Brunswick County Adopts Resolutions on Water Quality; Presented to Governor Cooper, Legislative Leaders
Chairman Frank Williams hand-delivers Brunswick County’s water quality resolutions to Governor Roy Cooper
The Brunswick County Board of Commissioners unanimously adopted two resolutions concerning water quality at its August 21, 2017 meeting.
The first resolution, which can be viewed here, calls upon the state to prevent the discharge of contaminants into our waterways until studies have been conducted to ascertain their impact on public health.
The second resolution, which can be viewed here, encourages our state leaders to put aside partisan differences, be open to ideas from leaders other branches of government and who are members of other political parties, determine what needs to be done to protect our drinking water, and invest the resources needed to do so.
Brunswick County Board of Commissioners Chairman Frank Williams hand-delivered copies of the resolutions to the Chair and Co-Chairs of the Joint Legislative Environmental Review Commission at its meeting in Wilmington on Wednesday, August 23, 2017, and to Governor Roy Cooper during his tour of Brunswick County’s Northwest Water Treatment Plant on Thursday, August 24, 2017.
Statement from Frank Williams, Chairman, Brunswick County Board of Commissioners:
“We appreciate Governor Cooper, the N.C. Joint Legislative Environmental Review Commission, and Secretaries Cohen and Regan taking the time to visit southeastern North Carolina and hear our citizens’ concerns about water quality first-hand. This issue has been on the minds of nearly everyone in southeastern North Carolina since then GenX story broke, and it is one that crosses all boundaries, geographic, partisan, and otherwise.
“Water quality is an issue that should not be politicized by anyone, on either side of the aisle. It is our hope that our state leaders will avoid the temptation to allow this debate to become a partisan one. Governor Cooper should not seek to leverage this issue to beat up on the Republican-led legislature, and neither should legislative leaders use this to jockey for position against the Democratic governor.
“Our citizens’ desire is clear and simple: fix it, and make sure it doesn’t happen again. Governor Cooper has released a funding request as part of his administration’s response to the GenX issue. In response, members of the legislature submitted a list of questions to the governor. Additionally, some members of the legislature have presented plans which would direct funding to UNC-Wilmington and other local entities to address this issue. Parts of both plans likely have merit. It is my hope that our state leaders will put their partisan leanings aside, pull all involved parties at the state and local level together, develop a well-researched, clearly understood and agreed-up understanding of whatever systemic issues led us to this point, and then identify the parts of each plan that will most effectively attack the problem. Further, I hope that no one will rule out ideas on how to address this issue just because they come from someone of a different political persuasion.
“Citizens in Brunswick County don’t care whose name is on the plan; they just want it to work, and to do so as cost-effectively as possible. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when no one is focused on placing blame or worried about who gets the credit.”