New bill puts Charlotte area lakes at risk, lawmakers say

CORNELIUS, N.C. — Some lawmakers are pushing back against a bill that some said puts Charlotte area lakes at risk.

Senate Bill 434 would eliminate the vegetative buffer zones around the Catawba River Basin.

[LINK: Senate Bill 434]

“It will allow clearcutting all the way to the water's edge,” said North Carolina state Sen. Jeff Tarte, R-District 41. “That is going to create erosion issues, damages the environment. It hurts habitat. It can’t be good.”

Tarte along with other lawmakers, environmental experts, and business leaders gathered on the shores of the lake with a stark warning.

“(It) would devastate the environment, we have to find a balance,” said Billy Wilson of the North Carolina Wildlife Federation.

Experts said the vegetation acts as a filter and protects the water by stopping pollutants.

“We don’t want the banks eroding away either, we need to protect the banks and the lake,” said Greg Walton of Barefoot Watersports.

But people who support the bill said it’s about property rights and they’re moving forward.

The legislation has passed the Senate and is in the House.

Channel 9 will follow any new developments as the bill moves through the North Carolina Legislature.

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