Jordan Lake Rules Update

From our friends at TREBIC:

Please take just a minute to email the members of House Judiciary Committee 1 to urge them to pass HB 239.  Then share this with your colleagues and ask them to do the same.  You can cut and paste this group of addresses:

'Deborah.Ross@ncleg.net'; 'Melanie.Goodwin@ncleg.net'; 'Paul.Stam@ncleg.net'; 'Bonner.Stiller@ncleg.net'; 'Martha.Alexander@ncleg.net'; 'John.Blust@ncleg.net'; 'Angela.Bryant@ncleg.net'; 'Larry.Hall@ncleg.net'; 'Pricey.Harrison@ncleg.net'; 'Veria.Insko@ncleg.net'; 'Grier.Martin@ncleg.net'; 'Annie.Mobley@ncleg.net'; 'Wil.Neumann@ncleg.net'; 'Sarah.Stevens@ncleg.net'; 'Roger.West@ncleg.net'

In addition, you can call Reps. John Blust (919-733-5781) and Pricey Harrison (919-733-5771) and voice your support for HB 239.



Here’s what my email said:

“On behalf of roughly 4000 members (and their employees and customers!) of the real estate and building industry in Guilford and Alamance County, I urge you to pass HB 239 at HJ1 Committee meeting on Monday.  The bill is not perfect yet, but we have made great progress resolving the untenable requirements of the Jordan Lake Rules as passed by the EMC.   The bill must make crossover for us to continue this good work that will benefit all North Carolinians as we set new precedent in stormwater management rules for the state.  Thank you for your help.”

Jordan Lake Rules is a VERY controversial issue, and meeting crossover deadline is by no means a done deal.  Contacting HJ1 right away is critical.

What’s going on and where we are:

We have been working feverishly in the state House alongside the local governments with the bill sponsors Representatives Lucy Allen and Pryor Gibson, DENR and now the environmental community.  We’re working on bill language that fixes the problems with the Rules as passed by the Environmental Management Commission.  We’re have under the gun to meet “crossover” deadline next Thursday, May 14th – the date by which bills introduced in one chamber must be passed in order to be sent to the other chamber for further consideration.  If we don’t make crossover, we’re stuck with the rules as passed by the Environmental Management Commission.  House Environment Committee passed new language on Tuesday, even though we’re not all satisfied.  Now House J1 Committee must hear and pass language on Monday so that the full House can vote on it 2 separate times next week.  This will keep the bill alive so we can continue working on it in the Senate, where we’ll have somewhere between 1 and 3 months to finish it, then get it to “conference” where the House version and the final Senate version will be reconciled for final votes by both chambers.

Here’s the substance of what changes we’re discussion - As you know, we are participating in an informal  coalition with local governments to seek changes to the rules in the state legislature.  Three bills have been introduced, all of which simply disapprove all 13 rules, but “Total Disapproval” bills virtually never make it to a vote.  Instead, “substitute language” representing compromise is the norm.   The main bill we are working with is HB239 by Representatives Lucy Allen and Pryor Gibson, co-chairs of House Environment Committee.  We get new substitute language once or twice a week now, and we’re cautiously optimistic that we will be able to live with most of it in the end, but there will be much work still to be done because some of our “must haves” have yet to be discussed.

Our 3-4 other “must haves” include making the state responsible for the expense of stream buffer rule implementation (like everywhere else in the state) instead of forcing it on to local governments; and changing the new development nutrient “buy-down” limits to match requirements elsewhere in the state, so we don’t have to build more BMPs on site than anywhere else in the state.

Stay tuned, and thanks for the support!

Marlene Sanford

President

TREBIC

Triad Real Estate & Building Industry Coalition