The legislature was pretty quiet this week, for a change. House budget subcommittees rolled out the chamber's budget proposal in pieces late in the week, while the Senate continued to work on this session's version of the Farm Act.
S639, the NC Farm Act of 2025, originally looked less damaging for the environment than most years. But it's acquired a new section (Section 19) that limits liability for pesticide companies, which we understand is to help Bayer in its acquisition of Monsanto and the attendant litigation over Roundup herbicide. The Act has been bouncing around in Senate committees; yesterday it was taken off the full Senate calendar and reassigned to the Rules Committee.
The House budget, as revealed so far, calls for funding the environmental trust funds used for clean water and land conservation. It also lacks the language from S261, the "construction work in progress" (CWIP) bill that was embedded in the Senate budget proposal (more on that below).
But it has several problems from our perspective:
- Transfers Department of Environmental Quality staff positions to the Environmental Management Commission. The EMC has been stalling on important rule-making for PFAS.
- Eliminates DEQ's environmental justice program, along with other programs that support marginalized communities.
- Lacks additional funding for Hurricane Helene recovery in western North Carolina, and new funding for floodplain mapping.
Take action:
Nearly 500 people participated in our recent action alert targeting S261, the bill that would pass along CWIP costs to utility customers and allow Duke Energy to drop its interim 2030 carbon emission-cutting goal. Thanks so much to all of you who participated! The pushback is helping to slow the bill's progress in the House.
But it appears to be a Senate pet project, so we have a new action alert that reflects the bill's inclusion in the Senate budget proposal. We're asking House members to be vigilant for S261's language popping up in other legislation throughout the session, and oppose it wherever it appears. Even if you participated in the first action alert, please use our form to contact your state representative again!
A companion alert focuses on S730, Expand CEPS/Nuclear and Hydro, which would add existing nuclear plants and large hydroelectric power plants to the state’s definition of clean energy (Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard, or CEPS). Adding existing plants would mean the state's clean energy targets would be immediately met, which guts CEPS's goal of encouraging new development of clean, renewable energy like wind and solar.
Please add your voice to ours by taking part in both of these alerts, and share them with your friends!