Inspired N.C. Republicans Target Environmental Justice, Clean Energy Jobs and Programs

Conservative North Carolina lawmakers appear to be taking a cue from the Trump administration, proposing to slash more than 25 jobs and to eliminate key programs for environmental justice, environmental education and clean energy, state budget documents show. 

Those cuts alone would total nearly $736,000. Meanwhile, the Republican-held Environmental Management Commission would get its own five-member staff with a $700,000 budget.

“North Carolinians deserve a state government that works for them,” said Rep. John Torbett, a co-chair of the Interim House Select Committee on Government Efficiency, in a press release. “Unfortunately, our government agencies and public universities have been bogged down by bad policies and programs, like DEI, limiting their ability to enact their core purpose: serving citizens.”

Like the Trump administration, which in March closed environmental justice offices within the Environmental Protection Agency, North Carolina lawmakers have used the proposed state budget to eliminate a similar program within the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. 

Former DEQ Secretary Michael Regan established several environmental justice initiatives after he was appointed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in 2017. Regan became EPA administrator in 2021 under President Joe Biden, and served until last year.

The $385,000 budget item covers three full-time employees plus program expenses. The environmental justice program encourages community participation in public hearings, including translation and interpretation services for non-English speakers. Program officials also meet privately with community groups and environmental organizations about their concerns.

As part of a 2016 civil rights settlement, the program also developed a statewide mapping system for the public to view pollution sources, census data and health statistics for neighboring communities. Officials analyze census information and other data to produce environmental justice reports on the impacts of new and existing pollution sources on low-income neighborhoods and communities of color.

Some environmental groups have criticized the program for failing to stop new polluting industries from locating in EJ neighborhoods, but they hoped the crew of new top officials would be more effective.

“It appeared that they were making a very concerted effort to have a team at DEQ who could be responsive, who understood the issues, and you know, would hopefully do a better job or do the right thing in comparison to what, they’ve had for so many years,” said Sherri White-Williamson, co-founder of EJCAN. She also sits on the governor’s EJ Advisory Council.

With its new five-member, $700,000 staff, the Environmental Management Commission is composed of 15 political appointees and currently held by a Republican majority. It recently refused to implement legally enforceable limits for PFAS in rivers, lakes and streams. Instead, at industry’s urging, it chose to advance a weaker “minimization” rule.

The budget also would eliminate DEQ’s environmental education program, including two staff and the education certification program. In a plea for public support on its website, program staff noted that it has helped thousands of teachers, students and budding naturalists “to understand and address the pressing environmental challenges of our time.” 

“It’s a small investment with a massive impact,” the website says. “Eliminating this office would undermine decades of progress in fostering an informed and engaged citizenry.”

Nor would the state Department of Commerce be spared: The budget would eliminate the Office of Clean Energy Economic Development (CEED), whose deputy secretary, Jennifer Mundt, also represents the agency on the Environmental Justice Advisory Council. 

Patrice Bethea, spokesperson for the Commerce Department, told Inside Climate News in an email that the program is critical to advancing North Carolina’s economy.

“The program helps to position North Carolina in a new era of demand for energy generation, as corporate citizens increasingly demand reduced carbon footprints, and the rise of AI and data centers are demanding ever increasing power loads,” Bethea said.

Because of CEED’s work, North Carolina is a leading candidate for several clean energy projects. The Canadian company Opsun, which builds structures for solar panels, recently announced it will locate its first U.S. facility in High Point, in Guilford County.

CEED also participated in the N.C. Taskforce on Offshore Wind Economic Resource Strategies to recruit that industry’s manufacturing jobs to the state.

However, Duke Energy’s proposed revisions to its carbon plan, as well as the federal government’s disdain for solar and wind power, have changed the landscape of clean energy.

Bethea said the CEED program “has recently transitioned its focus to a broader energy strategy … as we move to carbon neutrality over the next 25 years.” 

Duke Energy has emphasized a similar “all of the above” approach—a continued reliance on natural gas, plus nuclear energy, hydropower and renewables—in its proposal to delay its decarbonization goals. 

A different measure, Senate Bill 261, would allow Duke Energy to forgo a legally required benchmark of 70 percent in carbon reductions by 2030 over 2005 levels. Since the utility says it can’t make the 2030 deadline, it instead wants to be held accountable only for the final goal: carbon-neutral by 2050.

The bill cleared the Senate but languished in the House. Now the provision has been tucked into the 660-page state budget, increasing its chances of becoming law.

The Senate passed the budget in mid-April and sent it to the House, where it will go through that chamber’s Appropriations and Finance committees. The full legislature has until June 20 to send a final version to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein.