Critical Legislative Update Farmers Need to Know

This week, the North Carolina House Committee on the Environment gave a favorable report to House Bill 864, PFAS Pollution and Polluter Liability. This bill creates sweeping uncertainties for family farms and agribusinesses.

HB 864 grants the DEQ Secretary unprecedented enforcement authority and the ability to impose financial liabilities, a power that even the EPA does not possess. If this bill passes, it puts farmers at risk, period. It sets a dangerous precedent for strangling regulatory measures to be applied to agricultural practices, such as fertilizer use and pesticide application.

The draconian approach this bill takes with PFAS lays the foundation for left-wing environmentalists to pound their regulatory hammers and financial burdens upon farmers.

Voters and legislators should know the impact of this bill on North Carolina’s farmers. We are monitoring this legislation in real time, and stand ready to send updates and alerts should it progress any further.