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House works to remove liability cap for hazardous spills off our coast

Submitted by ncsierraclub on Thu, 06/10/2010 - 2:47pm

Today, the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee took the first steps to remove a cap that limits the financial liability of corporations responsible for oil or hazardous waste spills off our coast. Currently North Carolina follows the federal cap which is placed at the cost of clean up, plus 75 million. The main provision of Senate Bill 836 completely removes the State's tie to the federal liability cap.

Over the last few weeks there has been a lot of debate at the national level on whether or not the cap should be raised to 10 billion. Although the US Senate has not yet acted, its great to see the General Assembly moving quickly to insure North Carolina is capable of handling a potential spill.

The bill also requires that the Coastal Resources Commission review existing laws and regulations pertaining to offshore energy exploration and production and make recommendations to the Environmental Review Commission before October of 2011. Along those same lines the bill also directs the Department of Public Safety to review and update the State's oil spill contingency plan.

The bill now moves to Judiciary 1 for its consideration.

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Comments

Thanks for the info

Submitted by scharrison on Thu, 06/10/2010 - 3:11pm.

And thanks for keeping an eye on environment-related government activity. The Sierra Club rocks. :)

Silly arguments against

Submitted by scharrison on Thu, 06/10/2010 - 3:35pm.

I can't believe this meme is still surviving:

"My only concern is we don't do anything that does prevent offshore exploration because we won't have tourists coming in either if we have $8 a gallon gas," said Rep. Pat McElraft, an Emerald Isle Republican.

Okay, for the fourteenth fricking time: Offshore drilling operations off the coast of our state, even with multiple platforms producing, would (at best) shave a few pennies off the price at the pump, and likely not even that much.

Whatever is produced would be sold on the (global) market, increasing that total volume by a fraction of a percent, if no other production drops at any of the (thousands) of other production sites worldwide.

Either Pat is voicing something he knows to be an untruth (okay, lying) or he's really, really slow.

McElraft is a moron

Submitted by James on Thu, 06/10/2010 - 3:53pm.

I own property at EI and keep up with the locals on a pretty close basis. He's dumb as a stump.

As embarassing as it is,

Submitted by scharrison on Thu, 06/10/2010 - 4:06pm.

Pryor Gibson ain't much swifter. From the same article:

Rep. Pryor Gibson, an Anson County Democrat, noted that the bill could have unforeseen consequences. He made a point of the fact that representatives of the petroleum industry have not weighed in on the issue.

I'll save you the trouble: They won't like it, and will do everything in their power to stop it. Why should they pay when the costs can be dropped on the shoulders of the taxpayers?

Actually,

Submitted by radiogirl on Fri, 06/11/2010 - 2:25am.

Pat McElraft isn't a he. And she's isn't dumb, either, as far as I've ever seen. But she IS concerned that a hastily-drafted bill might mean trouble for existing contracts for propane offloading at ports in her district.

It's her responsibility as a rep to worry about beaches AND jobs in her district, and she spoke in support of both today.

Just sayin'.

Laura Leslie
blogger/reporter for WRAL @NCCapitol
Former Barkeep of Isaac Hunter's Tavern

Sorry :)

Submitted by scharrison on Fri, 06/11/2010 - 9:16am.

I don't know why I assumed she was a he. Maybe because my sister Patricia goes by "Trish" instead of "Pat".

But that "price at the pump" thing drives me crazy, and the msm hasn't (imo) done enough to expose how wrong that widely-held public opinion is.

Grrrr

Submitted by James on Fri, 06/11/2010 - 9:57am.

The hazards of iPhone posting.

We must be tracking a different Pat McElraft. As an EI homeowner with a personal view of the impacts of Raleigh decisions on coastal issues, I've found her positions to be way out of line with what most people would consider thoughtful and forward-thinking. Maybe that doesn't make her dumb ... just badly misguided.

I agree with you

Submitted by James McCrum on Fri, 06/11/2010 - 6:04pm.

James-Scharrison, you have made some good points. You do seem to be connected at the hip somehow, but you do make good points in any case. It makes for good reading here.

Thx.

Conspiracy theorist?

Submitted by James on Sun, 06/13/2010 - 11:45am.

This is the second time you've brought this up, so I assume something is really bothering you. Yes, Steve and I I agree on some issues. But do you honestly think we're the same person? You have no idea how off base you are.

I assure you that Steve Harrison and I are not connected at the hip or anywhere else. As I've explained previously, I asked him to help manage BlueNC while I'm occupied with my day job, and more recently, with health problems. We tend to agree on issues, which is exactly why I asked him to help.