Hey Senate: Forget all that crappy stuff I said about you!

I don't know why it's so hard to get both of our illustrious houses in the legislature lined up on the right side of important issues. We had a helluva fight keeping the special interests out of the Senate on the transfer tax, but now it's the House that's out of whack on the landfills issue.

The N&O has a good editorial that covers most of the important points.

Mountains of trash, much of it shipped in from other states, is serious business. Yet the state House is treating the issue like another stroll in the park. It's not.

The General Assembly last year put a temporary halt to new landfills after private firms proposed building four mega-dumps in eastern and southern counties. That moratorium expires today. Instead of a comprehensive bill addressing the regional dumps, the House this week approved a gutted bill that invites confusion and provides minimal oversight.

The House version originally was identical to a Senate bill, which takes the kind of comprehensive approach that's needed. Legislation passed by the Senate would identify ecologically fragile areas around which new landfills could not be built. Beyond that, it would require environmental studies for a proposed dump, to determine if human health or the area's ecology might be harmed. The House measure also would require an environmental impact study. But why allow a dump near a wildlife preserve to be considered in the first place, and then force neighbors and state agencies to go through the arduous study process?

I wonder why the House back-pedaled on doing the right thing?

Much of the pressure to water down the regulations has come from solid waste companies whose plans would turn North Carolina into one of the nation's top five importers of garbage and debris.

A quick look doesn't show Beason's name in this particular pile of garbage. I guess somebody else is involved in this back-room transaction.

Contact your Senator. Tell them to stay strong and hold the line on this one. Use the "action" links on the left side of your screen.