Carolina has nine permit writers for 220 water discharge facilities. Meanwhile, South Carolina has almost twice as many officials overseeing far fewer facilities, as does Kentucky.
  • These cuts have forced North Carolina to do more with less, straining state officials' workload. Still, following reports of GenX in the Cape Fear River, state officials moved swiftly.
  • DEQ successfully took action to stop Chemours from discharging GenX and two additional compounds that were going into the river. DHHS health experts worked with the EPA and DEQ to monitor GenX levels in the Cape Fear and ensure that families could continue to drink their water.
  • As part of the response on GenX, DEQ and DHHS requested $2.6 million to put more experts on the ground - hiring engineers, monitors, permit writers and scientists. Unfortunately, HB 56 offers no support for these agencies. Instead this legislation diverts needed resources to the local utility and UNC-Wilmington and eliminates a local plastic bag ban supported by local governments and businesses that was passed to protect the environment in the Outer Banks.
  • The urgent need to protect our state's drinking water is not an issue that will soon go away. There are no short cuts, and the presence of GenX in groundwater in Fayetteville makes clear that the solution cannot be limited to Wilmington.
  • This legislation doesn't fix the problem, and that is why I'm vetoing it. I urge the legislature to take meaningful action to ensure the long-term safety of drinking water in North Carolina."

    Click here to read the post on Governor Cooper's Medium page.

  • Contact: Ford Porter
  •     govpress@nc.gov

Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




New Study a Wake-Up Call for Opponents of Later Start Times Press Releases: Elected office holders, Op-Ed & Politics, Bloodless Warfare: Politics Judges Detail Reasons for Rejecting Special N.C. Legislative Elections


HbAD0

Latest Bloodless Warfare: Politics

Glenn Beck: 'When the United States government can come after individuals, that's when you know our republic is crumbling.'
Washington, D.C. — Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D. issued the following statement on the latest continuing resolution:
WASHINGTON – Today, as Joe Biden continues his Bankrupting America Tour in North Carolina, Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel released the following statement:
Former President Donald Trump dominated the North Dakota Republican Caucus on Monday as he continues to inch closer to officially securing the party’s presidential nomination.
RALEIGH: Today, Governor Cooper visited a bus facility in Durham to highlight the recent significant federal funding for electric school buses in North Carolina.
The White House unveiled a new term on Thursday for the millions of illegal aliens who have flooded into the U.S. under President Joe Biden, which came just shortly before Biden took a trip to the border for a photo op at a spot that has had few illegal aliens cross.
Washington, D.C. — Congressman Greg Murphy, M.D. issued the following statement after voting in favor of S.J. Res. 38, to overturn the Federal Highway Administration’s rule relating to ‘Waiver of Buy America Requirements for Electric Vehicle Chargers.’
House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green (R-TN) announced this week that he is reversing his decision to retire after receiving calls from former President Donald Trump and others.
Former President Donald Trump slammed President Joe Biden on Saturday after Biden apologized for calling the illegal alien who allegedly murdered a young woman in Georgia an “illegal” during his recent State of the Union speech.

HbAD1

RALEIGH: Lynddahl Telecom America Inc. (LTA), a duct solutions company for fiber optics installations, will create 54 new jobs in Gaston County, Governor Cooper announced today.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said this week that the media and Democrat politicians are doing everything they can to hide the fact that the man who is accused of murdering a Georgia college student last week is an illegal alien
Illegal immigrants 'effectively left in legal limbo without any way to pursue asylum,' says non-partisan data analytics group
Former President Donald Trump called on 81-year-old President Joe Biden to take a cognitive exam Thursday morning, just hours after the commander-in-chief’s doctor said he was “fit to serve” following his annual physical exam.
RALEIGH: Today, Governor Cooper joined Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to highlight the positive impacts of Medicaid expansion in North Carolina and record Affordable Care Act enrollment numbers.
Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) tore into President Joe Biden during an interview over the weekend for creating the catastrophe on the U.S. southern border.
Speaking at the White House on Wednesday on his “actions to fight crime and make our communities safer,” President Joe Biden boasted, “we beat the NRA,” adding, “We’re going to finish the job.”

HbAD2

 
Back to Top