Commission Proceedings 



Members of the working group then explained their positions on the proposed legislation. 

 Preston Howard, representing the Manufacturers and Chemical Industry Council, stated 

 his strong support for the legislation. He also outlined what he viewed as the primary 

 issues in dispute in the working group, including the issue of whether or not EEAs should 

 require the exceedence of statutory and regulatory permit requirements. Mr. Howard said 

 he believed EEAs should not require the exceedence of standard permit requirements. 



Daniel F. McLawhom, General Counsel for DENR, said DENR strongly opposed the 

 proposal and said it may be unconstitutional. Mr. McLawhom said the proposal would 

 give the Secretary too much power to bypass the rules made by the Environmental 

 Management Commission and laws enacted by the General Assembly. David Knight, 

 representing the Sierra Club and other environmental advocacy organizations, also 

 strongly urged the ERC not to recommend the proposal in its current form. 



In the ensuing discussion, some ERC members voiced reservations about addressing this 

 controversial issue during the 1999 Regular Session, given the absence of consensus 

 among the stakeholders and the complicated and far-reaching nature of the proposal. 

 Others said they thought the proposal offered the opportunity for a more cooperative 

 method of achieving environmental compliance. Several members said the substantive 

 committees that would review the proposal could be trusted not to give it a favorable 

 report until its problematic features had been corrected. The ERC then voted to 

 recommend the proposal to the General Assembly. 



Leaking petroleum underground storage tanks - exemption from land-use restrictions 

 George F. Givens, Commission Counsel, explained a legislative proposal that would 

 exempt sites contaminated by leaking petroleum underground storage tanks (USTs) from 

 the land-use restrictions and deed recordation requirements imposed by SL 1999-198 on 

 all contaminated sites remediated to risk-based, rather than pristine, standards. Mr. 

 Givens noted that SL 1999-198 was not intended to apply to UST sites, and that a 

 stakeholder working group had been attempting to come to a consensus on how to 

 address this unintended consequence. He said the working group had not yet reached an 

 agreement. 



Representatives from the stakeholder working group then spoke on the proposal. Robin 

 W. Smith, Assistant Secretary for Environmental Protection in DENR, said DENR had 

 not anticipated that SL 1999-198 would affect the UST program, but generally supported 

 the imposition of land-use restrictions and deed recordation requirements on sites that had 

 undergone risk-based cleanups. Ms. Smith also said DENR was willing to continue 

 discussions with representatives of the petroleum marketers to find a compromise. Nat 

 Mund, representing the Conservation Council of North Carolina and other environmental 

 advocacy groups, said he opposed the exemption but was also willing to try to reach a 

 compromise. Doug Howey, representing the Petroleiun Marketers Association, spoke in 

 support of the exemption. 



Concerns were raised by some members that the proposed exemption could leave 

 prospective property purchasers without sufficient warning of remaining contamination 



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