Morgan Caplan, morgan.caplan@sierraclub.org
Margaret Lillard, margaret.lillard@sierraclub.org
RALEIGH, NC– Today, Gov. Cooper vetoed the Regulatory Reform Act of 2023 known as HB600 that, if passed, would benefit polluting entities at the expense of North Carolina’s water quality and vulnerable communities. Specifically, HB600 would have rubber stamped the Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate project, a plan to extend the MVP mainline for 73 miles into North Carolina, from Virginia.
By expediting the proposed Southgate extension permitting process, HB600 would weaken and restrict the 401 water quality permit, limiting timelines and opportunities for public input. Since the project was first announced in 2018, the proposed MVP Southgate’s 401 permit has been denied 3 times by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), and these new measures tip the scales in favor of MVP Southgate, and future destructive polluting proposals across the state.
The project has seen overwhelming public opposition, as well as pushback from community leaders, grassroots groups, and state and federal legislators from North Carolina, Virginia and Gov. Cooper himself, who submitted a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), opposing a three-year extension request MVP asked for in June.
In addition to accelerating the permitting process for energy distribution projects like the Mountain Valley Pipeline Southgate extension, the bill threatens public water supplies with five provisions that rollback stormwater regulations. Another provision would have allowed industry to undertake animal composting and rendering activities without environmental permits, while preventing NCDEQ from denying or modifying permits in order to comply with the federal civil rights laws, which are intended to protect all North Carolinians from environmental injustice.
In response, Cynthia Satterfield, Sierra Club’s North Carolina Chapter Director, issued the following statement: “We thank Governor Cooper for taking a stand against this legislation which protects industry over people. By vetoing this bill, Governor Cooper demonstrates his continued commitment to a healthy environment and a clean energy economy that will bring jobs while protecting our state’s most vulnerable citizens.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.