Legislative Report:
Farmland Preservation, Toxics Study and Budget Woes
by Fawn Pattison
Translated by Francisco Cabral, vea el artículo en español
In 2010, the Governor and state legislature faced an $800 million budget shortfall, which they patched largely with federal stimulus money and deep cuts across state agencies and services. From our watch list, here’s the good, the not-so-good and the maybe-next-year:
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Beautiful veggies from Ayrshire Farm, North Carolina's first certified organic farm. Ayrshire Farm recently got funding for a conservation easement from the Farmland Preservation Trust Fund. Here's a great YouTube video about it from Triangle Land Conservancy.
Photo courtesy of Ayrshire Farm.
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The good:
* Farmland Preservation Trust Fund received $2M in recurring funding. Advocates in the Conservation and Sustainable Agriculture communities deserve kudos for persistent, effective advocacy on this high-impact trust fund. As North Carolina leads the nation in farmland loss, this fund, spearheaded by Rep. Pricey Harrison (D-Guilford) is a critical tool. The fund has recently made grants to permanently protect two certified organic farms in areas under tremendous pressure from suburban sprawl.
* H 2015/S 1416, Study Impacts of Toxins on Health (Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford, and Stan Bingham, R-Davidson). This study directs the state’s Environmental Review Commission to explore how other states are dealing with regulating the huge array of toxic chemicals on the market that affect human health. Stay tuned to see how the ERC handles this important study.
The not-so-good:
* Funding for NC Pesticide Program axed. The budget stripped most appropriations from the state's pesticide regulatory program, replacing the funding with a fee-based structure, creating a “polluter pays” approach to pesticide enforcement. Things could have been much worse, and the resulting fee structure will allow the program to retain its current level of staffing, now entirely reliant on the fees paid by pesticide users for their examinations and licenses.
Maybe next year:
Two exciting proposals from the Childhood Obesity Task Force, funding for expanded Farm-to-School programs, and Electronic Funds Transfers at farmers’ markets, did not make it into the 2010-11 budget.
Toxic Free News is a publication of
Toxic Free NC
206 New Bern Place, Raleigh, NC 27601
(919) 833-5333, Toll-free
1-877-NO-SPRAY
, http://www.toxicfreenc.org
Mission: Toxic Free NC advocates
for alternatives to toxic pesticides in North Carolina by
empowering people to make sound decisions about their health
and environment.
Staff: Ana Duncan Pardo, Communications Coordinator;
Billie
Karel, Program Director; Fawn Pattison, Executive Director; Ileana Rodriguez, Administrative Associate.
Interns: Michael Marion, YouTube Outreach Coordinator; Kathryn Newman, Farm to Childcare Intern; Hannah Silver, LoveBug Intern; April Simon, Farm Worker Documentary Intern; Melissa Tosiano, Pesticide Researcher Intern; Laura Valencia, Women without Borders Intern.
Board of Directors: Colleen
Boudreau, Treasurer; Juan Echeverria; Ghassan Hamra; Laxmi Haynes; Mindy Hiteshue; Cathy
Jones; Michelle Nowlin, President;
Annie O'Leary; Katherine M. Shea, Immediate Past President; Allen Spalt.
Emeritus Board Members: Billie Rogers, Jane Sharp MacRae,
Erick Umstead.
Community Leadership Council: Melissa Bailey, Myriam Hudson, Mary James, Silvia Peterson.
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Summer 2010 Contents:
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