On August 28, we joined with the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC), Cape Fear River Watch, MountainTrue and the Environmental Justice Community Action Network, taking decisive action to safeguard North Carolina’s water quality and public health. We are petitioning the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revoke the delegation of Clean Water Act responsibilities from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NC DEQ). You can read the petition HERE.
In recent years, the North Carolina legislature’s supermajority has enacted laws designed to restrict the state environmental agency’s ability to protect water quality for all North Carolinians. This interference has systematically weakened NC DEQ’s capacity to enforce crucial water pollution permits and implement standards to safeguard citizens from toxic chemicals such as PFAS and 1,4-dioxane.
“Our work to hold polluters accountable relies on the foundational protections provided by the Clean Water Act. The unchecked power of the pro-pollution supermajority in our state government has systematically gutted our state agency’s ability to uphold those protections,” said Emily Sutton, Haw Riverkeeper. “We are asking the EPA to step in and safeguard our fundamental rights to access of clean water.”
This petition to de-delegate NC DEQ calls for the restoration of the EPA’s authority to oversee and enforce the Clean Water Act within the state, ensuring that North Carolina’s water resources and public health are not compromised by partisan politics and special interests.
We firmly believe that access to clean and safe water is a fundamental right for all North Carolinians, and we are committed to holding our lawmakers and regulatory agencies accountable for their role in protecting this invaluable resource. Haw River Assembly aims to ensure the well-being of our river and the communities who depend on it.
Key Points:
- We are urging the EPA to revoke Clean Water Act delegation from NC DEQ due to the state legislature’s hindrance in implementing effective water pollution controls.
- Recent laws have severely compromised NC DEQ’s ability to fulfill its mission, endangering North Carolina’s water resources and public health.
- This decisive action seeks to ensure the federal government’s oversight and enforcement of water quality protections within the state.
