New NC Pollution Bill Says Groundwater Pollution Legal Until It Reaches Others' Property Line

[hatrack]

EDIT

And Gov. Pat McCrory said last week that he’s considering vetoing a wide-ranging regulatory reform bill still on his desk, although it’s unclear on what grounds.

The bill, among its many facets, sets a new standard for when groundwater contamination – such as by Duke’s coal ash – is deemed to be a state violation.

Under current law, violations are deemed to have occurred when contamination moved outside a 500-foot radius from its source. The legislation extends that boundary to the owner’s property line. “It makes legal what had been illegal,” said D.J. Gerken, an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.

The law center, which has sued state regulators over the issue, says the change means contamination could flow onto someone else’s property before it has to be cleaned up. Gerken said it could also relieve Duke of cleaning up ash contamination at several of its plants, including its Riverbend power plant near Charlotte.

EDIT

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/07/30/4202194/legislature-targets-environmental.html

[trof]

1. Every body knows that ground water flow stops at property lines.