SELC

You almost feel sorry for Bob Odom, the general manager of Titan Cement. He has the job of putting lipstick on a Titanic pig, and has found himself on the wrong side of the Southern Environmental Law Center.

If you don't know SELC, you should. They're one of the most effective environmental organizations in America, using the power of the law to kick butt and take names. In my view, they're brilliant.

StarNews has published a letter dated yesterday detailing the reasons why Governor Perdue should halt permitting for Titan Cement's Castle Hayne project:

Governor Perdue, with the recent scandals uncovered by the news media, the public has lost confidence in the objectivity of regulatory decisions by the Department of Energy and Natural Resources ("DENR"), and questions whether the agency is acting in the public interest.

I don't much care for Governor Perdue's tendency toward grandstanding, not so much because she shouldn't be using her bully pulpit in general, but because of the things she chooses to get excited about. For example, if you give her a chance to smackdown some felons serving life-sentences, she'll pull on her shit-kickers and start stompin' in a heartbeat. Doesn't matter what the law says, she's got her own reelection agenda and god help you if you stand in her way.

On the other hand, when a group of citizens asked the Governor to take a stand to preserve wetlands and ensure a healthy, safe environment by stopping a known source of mercury poisoning, the silence was deafening. Without so much as the illusion of thoughtfulness, Perdue has stood behind what is almost certainly an illegal permitting of the Titan Cement plant in New Hanover County.

Rejecting a request from several groups representing residents in the affected areas, Governor Perdue’s Department of Administration this week ruled that the full environmental impact of the proposed Titan America cement plant on surrounding areas--including New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick counties—does not need to be examined before North Carolina begins issuing permits for the plant.

One of the many useful theories taught in journalism school is the theory of agenda setting, first articulated by Dr. Donald Shaw at UNC Chapel Hill.

The agenda-setting theory is the theory that the mass news media have a large influence on audiences by their choice of what stories to consider newsworthy and how much prominence and space to give them.

One of the organization's I'm most proud to support is the Southern Environmental Law Center. Their lawyers are working on behalf of the NC Coastal Federation and Cape Fear River Watch to hold our state's policy makers accountable for their irresponsible permitting of this mega-polluter. Here's the story from the SELC website.

Citizens of North Carolina are paying $4.5 million to bring this company to the state and will endure the public health and environmental consequences of the plant’s pollution for decades; they deserve to know what they’re buying before Titan starts building,” said Geoff Gisler, attorney, Southern Environmental Law Center.

As some of you are probably aware, the battle over Titan Cement's new facility in Hanover County is still raging. Dozens of (medical) doctors have joined to voice their concern, as well as hundreds of citizens and a few of my favorite environmental orgs. Most recently, these groups pleaded with the NC Department of Administration to generate a formal review of Titan's application/permit, and the answer was, in a word, stupefying.

You may have already seen this piece over at The Dome regarding efforts by Camden and Currituck counties to block the Navy's construction of an Outlying Landing Field (OLF) on the basis of distressed and endangered species that inhabit the local wetlands. While I have my fingers crossed that this approach will work, I've seen much evidence that protecting our North Carolina wetlands and the myriad species that inhabit them is of little concern to those we have granted the authority to decide these things.

Among all the great non-profits in North Carolina, one of my favorites is the Southern Environmental Law Center. They're doing the hard work of supporting the good guys by taking on the bad guys, and they're very, very good at what they do.

My first serious encounter with SELC was on a field trip to the OLF site in Washington County. Not only was it a transformational experience, it got me on the NO-OLF bandwagon in a big way. Much of the success in stopping the Navy's reckless plan goes to the lawyers at SELC, who handled the case masterfully, to my knowledge.

The Supreme Court unanimously smacks down Duke Energy for trying to end-run the Clean Air Act. This case was argued by lawyers from the Southern Environmental Law Center, who recently spoke at the political salon hosted by my wonderful wife here in Chapel Hill!

This is very good news.

The U.S. Supreme Court gave a boost Monday to a federal clean air initiative aimed at forcing utilities to install pollution control equipment on aging coal-fired power plants. In a unanimous decision, the justices ruled against Duke Energy Corp. in a lawsuit brought by the Clinton administration, part of a massive enforcement effort targeting more than a dozen utilities.

This from the Southern Environmental Law Center, a great organization representing the farmers and environmentalists who are fighting the OLF.

TEN MINUTES OF YOUR TIME CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

You have an important opportunity to help prevent the Navy from constructing a destructive outlying landing field (OLF) next to Pungo Lake and Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and near Lake Phelps and Pettigrew State Park. The Navy’s decision to construct the landing field must be consistent with North Carolina’s coastal management program. North Carolina’s coastal management program designates Pungo Lake and Phelps Lake as Areas of Environmental Concern. As Areas of Environmental Concern, Pungo Lake and Phelps Lake must be managed to maintain their biological, aesthetic, and economic values.