Contact: Tad Boggs
Date: February 24, 2000 Phone: (919) 733-5612
Gov. Hunt Names Four To State Environmental Panel
RALEIGH - Gov. Jim Hunt today announced the appointment of four members to a state environmental board that will play a crucial role in carrying out his Administration's environmental initiatives in 2000.
The appointments to the N.C. Environmental Management Commission (EMC) come at a time when the panel will develop rules to cut power-plant emissions as part of Hunt's clean-air plan, and to implement the governor's hog-lagoon conversion effort. The commission also will consider key components of Hunt's 21st Century Communities initiative, which is studying methods for state and local governments to work together on smart-growth strategies for North Carolina.
"I am counting on the EMC to make some tough decisions this year," Hunt said. "We need strong action to protect our air and water quality and preserve our state's natural resources," Hunt said. "On a wide range of issues, the decisions made by the commission will go far to determine whether we preserve the quality of life that makes our state second to none."
Hunt re-appointed Dr. David H. Moreau, a water quality expert and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as chairman of the commission. He also re-appointed EMC members Daniel Besse of Winston-Salem and Will Fowler of Newport and appointed former state legislator Larry M. Jordan of Apex to the board. The members were appointed to six-year terms.
Moreau, who has served as the commission chairman since 1993, heads the UNC-Chapel Hill Department of City and Regional Planning and is the former director of the University of North Carolina's Water Resources Research Institute. He has a Ph.D in water resources from Harvard University and has been active in North Carolina environmental issues for almost three decades.
Besse, an environmental policy attorney and EMC member since 1993, is the associate executive officer of Planned Parenthood North Carolina - West. The former chairman of the state's Coastal Resources Commission and past president of the Conservation Council of North Carolina organized the North Carolina Wetlands Coalition, bringing together more than 20 citizen groups supporting wetlands conservation and protection.
Fowler, a commission member since 1993, is a private businessman and farmer. He owns property in Johnston, Warren, Ashe and Avery counties.
Jordan, president of L.G. Jordan Oil Co., served two years in the N.C. House of Representatives and eight years as the mayor of Apex. He replaces Sandra J. Birckhead on the EMC.
The EMC is a 17-member commission appointed by the Governor, the Senate Pro Tempore and the Speaker of the House. The commission is responsible for adopting rules for the protection, preservation and enhancement of the state's air and water resources.
Commission members are chosen to represent various backgrounds, including the medical profession, agriculture, engineering, fish and wildlife, groundwater, air and water pollution control, municipal or county government, and the public at large. The Commission oversees and adopts rules for several divisions of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), including the divisions of Air Quality, Water Quality, and Water Resources.
As governor, Hunt has initiated sweeping air-quality improvement efforts, which include substantially cutting emissions from both vehicles and coal-fired power plants in the state. He has called for the conversion of hog lagoons and sprayfields to more effective waste treatment technologies. Hunt also has launched the 21st Century Communities initiative to consider land-use policies and planning, revitalize Main Streets, preserve open space and revamp transportation planning in the state.
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