Bill > H345

Introduced Session

AN ACT TO RECOGNIZE AND PROTECT THE RIGHTS OF THE DAN AND HAW RIVER ECOSYSTEMS AND TO RECOGNIZE AND PROTECT THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE OF NORTH CAROLINA TO A HEALTHY ECOSYSTEM FOR THOSE RIVERS. Whereas, from time immemorial, rivers and streams of North Carolina, including the Haw and Dan Rivers, have supported abundant life. American Indians have inhabited these lands, living in harmony with Nature, for over a thousand years; and Whereas, by 1710, the impacts of colonization forced the Saura tribe to abandon its last known settlement along the Dan River, but other tribes along the Haw and Dan Rivers, such as the Saponi, remained and continue to live in the region; and Whereas, today, American Indians of the Piedmont region are reconnecting with their ancestral homeland and culture; and guiding growing efforts to better conserve and protect the rivers and river lands and the life they support; and Whereas, such efforts must be intensified, because the health, safety, and welfare of North Carolinians is, and always has been, inseparable from the health of the rivers and river lands, because many of the State's cities, towns, and industries owe their very existence to the rivers, which served as the historic providers of the power to run mills and the blue highways for transporting people and goods. In modern times, the rivers and the nature around them continue to serve as support systems for human endeavors by supplying drinking water, enabling the region's farmers to grow food, providing opportunities for recreation and rejuvenation to residents and visitors alike, and continuing to play their vital role in supporting commerce and the State's economy; and Whereas, today, the rivers, the river lands, and the plant and animal life they support are in peril, with declining populations of wildlife and native plants as well as the threat of extinction for some species. The Haw River has been identified as one of America's most endangered rivers because of unsafe pollution levels, including sewage leaking from aging pipes and toxic runoff from roadways and parking lots. The State has issued warnings and severe restrictions on eating fish from the Haw and the Dan Rivers. Both have been determined to contain toxic chemicals dangerous to humans, including the "forever chemicals," such as PFAS, which never decompose, increase cancer and other health risks to humans, and are widely used in household goods; and Whereas, these problems are not unique to our State. They exist across the United States and around the world and have been described as a period of global environmental collapse and the sixth major extinction of life forms in the 3.8-billion-year-long history of life on Earth; and Whereas, in response, governments have responded with significant efforts to protect the environment over the last 60 years. Environmental protection laws have helped protect the natural environment we depend on; however, they have proven to be insufficient. Earth's climate is heating; droughts, wildfires and floods are increasing in intensity and frequency; and sea level is rising as population growth, land development, and economic expansion continuously increase demands that humans make upon the environment; and Whereas, as the environmental crisis has mounted, communities, states, and nations around the globe have begun realigning laws and policies with the growing understandings, long held by Indigenous societies, that we are part of the natural world and we must respect and care for Nature to care for ourselves and protect our future through an understanding that nature - the community of life on Earth - has rights, including the right to exist; and Whereas, the Rights of Nature movement began in the United States in 2003, when the Navajo Tribal Council amended its nation's written code to incorporate its indigenous understanding that all life has the right to exist with these words: "all creation, from Mother Earth and Father Sky to the animal … and plant life have their own laws, and rights and freedom to exist." Three years later, small towns in Pennsylvania began adopting local rights of Nature laws to protect their water supplies from the ill effects of fracking and, in 2008, Ecuador became the first country in the world to recognize the rights of Nature in its constitution. Since then, more than 100 legal enactments and court decisions have been adopted by legislative bodies, tribal governments, and voters in the United States and, by 2024, a total of 500 rights of Nature laws had been adopted in 40 countries around the world, with a high percentage of these laws specifically protecting rivers and other waters; and Whereas, many citizens of North Carolina love and wish to protect the State's waterways, river lands, and all of North Carolina's natural environment, but motivations vary. Many understand all life to be a Divine creation, which must be protected as sacred. Based on scientific evidence, others believe the current environmental crisis necessitates stronger ecological protection laws. Others want to preserve our wildlands and wildlife to maintain outdoor recreational opportunities, including hunting, fishing, hiking, biking, paddling, and camping. As environmental disasters worsen, many want to protect their children's and grandchildren's health and future welfare; and Whereas, the people of the State are best served by recognizing their right to a clean and healthy environment and also recognizing the rights of the pollution-burdened Haw and Dan Rivers and river land communities to enhanced protection against future contamination and restoration to protect the health of the rivers and the health, safety, and welfare of our people as well as the entire community of life in our State; Now, therefore,

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Kanika Brown (D)*,  Maria Cervania (D)*,  Pricey Harrison (D)*,  Marcia Morey (D)*,  Cynthia Ball (D),  Cecil Brockman (D),  Gloristine Brown (D),  Sarah Crawford (D),  Zack Hawkins (D),  Frances Jackson (D),  Renée Price (D),  Julie Von Haefen (D), 

Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (on 03/11/2025)

Official Document