Landfill moratorium in trouble
Hate to harsh y’all’s mellow, but there’s lots of chatter on the landfill moratorium and how a mere 23 lobbyists may succeed in circumventing that 48-to-nuthin’ vote in the Senate and the Speaker’s own call for a vote on the bill.
According to the N&O‘s story, Pryor Gibson and Bill Owens are two big fish that are standing in the way of a vote. To me, this is the ethics story. To wit:
1. House leadership strips landfill provision out of budget saying it’s policy and should be voted on separately.
2. Senate passes landfill moratorium bill.
3. Lobbyists suceed in getting powerful pro-biz Democrats to bottle up provision until the clock runs out.
Of course 5, 6 and 20 are that everybody gets a fat contribution like back on April 14.
The very idea that the counties invited these companies in after due process and hearings is one of the smelliest red herrings anyone’s tossed in the room for a while.
It is just nonsense to propose that the state ought to respect a county’s right to invite half of New Jersey to use its new landfill or a town’s right to say bring it on for a few million tons of Europe’s ground up tires and auto parts.
Here’s some folks to call.
Pryor Gibson, Bill Owens, Mickey Michaux, Jim Black
And, while you’re at it, you Greendogs might want to ask Jerry Meek why a bunch of powerful House Dems are standing in the way of this important environmental bill.
Joe Sinsheimer put out a press release on this today
Right on about the due process. That was the crux of the Greene County case in 2001, which we won. The county commissioners made a sham out of the public process. Before it was all over, a key county employee had left to go to work for the landfill company wanting the contract. It takes incredible effort to stand up to that kind of thing, and even when you win it isn’t over.
Joe Sinsheimer put out a press release today that shows how much Waste Management money has flowed specifically to/through Jim Black and describes payments to others that were first mentioned in your Indy column.
I guess we all got to keep reminding ourselves that even baby Jesus took gifts from out-of-state vendors.
Please name the 23 lobbyists. Might be fun.
Here’s a few of waste related registered lobbyists:
Waste Management Carolinas
Ainsworth, W.
Booker, Calvin
Case, Charles
Essick, Randall
Fullbright, Amy
Horne, B. Davis
Simpson, Dana
Waste Industries
Greene, K.
Knight, Roger
National Solid Wastes Management Association
Barnes, David
Mann, Michael
Musselwhite, Marvin
Vaughan, Donald
BFI
Folger, Frank
Kelly, Wendy
Why is it that nobody cares that the state is a net exporter of waste (i.e. North Carolina makes other places dumping grounds)? Because of NIMBY’s, the only kind of landfills waste companies can afford to try to get permitted are mega landfills due to cost and time required to get a permit. The main concern for a new landfill should be weather the site is geologically suitable or not. If controlling how much waste can come into the state is a concern, then lobby for a state tipping fee like other states have successfully done. Bring a landfill into a community does create some jobs and brings in much need funds from tipping fees.
Hugo Neu Corporation
Coe, Lu-Ann