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Sewage Filtration

Clean Water and The Environment

Clean water and the environment are very important issues to our coastal community. I have worked hard to make North Carolina a leader in tackling PFAS.

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In 2018, I passed the Water Safety Act that:

  • established a statewide monitoring network, provided additional funding to DEQ for enforcement of bad actors and cleared up the backlog of permitting.

  • It also gave the Governor the power to shut down polluters, requires all industry that discharges into our waters to identify and report every compound they intend to discharge into surface waters, provided funding for cities and towns to begin the process of municipal connections for those on contaminated wells (with a provision of reimbursement from the polluter), funding for additional pilot tests to clean PFAS out of the water, funding to UNCW to look into bioaccumulation of GenX in sediments and shellfish, and required polluters to pay for connections to municipal water supplies or whole house filtration in the event of contamination. 

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Last year, I passed the Water Safety Act of 2021 to: ​​

  • Conduct both targeted and non-targeted analysis of PFAS through a continuation of the NC PFAS Testing Network.

  • Conduct statewide water and air sampling, testing and monitoring as well as monitoring levels and health effects of the citizens of North Carolina.

  • Develop and deploy technologies to mitigate exposure to PFAS

  • I worked to provide funds to establish an Emerging Compounds Unit and Quick Response team at DEQ.

  • The most significant piece of this legislation is the $10 million to the NC Collaboratory to test a filtration technology at scale here in New Hanover County that was invented by scientists from UNC with the money I provided in the original Water Safety Act.

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Carbon Emissions

  • I supported legislation to cut carbon emissions and to make North Carolina carbon neutral by 2050 using least cost and most efficient energy sources to keep your rates low. 

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Stormwater Mitigation

  • I introduced legislation last year to create a permanent state funding source for Beach Renourishment and I am committed to finding a solution for our beach communities.

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