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14:00

NEWS STORY

 * Environment
 * Legislature


HOUSE, SENATE OVERRIDE GOVERNOR’S VETO OF FARM ACT, JEOPARDIZING 2.5 MILLION
ACRES OF NC WETLANDS

BY: LISA SORG - JUNE 27, 2023 2:00 PM



A swamp in Hoke County (Photo: Lisa Sorg)

This story was originally posted June 23; it was updated June 27 at 2:45 p.m.,
after the House overrode the governor’s veto.

The House overrode Gov. Cooper’s veto of the Farm Act today, stripping 2.5
million acres of wetlands — an area one and half times larger than the state of
Delaware — of environmental protection. The vote was 78-40 in favor of the
override.

State Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Guilford County Democrat who has served in the
legislature nearly 20 years, urged her House colleagues to sustain the
governor’s veto. She called the measure “the most destructive environmental bill
since I was elected in 2004.”

State Rep. Abe Jones, a Democrat from Wake County, said the bill could be “much,
much, much better if we extracted all the junk” — meaning the wetlands
provision.

The Senate overrode the governor’s veto Monday by a 29-17 margin, with the votes
landing along party lines.

Gov. Cooper vetoed Senate Bill 582 last week because it would strip legal
protections from half the state’s wetlands.

The removal of these protections would mean “more severe flooding for homes,
roads and businesses, and dirtier water for our people, especially in eastern
North Carolina,” his veto message read. “The General Assembly has allocated tens
of millions of dollars to protect the state from flooding, and my administration
is working to stop pollution, like PFAS and other contaminants. This bill
reverses our progress and leaves the state vulnerable without vital flood
mitigation and water purification tools.”

Roughly 2.5 million acres of wetlands composing 7% of North Carolina’s land mass
could lose environmental protection, the fallout of a one-two punch by state
lawmakers and the U.S. Supreme Court.

The figures are based on preliminary estimates by the NC Department of
Environmental Quality, which show that another 367,000 acres are at moderate
risk of losing protection. That means the wetlands could be filled in, paved and
polluted without penalty.

Grady McCallie, policy director for the NC Conservation Network, issued a
statement about the governor’s veto:
“Gov. Cooper’s rejection of S582 — a bill that would strip protection from at
least half of North Carolina’s wetlands — is a sensible use of his veto power.
Losing these wetlands would worsen future floods, threaten drinking water, and
put lives and property in harm’s way. We urge members of the NC General Assembly
to take the responsible course and let the veto stand.”

In the late 1990s, DEQ inventoried all wetlands in North Carolina larger than
one acre. At the time, the project was one of the largest of its kind ever
undertaken by any state. The agency catalogued 4.3 million acres of wetlands,
although that number does not include wetlands less than an acre, those that no
longer exist, and others that might have already lost protection under state
law.

(View the public wetlands on a DEQ map.)

Wetlands lost their first layer of Clean Water Act protections last month, when
the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that the law does not apply to
“isolated wetlands.” These wetlands aren’t located next to other wetlands,
ponds, lakes, streams and waterways. For example, wetlands that are connected by
groundwater to a regulated lakes or stream are no longer be protected. Nor are
wetlands physically separated from those waters by human-made dikes or barriers.

The court’s ruling overturned an EPA rule finalized under President Obama that
recognized the ecological value of isolated wetlands in providing flood control
and wildlife habitat. It did not, contrary to the rule’s opponents, apply to
most farm ditches, farm ponds, and stormwater retention areas in housing
developments.

This chart shows the type of wetlands in North Carolina at the greatest risk of
losing environmental protection. Data: NC DEQ



The second line of defense fell with the state legislature’s passage on June 13
of Senate Bill 582, also known as the Farm Act. It prohibits the state from
regulating wetlands that lost protection under the Supreme Court ruling.

“We call on the legislature to sustain Governor Cooper’s veto of SB582 – The
Farm Act. This bill shouldn’t have passed in the first place. It allows for mass
destruction of our wetlands – millions of acres representing half of those
currently protected. The real beneficiaries of this legislation are builders and
developers; nobody who calls themselves a friend of the environment, clean air,
or clean water can consider this anything other than a catastrophic rollback of
protections fought for over the past 50 years,” wrote Dan Crawford, director of
governmental affairs for the League of Conservation Voters. “This bill is bad
for clean water, bad for flood and storm mitigation, bad for the environment,
bad for taxpayers, and bad for North Carolina.

An analysis by the Southern Environmental Law Center found that in the Neuse and
Cape Fear River basins alone, about 900,000 acres of wetlands are now at risk of
pollution and destruction.

“Protecting wetlands protects our communities,” said Geoff Gisler, program
director at the SELC. “By eliminating laws that have been in place for years,
the legislature puts wetlands and our communities in harm’s way. This bill is
the single most destructive action taken in North Carolina in decades—the
legislature has abandoned our great natural resources, the rivers we depend on,
and communities across the state.”

The red dots represent the locations of public wetlands. (Map: DEQ)



Wetlands are key natural solution to reducing the harm from climate change. They
reduce flooding by absorbing and containing excess water; a one-acre wetland can
hold about a million gallons. Wetlands also filter pollutants. They store carbon
in the soil, preventing it from being released as carbon dioxide, a primary
greenhouse gas and driver of climate change, into the atmosphere. And they
provide valuable habitat and feeding areas for aquatic life, birds and animals.

Sen. Brent Jackson, a primary sponsor of the Farm Act, issued a statement
rebutting the governor’s veto:

Salamanders lay eggs in wetlands, a key habitat for aquatic life. (Photo: Lisa
Sorg)



“His objection fails to consider our obligation to comply with federal law and
regulations,” the statement reads in part. “The 2023 Farm Act ensures North
Carolina is in compliance with federal laws.”

The legislature previously passed laws forbidding North Carolina from enacting
more stringent rules and regulations than the federal government. This is known
as the Hardin amendment.

Before the Farm Act’s passage this year, Republican state lawmakers had tried
several times to roll back protections for isolated wetlands. In 2021, a version
of the House budget stripped those protections, but the language was removed. In
2017, under Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, the legislature appropriated $250,000
to the state Department of Agriculture to sue the federal government, arguing
the EPA’s wetlands and stream protections were too stringent.

On the Democratic side, while the legislature was assailing the Clean Water Act,
the Cooper administration was trying to defend it. In 2020 DEQ and Attorney
General Josh Stein sued the Trump administration over its defanging of the Clean
Water Act.

Read previous NC Newsline stories about wetlands, streams and the definition of
“Waters of the United States.”

Click on the You Tube video to hear Rep. Pricey Harrison discuss wetlands
protections in her floor remarks about the Farm Act earlier this month.




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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide
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LISA SORG

Assistant Editor and Environmental Reporter Lisa Sorg helps manage newsroom
operations while covering the environment, climate change, agriculture and
energy.

MORE FROM AUTHOR

RELATED NEWS

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U.S. Supreme Court rejects Biden wetlands regulation, ruling… by Jacob Fischler
5/25/2023
Colonial Pipeline contamination spreading in Huntersville;… by Lisa Sorg
10/25/2022




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© NC Newsline, 2023

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Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons licence
CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide
proper attribution and link to our web site.

DEIJ Policy | Ethics Policy | Privacy Policy
© NC Newsline, 2023
1
X



HOUSE, SENATE OVERRIDE GOVERNOR’S VETO OF FARM ACT, JEOPARDIZING 2.5 MILLION
ACRES OF NC WETLANDS

by Lisa Sorg, NC Newsline
June 27, 2023

<h1>House, Senate override governor’s veto of Farm Act, jeopardizing 2.5 million
acres of NC wetlands</h1> <p>by Lisa Sorg, <a href="https://ncnewsline.com">NC
Newsline</a> <br />June 27, 2023</p> <p>This story was originally posted June
23; it was updated June 27 at 2:45 p.m., after the House overrode the governor’s
veto.</p> <p>The House overrode Gov. Cooper’s veto of the Farm Act today,
stripping 2.5 million acres of wetlands — an area one and half times larger than
the state of Delaware — of environmental protection. The vote was 78-40 in favor
of the override.</p> <p>State Rep. Pricey Harrison, a Guilford County Democrat
who has served in the legislature nearly 20 years, urged her House colleagues to
sustain the governor’s veto. She called the measure “the most destructive
environmental bill since I was elected in 2004.”</p> <p>State Rep. Abe Jones, a
Democrat from Wake County, said the bill could be “much, much, much better if we
extracted all the junk” — meaning the wetlands provision.</p> <p>The Senate
overrode the governor’s veto Monday by a 29-17 margin, with the votes landing
along party lines.</p> <p>Gov. Cooper<a
href="https://webservices.ncleg.gov/ViewBillDocument/2023/6479/0/S582-BILL-NBC-11017">
vetoed Senate Bill 582</a> last week because it would strip legal protections
from half the state’s wetlands.</p> <p>The removal of these protections would
mean “more severe flooding for homes, roads and businesses, and dirtier water
for our people, especially in eastern North Carolina,” his veto message read.
“The General Assembly has allocated tens of millions of dollars to protect the
state from flooding, and my administration is working to stop pollution, like
PFAS and other contaminants. This bill reverses our progress and leaves the
state vulnerable without vital flood mitigation and water purification
tools.”</p> <p>Roughly 2.5 million acres of wetlands composing 7% of North
Carolina’s land mass could lose environmental protection, the fallout of a
one-two punch by state lawmakers and the U.S. Supreme Court.</p> <p>The figures
are based on preliminary estimates by the NC Department of Environmental
Quality, which show that another 367,000 acres are at moderate risk of losing
protection. That means the wetlands could be filled in, <a
href="https://ncnewsline.com/2018/12/14/trump-administration-proposal-likely-to-have-devastating-impact-on-nc-wetlands/">paved
and polluted without penalty</a>.</p> <p>Grady McCallie, policy director for the
NC Conservation Network, issued a statement about the governor’s veto:<br />
“Gov. Cooper’s rejection of S582 — a bill that would strip protection from at
least half of North Carolina’s wetlands — is a sensible use of his veto power.
Losing these wetlands would worsen future floods, threaten drinking water, and
put lives and property in harm’s way. We urge members of the NC General Assembly
to take the responsible course and let the veto stand.”</p> <p>In the late
1990s, DEQ inventoried all wetlands in North Carolina larger than one acre. At
the time, the project was one of the largest of its kind ever undertaken by any
state. The agency catalogued 4.3 million acres of wetlands, although that number
does not include wetlands less than an acre, those that no longer exist, and
others that might have already lost protection under state law.</p> <p>(View
the<a href="https://www.ncwetlands.org/interactive-map/"> public wetlands on a
DEQ map</a>.)</p> <p>Wetlands lost their first layer of Clean Water Act
protections last month, when the <a
href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/21-454_4g15.pdf">U.S. Supreme
Court ruled</a> in a 5-4 decision that the law does not apply to “isolated
wetlands.” These wetlands aren’t located next to other wetlands, ponds, lakes,
streams and waterways. For example, wetlands that are connected by groundwater
to a regulated lakes or stream are no longer be protected. Nor are wetlands
physically separated from those waters by human-made dikes or barriers.</p>
<p>The court’s ruling overturned an EPA rule finalized under President Obama
that <a
href="https://ncnewsline.com/2019/09/23/how-a-trump-attack-on-the-federal-waters-of-the-united-states-rule-imperils-the-waters-of-north-carolina/">recognized
the ecological value o</a>f isolated wetlands in providing flood control and
wildlife habitat. It did not, contrary to the rule’s opponents, apply to most
farm ditches, farm ponds, and stormwater retention areas in housing
developments.</p> <figure><a
href="https://ncnewsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/image002.jpg"></a><i></i>
<em>This chart shows the type of wetlands in North Carolina at the greatest risk
of losing environmental protection. Data: NC DEQ</em></p></figure> <p>The second
line of defense fell with the state legislature’s passage on June 13 of Senate
Bill 582, also known as the Farm Act. It prohibits the state from regulating
wetlands that lost protection under the Supreme Court ruling.</p> <p>“We call on
the legislature to sustain Governor Cooper’s veto of SB582 – The Farm Act. This
bill shouldn’t have passed in the first place. It allows for mass destruction of
our wetlands – millions of acres representing half of those currently protected.
The real beneficiaries of this legislation are builders and developers; nobody
who calls themselves a friend of the environment, clean air, or clean water can
consider this anything other than a catastrophic rollback of protections fought
for over the past 50 years,” wrote Dan Crawford, director of governmental
affairs for the League of Conservation Voters. “This bill is bad for clean
water, bad for flood and storm mitigation, bad for the environment, bad for
taxpayers, and bad for North Carolina.</p> <p>An analysis by the Southern
Environmental Law Center found that in the Neuse and Cape Fear River basins
alone, about 900,000 acres of wetlands are now at risk of pollution and
destruction.</p> <p>“Protecting wetlands protects our communities,” said Geoff
Gisler, program director at the SELC. “By eliminating laws that have been in
place for years, the legislature puts wetlands and our communities in harm’s
way. This bill is the single most destructive action taken in North Carolina in
decades—the legislature has abandoned our great natural resources, the rivers we
depend on, and communities across the state.”</p> <figure><a
href="https://ncnewsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Screenshot-2023-06-23-at-12.07.00-PM.png"></a><i></i>
The red dots represent the locations of public wetlands. (Map: DEQ)</p></figure>
<p>Wetlands are key natural solution to reducing the harm from climate change.
They reduce flooding by absorbing and containing excess water; a one-acre
wetland can hold about a million gallons. Wetlands also filter pollutants. <a
href="https://eos.org/editors-vox/managing-wetlands-to-improve-carbon-sequestration">They
store carbon in the soil</a>, preventing it from being released as carbon
dioxide, a primary greenhouse gas and driver of climate change, into the
atmosphere. And they provide valuable habitat and feeding areas for aquatic
life, birds and animals.</p> <p>Sen. Brent Jackson, a primary sponsor of the
Farm Act, issued a statement rebutting the governor’s veto:</p> <figure><a
href="https://ncnewsline.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/salamander-eggs.jpeg"></a><i></i>
Salamanders lay eggs in wetlands, a key habitat for aquatic life. (Photo: Lisa
Sorg)</p></figure> <p>“His objection fails to consider our obligation to comply
with federal law and regulations,” the statement reads in part. “The 2023 Farm
Act ensures North Carolina is in compliance with federal laws.”</p> <p>The
legislature previously passed laws forbidding North Carolina from enacting more
stringent rules and regulations than the federal government. This is known as
the Hardin amendment.</p> <p>Before the Farm Act’s passage this year, Republican
state lawmakers had tried several times to roll back protections for isolated
wetlands. In 2021, a version of the House budget stripped those protections, but
the<a
href="https://ncnewsline.com/briefs/house-environmental-budget-appropriates-money-for-flood-control-then-rolls-back-flood-control-protections/">
language was removed</a>. In 2017, under Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, the
legislature appropriated <a
href="https://ncnewsline.com/briefs/house-reallocates-250k-rural-grant-program-protect-rural-areas-epa/">$250,000
to the state Department of Agriculture</a> to sue the federal government,
arguing the EPA’s wetlands and stream protections were too stringent.</p> <p>On
the Democratic side, while the legislature was assailing the Clean Water Act,
the Cooper administration was trying to defend it. In 2020 DEQ and Attorney
General Josh Stein<a
href="https://ncnewsline.com/briefs/deq-nc-attorney-general-sue-trump-administration-over-clean-water-act-rollbacks/">
sued the Trump administration</a> over its defanging of the Clean Water Act.</p>
<p><a href="https://ncnewsline.com/?s=WOTUS">Read previous NC Newsline
stories</a> about wetlands, streams and the definition of “Waters of the United
States.”</p> <p><em>Click on the You Tube video to hear Rep. Pricey Harrison
discuss wetlands protections in her floor remarks about the Farm Act earlier
this month.</em></p> <p><iframe title="Rep.Pricey Harrison on wetland
protections" width="500" height="375"
src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kWgGYIF-epA?feature=oembed" frameborder="0"
allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope;
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{float:none;width:100%;max-width:100%;} }</style> <p><a
href="https://ncnewsline.com">NC Newsline</a> is part of States Newsroom, a
network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a
501c(3) public charity. NC Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact
Editor Rob Schofield for questions: <a
href="mailto:info@ncnewsline.com">info@ncnewsline.com</a>. Follow NC Newsline on
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