NC Lawmakers Float Easing Duke Energy's Coal Ash Cleanup
North Carolina legislators are moving to change laws that direct Duke Energy to excavate and move toxic coal ash from unlined pits near rivers by 2024.
A state Senate committee on Tuesday unveiled quickly advanced legislation allowing lower-cost alternatives at half of Duke Energy's 14 coal plants. The others must be excavated.
The changes would allow Duke Energy to leave the ash in place if the nation's largest electricity company supplies drinking water to neighbors who fear their water wells are polluted by arsenic, chromium and other hazardous elements. The company also must shore up questionable dams around some pits.
House Attempts To Improve Whitewater Facility Regulations
The death of an Ohio teenager who contracted an infection after visiting the U.S. National Whitewater Center in Charlotte has led the North Carolina House to back legislation a lawmaker says will make it easier for health officials to regulate such centers.
The House gave unanimous initial approval Tuesday to the measure, which also directs that drinking water from public schools with construction permits before 1987 be tested for lead.
An amendment from Rep. William Brawley of Matthews makes clear "water recreation attractions" are regulated along with public swimming pools. It also directs the state public health commission to create rules overseeing artificial whitewater facilities with recirculating water that test for substances.
Clock Ticking, But Tweaks In Play For HB2
The window is small and the strategy tricky, but GOP legislative leaders in North Carolina say there's a chance to change the state law that sparked a clash over transgender rights nationally.
The law limits anti-discrimination rules that protect LGBT people. It also directs transgender people to use public restrooms corresponding with the sex on their birth certificates. Changes to that aren't on the table.
Talks instead center on the part preventing workers from suing for employment discrimination in state court using a state law. No one has promised that even minor alterations will be made. GOP legislators have said they want to adjourn before or just after July 4.
Senate Gives Its Final OK For 3 Constitutional Amendments
Legislation proposing three constitutional amendments on North Carolina's fall ballot has cleared the North Carolina Senate.
The Senate gave its final approval Tuesday to the measure, which would let voters decide whether to alter the state constitution in several ways. The bill received tentative approval Monday.
One amendment would cap the state's individual income tax rate at 5.5 percent and mandate lawmakers set aside money annually for emergencies. A second would reinforce limits on state and local government taking private property through eminent domain for "public use" only. The third would protect the right of people to hunt and fish.
Wildlife Commission Begins Campaign To Stem Waterway Safety
The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is rejoining its partners for their annual Fourth of July water safety campaign.
Starting Friday, the agencies will resume their "On the Road, On the Water, Don't Drink and Drive" campaign. Officers will increase safety enforcement on the waterways, conduct sobriety checkpoints and help spread public awareness to deter impaired operation of vehicles and vessels across the state.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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