Coal ash bill at standstill

A week after Governor Pat McCrory vetoed Senate Bill 71, legislators and environmentalists remain in conflict over how to best manage coal ash pollution in North Carolina.

Senate Bill 71, which was ratified by congress June 1, 2016, would have reinstated the Coal Ash Commission, which was disbanded earlier this March after debate over the constitutionality of how members may be appointed.

The commission’s presented purpose was prevention of human and environmental health risks, particularly those arising from spills of coal ash such as the huge overflow into the Dan River in February 2014.

The Coal Ash Management Act was ultimately passed in response to the Dan River incident and created the Coal Ash Commission, which was intended to act as supervision over the closure of Duke Energy’s coal ash ponds after several instances of contaminated drinking water.

On June 6, McCrory vetoed Sentate Bill 71. This veto was expected, however, as McCrory had announced his disapproval before the bill was ratified, citing mostly concerns over the timeliness of the bill and its efficacy in environmental protections.

“This legislation is not good for the environment or for the rule of law in North Carolina,” McCrory said.

This veto aligns the governor with environmental advocates, but some believe this is merely coincidental.

“McCrory actually vetoed the bill for entirely different reasons,” said Frank Holleman, attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. “He has been involved in a power struggle for deciding who can make political decisions and appointments.”

“Senate Bill 71 is a bailout for Duke Energy.”

Holleman said if the bill remains vetoed, Duke Energy remains solely responsible for its own coal ash management, which explains Duke Energy’s fervent support of the bill.

“We don’t understand why the Governor would veto a bill that makes North Carolina’s Coal Ash law even stronger,” said Duke Energy in a statement. “Very importantly, it reconstitutes a Commission that will evaluate the safety and cost of any closure plan on customers.”

The main concern for environmental advocates like Holleman pertains to the rumor that Senate may overthrow the veto. It is now more likely leaders in Congress will seek compromise with the Governor, rather than voting again, leading to the institution of a commission which would benefit politicians and not people.

Holleman said this makes the veto a “fix for right now,” but the coal ash commission described in Senate Bill 71 would consist of industry representatives and mainly focus on protecting Duke Energy.

“There is one simple solution and that is what is happening today in South Carolina, which is to get the coal ash out of our waterways and out of the leaking pools near our groundwater supplies and into safe dry-land storage,” Holleman said.

state@dailytarheel.com