Want to thank Senator Tom Apodaca and Rep. Chuck McGrady for their hard work on coal ash legislation! Its unfortunate that we werent able to pass legislation before we left Raleigh today but its anticipated that the General Assembly may return if the differences on this bill and others can be worked out between the chambers. Everyone agreed that the Asheville Duke Energy coal ash site and three other sites are to be classified as the highest priority and is to be fully cleaned up by 2020. The contention is whether other coal ash sites that sit below the water table should be classified as a higher priority. Most likely under either version, they would have been but the House version just made it more clear. The Senate did many things that were an improvement over the House version. Perhaps when legislators have time to reflect and get some much needed rest, we will pass legislation that makes NC the first state in the nation to develop a comprehensive solution to coal ash. Unfortunately some environmental groups would rather fight this out in the courts instead of the General Assembly enacting legislation. They may find a better outcome but they may not, nobody knows. With the right legislation, everyone knows what will happen. Even with legislation, if Duke Energy violates state and federal environmental laws, they still can be held accountable by oversight agencies or by the courts. Rep. McGrady is correct that his position had the full support of the House caucus so nobody should blame Rep. McGrady or the other House conferees. Senator Apodaca has done many positive things for WNC and our state, and Im confident that he and Rep. McGrady will be able to ultimately reach a better solution.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 01:32:47 +0000
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