NC House and Senate override veto of bill that provides funding for GenX treatment

RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — The NC House of Representatives and state Senate overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of House Bill 56, which amends Environmental Laws.

The bill provides funding to local utilities in Southeastern NC to address the discharge of GenX into the Cape Fear River. The legislation appropriates $435,000 to local utilities and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington for water testing and treatment efforts.  It also initiates the development of an electronic filing database for chemical discharge permits to heighten transparency and accountability.

“It’s a shame that families in the lower Cape Fear region had to wait this long for a solution because of the governor’s veto, but we are pleased our Senate colleagues ended the delay and helped make this local solution that will actually help clean our drinking water a reality,” said Senators Michael Lee and Bill Rabon.

“We will continue to hold hearings in the House Select Committee on North Carolina River Quality to investigate the GenX contamination and develop solutions that ensure administrative accountability and clean drinking water for our citizens,” said House Speaker Tim Moore.

The proposal provides $185,000 to the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority to coordinate with the Pender and Brunswick County utilities for ongoing monitoring, withdrawal, treatment and distribution of drinking water from the Cape Fear River.

It also provides $250,000 to UNCW to identify and measure the concentration of the GenX chemical and study what risk the contaminant poses to human health.

Gov. Cooper issued the following statement in response to the veto override.

“When it comes to drinking water, legislators should put politics aside and listen to experts. This legislation does not solve the problem and fails to fund the agencies responsible for protecting drinking water and holding polluters accountable. It also unnecessarily rolls back other environmental protections and overturns a local plastic bag ban protecting beaches and water. Protecting drinking water from emerging contaminants will require a statewide solution and families shouldn’t suffer under the illusion that this legislation starts fixing the problem,” it reads.

The bill is now law.