Written by Amy Adams
Amy Adams
Appalachian Voice's North Carolina Program Manager, Amy has traveled from the blue waters of the Pamlico to the Blue Ridge Mountains surrounding Boone, and possesses a passion for protecting resources for all North Carolinians.
North Carolina lawmakers put fracking first
Residents across North Carolina are looking to their local government officials to oppose fracking since pleas to decision makers in Raleigh have largely fallen on deaf ears. The town of Walnut Cove, N.C., and Rockingham County recently joined the small but growing list of localities where commissions of elected officials have passed anti-fracking moratoriums.
Gov. McCrory signs “Polluter Protection Act”
Late last Friday afternoon, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed into law H765, the “Regulatory Reform Act of 2015.” This massive reform bill should be called “The Polluter Protection Act” with its plethora of anti-environmental provisions, rollbacks and giveaways to industry. So, just how bad is this bill?
EPA limits coal plants’ toxic discharges. Finally.
Finally, the EPA is taking action on cleaning up toxic wastewater discharges from the nation’s power plants. A new rule out this week updates standards from 32 years ago, which virtually granted license to utilities to discharge unlimited toxins into streams, rivers and lakes.
DENR is a “BOOR”
The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources is acting like–to use its own term–a “bureaucratic object of resistance.” The agency’s creative interpretation of its mission statement is just one reflection of the McCrory administration’s broader hostility to the notion that public servants have a responsibility to protect the natural resources and therefore the public health and welfare of the Tar Heel state.
Duke expands coal ash cleanup, but leaves N.C. communities in danger
Duke Energy announced it plans to excavate coal ash from ponds at three power plant sites in North Carolina, along with two more at its South Carolina facilities. But the fates of several sites that pose significant threats to drinking water and surrounding communities remain unclear.
Who’s casting shadows over N.C. solar?
When it comes to jobs, pollution, and sustainability, energy from the sun beats energy from fracked gas hands down. So why are N.C. legislators and Duke Energy casting shadows over the state’s potential to become #1 in solar?
Danger still looms over the Dan River
In the wake of the Dan River coal ash spill, which spewed 39,000 tons of the toxic waste into the scenic river, much attention has been given to the problems of leaky, unlined coal ash pits across North Carolina. What hasn’t received adequate attention is another menacing threat just upstream from the site of last year’s spill.
A silver lining in EPA’s Coal Ash Rule
The long-awaited, first-ever federal rule for regulating toxic coal ash–the second largest waste stream in the U.S.– was released before the holidays. Appalachian Voices dives into the 700+-page rule and finds, yes, a number of problems, but lo … some bright spots, too.
