Commission Proceedings 



May 9, 2000 



Fraud in tank-tightness testing 



Loy Ingold, Special Agent for the Diversion and Environmental Crimes Unit of the State 

 Bureau of Investigation in the Department of Justice, reported to the ERC on indictments 

 and ongoing investigations of potential fraud in petroleum underground storage tank 

 tightness testing. He said there appeared to have been fraud in 1500 tests done between 

 1995 and 1997 in four states, including North Carolina. In response to questions from 

 ERC members, Mr. Ingold verified that no certification is required for tank tightness 

 testers. 



Million Acres Initiative 



William E. Holman, Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, presented a 

 legislative proposal to codify Governor Hunt's goal of preserving one million acres of 

 open space by the year 2010. He said DENR would be the lead agency in coordinating 

 preservation efforts, but local governments would determine the priorities for open space 

 protection in their jurisdictions. ERC members questioned how the initiative would be 

 funded and expressed reservations about the lack of detail in the plan, but voted to 

 recommend the proposal to the General Assembly. 



Air quality (continued from April 25, 2000) 



Secretary Holman also presented proposed legislation to modify the technology and fees 



required under the State's automobile emissions inspection program. ERC members 



raised questions about the level of the fee and the allocation of the proceeds from the fee, 



and several members said the proposal would need to be flirther refined before it would 



be ready for enactment. The ERC then voted to recommend the proposal to the General 



Assembly. 



Environmental Excellence Act 



George F. Givens, Commission Counsel, introduced proposed legislation on 

 "environmental excellence program agreements" (EEPAs) by summarizing the work of 

 the Environmental Excellence Act Working Group. The working group, which has been 

 meeting since the 1999 Session of the 1999 General Assembly, is comprised of 

 representatives from DENR, regulated industries, and envfronmental advocates. The 

 working group attempted to reach a consensus on proposed legislation to give the 

 Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources (Secretary) the authority to enter into 

 EEPAs with interested parties as an alternative to requiring compliance with statutory and 

 regulatory permit requirements. Under an EEPA, the Secretary would agree to replace 

 the permit requirements with an individually tailored agreement designed to give a party 

 the flexibility to try alternative approaches to achieve minimum compliance with 

 environmental standards at a lower cost, achieve greater than minimum compliance, or 

 both. Mr. Givens explained that the working group had failed to reach consensus and 

 noted that the proposal presented to the ERC for its recommendation was the draft 

 originally proposed by representatives of regulated industries. 



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