Brave Republicans save us from a real solution on GenX

Published October 6, 2017

Editorial by Wilmington StarNews, October 5, 2017

Woohoo! It looks like our long, regional nightmare is over.

A mere four months after the StarNews reported that a toxic chemical was in our drinking water, Sens. Michael Lee and Bill Rabon announced Wednesday that a solution is at hand. Hallelujah, and pass a bottle of tap water!

Lee, Rabon and enough of their colleagues in the General Assembly were able to save the good folks of the Lower Cape Fear from the obviously nefarious intentions of Gov. Roy Cooper, overriding the governor’s veto of N.C. House Bill 56.

As the state faces unprecedented challenges in ensuring our water is at least somewhat safe, Cooper had the gall to request $2.6 million to reinforce the one state agency whose mission is to monitor state waters and keep them safe -- the Department of Environmental Quality.

How dare he?

Sen. Lee was having none of it, though. And since it’s his role as a legislator to carry out the day-to-day business of the state -- or is that the role of the executive branch? We get confused -- Sen. Lee came up with a plan to solve the GenX crisis. And, he got a good deal -- $435,000.

In a joint statement issued Wednesday by the office of Senate Leader Phil Berger, Sens. Lee and Rabon said, “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.”

And what a solution it is! It must be slicker than Teflon. In fact, it’s such a cutting-edge solution that the UNCW researchers tasked to create the solution can hardly describe it.

Ron Vetter, associate provost for research, said UNCW is still figuring out exactly what the HB 56’s vague instructions task the school with doing.

But don’t fret -- Lee and Rabon assured us Wednesday that the override of the veto

“helped make this local solution that will actually help clean our drinking water a reality.”

We’re not sure how, exactly, but it’s a solution, nonetheless. Just ask Lee and Rabon.

Meanwhile, with UNCW doing the work, that gives the folks at DEQ -- remember DEQ? They’re the one state agency whose mission is to monitor waterways and keep them safe -- more time to figure out how they are going to address the massive backlog of discharge permits they need to review. But since the Republican-controlled Generally Assembly has cut the DEQ water quality staff from 493 to 426 since 2015, we figure the Honorables must have another Plan to take care of that backlog.

http://www.starnewsonline.com/opinion/20171005/editorial-oct-5-brave-republicans-save-us-from-real-solution-on-genx