"The unprecedented move highlights regulatory tensions between Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, and an environmental rule-making commission controlled by appointees of Republican state legislative leaders."
"RALEIGH, N.C. — The Southern Environmental Law Center is petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency to take over the state’s water permitting authority, an unprecedented move for North Carolina.
The law firm is arguing that political interference has prevented the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) from enforcing the Clean Water Act.
“The people of North Carolina deserve clean water, yet the state legislature is preventing the state from limiting toxic pollution of our waterways and drinking water,” said Mary Maclean Asbill, director of the North Carolina offices at the Southern Environmental Law Center, in a prepared statement. “Legislative-induced failure is not an option when it comes to protecting North Carolina’s water and communities, so we are asking the Environmental Protection Agency to step in.”
SELC is representing four advocacy groups: the Haw River Assembly, the Environmental Justice Community Network, MountainTrue and Cape Fear River Watch."
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