THOSE PESKY SUBPOENAS: Federal investigators are looking into more possible payoffs of state officials and land developments tied to former Gov. Mike Easley. (N&O)

BANKS VS. BUREAUCRATS?: Charlotte's lawmakers fare better in a ranking of business-friendly legislators. (N&O)

T FOR TROUBLESOME: A Tennessee Valley Authority report contradicts U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler's version of events. (Asheville C-T)

$10.7 million in federal recovery money is headed to the Charlotte area for water projects.

The N.C. Local Government Committee approved the projects announced Monday by State Treasurer Janet Cowell, who chairs the committee. The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources will administer the funds, which are interest-free loans, and only half the principal must be repaid.

Charlotte gets $2.2 million to enhance stream buffers and watersheds, protecting watersheds and preserving wildlife habitat, as well as $600,000 for a water reuse and environmental restoration project.

Gastonia and Hickory received $309,000 and $1.9 million respectively to replace deteriorating sewer lines.

Catawba County will use $3 million to back up the water supply for the town of Maiden and increase fire protection.

Sentencing for a former state official who pleaded guilty to federal charges related to a bribery scheme has been delayed until October.

Boyce Allen Hudson pleaded guilty in May to charges related to a scheme in which he promised to help an ethanol company get its permits from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Hudson was an official with the department, although he was not affiliated with the permitting section.

As part of his plea, Hudson agreed to help investigators with any other cases.

Court records show that on July 9, U.S. District Judge Terrence Boyle entered a sealed order in the case. Also on that day, Hudson's sentencing hearing, originally scheduled for later this month, was postponed until some time in October.

A drought bill cleared a legislative committee Tuesday, offering a chance that the legislature will pass a drought law this session.

Environmental groups, municipalities, industry types, the legislature and the governor's office have struggled to reach agreement on exactly how the state should respond to a drought. Lawmakers, representatives of the governor and others were up until 3 a.m. this morning trying to hammer out a compromise, officials said.

The version of the bill that got a favorable report from the House Environment and Natural Resources on Tuesday requires water systems to file drought plans with the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

The department could reject inadequate plans. In cases of severe, extreme or exceptional drought, the department could force a water system to implement it's plan, and if the plan falls short of conservation goals, state officials could force a water system to implement harsher restrictions.

A previous version of the bill gave the state's chief environment official the power to impose water restrictions.

Some lawmakers complained Tuesday that the bill doesn't do enough to support conservation efforts through education.

Rep. Pryor Gibson, a Wadesboro Democrat and one of bill's primary sponsors, said that he supports doing more, but that just hammering out the current version was a struggle.

"Should we add more things it it? Absolutely. Can we get the votes for it on this complex bill? I don't know," Gibson said. 

The governor's office and the League of Municipalities support the current bill, which is H 2499.

Bill Ross, secretary of the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said a former official who admitted to soliciting a bribe, didn't have any influence over permits.

Ross released a statement Thursday about Boyce Allen Hudson, 67, a former employee who admitted in federal court to extortion and money laundering charges.

I am saddened by the unlawful actions by one of our former employees. Hudson’s actions violated the honor code and values that we expect to guide the actions of every employee as they serve the citizens of North Carolina. However, I am confident that permitting processes within DENR have been and will continue to be carried out with the utmost professionalism, attention to the letter of the law, and with care for the health, well-being and benefit of all.

Hudson admitted Tuesday that in 2004 he offerred to guarantee a permit for Agri-Ethanol Products of Raleigh in exchange for $100,000 in cash and a consulting contract worth another $108,000. Ross said in his statement that Hudson didn't have the authority or influence to affect permitting. His job didn't involve lobbying, as federal prosecutors have said.

Prosectuors made much of the fact that Agri-Ethanol got a clean air permit within a month. Ross said in his statement that he Division of Air Quality is required by state rules to issue the type of air permit relevant to this case within 90 days. The average turnournd time has been 35 days, Ross said.

Fresh off the worst recorded drought in state history, lawmakers get a look today at a package of proposals to strengthen North Carolina's water-use rules.

Gov. Mike Easley's office and the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources

have drafted a bill that would set minimum state water conservation requirements during droughts.

Under the proposed legislation, if municipal water supplies drop below a certain level, these minimum standards would kick in, intensifying as drinking water reserves continued to dwindle. Cities could do more to save water in dry times, but not less.

And the law would give more consumers a common set of water rules instead of the current hodgepodge of limits that vary from town to town. The ultimate goal: a shared language of water conservation, with categories of restrictions that mean the same in Asheville or Goldsboro as they do in the Triangle.

The proposal also would require farmers to register their water use if it exceeds 100,000 gallons a day, down from a current reporting threshold of 1 million gallons a day for agricultural uses.

Farm groups oppose it. (N&O)

A state audit released today says that the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources could speed up the process of approving air quality permits by as much as 52 percent and eliminate a backlog of applications by the end of next year.

DENR officials say they are encouraged by the findings, which were developed in part, during a workshop conducted by N.C. State University's Industrial Extension Service, Dan Kane reports. B. Keith Overcash, the director of DENR's Division of Air Quality, said staff have already begun using some of the techniques developed from the audit.

The workshop helped identify one of the major snags in the permitting process — a lack of information provided by applicants in their permit applications. The back and forth required to complete the applications often drags on for months. The audit also found that DENR's Division of Air Quality needs to adopt standardized review methods to speed up the process.

The audit said that DENR could save $572,439 and avoid hiring an additional seven staff if it followed the recommendations.

The federal Clean Air Act requires all major sources of air pollution — such as electric utilities, manufacturing facilities and governmental installations — to obtain an operating permit. Just under 340 facilities have permits, and as of Dec. 31 there was a backlog of 229 applications, most of them for renewals.

Dempsey Benton was sworn in Wednesday as secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, taking charge of one of the largest departments in state government.

The department and its staff of more than 19,000 oversee the welfare of millions of North Carolinians through Medicaid programs, public health initiatives, disabilities services and mental health care, Lynn Bonner reports.

Benton was a long-time Raleigh manager who later served as chief deputy secretary of the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

Benton succeeds Carmen Hooker Odom, who left to become president of the Milbank Memorial Fund.

A Senate committee approved a measure Tuesday that would allow billboard owners to cut more trees around their signs, over the objections of two state agencies and environmental groups.

Billboard owners would be allowed to remove trees and shrubs 375 feet 250 feet in front of billboards, up from 250 feet. Removing more trees would give drivers more time to see the ads, Lynn Bonner reports.

The industry has agreed, as part of the proposal, to an increase in their annual permit fees and to increased penalties for illegal cutting. The state departments of transportation and environment and natural resources opposed the bill.

The proposal comes on the heels of the state Department of Transportation discovering about 50 instances of illegal tree cutting around billboards since October, amounting to about $750,000 in lost greenery. DOT has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to look in to the illegal cutting. Discovering tree-cutting culprits is difficult because, usually, there are no eyewitnesses.

Christa Wagner, lobbyist for the state's Sierra Club chapter said giving billboard owners permission to cut more trees is "a reward for bad behavior."

The bill now goes to the Senate Finance committee.