House lawmakers add money to GenX bill

On the eve of debating a measure responding to GenX contamination in the Cape Fear area, House lawmakers are seeking to add $1.3M for additional testing and permitting staff at the state Department of Environmental Quality.

Posted 12:15 a.m. Jan 10, 2018 — Updated 2:19 a.m. Jan 10, 2018

Laura Leslie

RALEIGH, N.C. — On the eve of debating a measure responding to GenX contamination in the Cape Fear River, House lawmakers are seeking to add $1.3 million for additional testing and permitting staff at the state Department of Environmental Quality.

House Bill 189 closely follows the recommendations approved last week by the House Select Committee on River Quality, with the exception of the additional funding. It directs DEQ to undertake further study of the problem in five subject areas.

According to the bill summary provided by legislative staff, the $1,325,000 in funding for the bill is taken mostly from a line item in the 2017 budget that earmarked $1.3 million for a pilot program to test the use of algaecide in Jordan Lake. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said last month it would not approve the algaecide pilot program.

Another $25,000 or so would be redirected from unused rural economic development funds allocated to the Department of Commerce.

The sponsor of the measure, Rep. Ted Davis, R-New Hanover, has said for weeks he was uncertain whether the proposal would include additional funding for DEQ. But a series of committee hearings highlighted a backlog for permits at the agency, including the permit that allowed GenX's maker Chemours to discharge the unregulated chemical from its Bladen County plant into the Cape Fear River. That permit expired in November 2016. Chemours' renewal application, which was filed on time, was still in the review process a year later.

In October, lawmakers overrode Gov. Roy Cooper's veto to allocate $435,000 to local regulators and university researchers monitoring GenX and other emerging contaminants, but earmarked no funding for DEQ.

The proposal is expected to move through the House's Environment and Appropriations committees Wednesday afternoon and could reach the House floor for a vote on Thursday. However, it's not clear as of Tuesday night whether the Senate has agreed to the additional funding or, in fact, to any of the proposals in the bill.

Suggest A Correction