The Conservation Council of North Carolina has issued an environmental
scorecard for state lawmakers, grading them on their support for
environmental issues.
The bills selected for the scorecard were ones the council members
believed had “the most significant impact on environmental
protection.”
In a press release, the council made it clear that the scorecard
tells only part of the story. It does not tell whether a vote was
difficult due to political party affiliation, or whether a lawmaker
actively worked to build support for a bill (the complete report
can be found at www.ccnccpac.org).
The following bills were included in the scorecard. In parenthesis
is the environmental vote:
Senate:
1) Approve Clean Smokestacks Act. (Yes)
2) Extend moratorium on outdoor advertising along I-40. (Yes)
3) Extend moratorium on construction of large hog farms for two
more years. (Yes)
4) Uphold rules along coastal waterways requiring riparian buffers
and other safeguards while providing farmers some flexibility. (Yes)
5) Allow air quality permit applicants to build regulated facilities
prior to receiving a permit. (No)
6) Give DENR authority to force local water and sewer systems to
interconnect to protect public health or to save money. (Yes)
House:
1) Establish fee for vehicle maintenance and inspection program
enacted in 1999. Passed 69-44. (Yes)
2) Amend motor vehicle inspection program to require inspection
every two years instead of every year. Failed 35-80. (No)
3) Roll back implementation date for introduction of low-sulfur
gasoline in the state. Passed 64-51. (No)
4) Complex legislation that would put all of the state’s groundwater
at risk for contamination. Passed 81-29. (No)
5) An amendment to lessen the impact of HB 1009, the groundwater
bill discussed in Number 4. Failed 32-79. (Yes)
6) Extend moratorium on large hog farms for two more years. Passed
93-19. (Yes)
7) A bill that, in its final form, retained important buffers and
other environmental safeguards that will protect coastal waters.
Passed 89-24. (Yes)
