After news reports and editorials inaccurately and unfairly characterized the state’s efforts to protect drinking water, the North Carolina departments of Health and Human Services and Environmental Quality release the following open editorial:

Recent media stories and editorials have given support to the questionable and inconsistent scientific conclusions reached by toxicologist Ken Rudo and have created unnecessary fear and confusion among North Carolinians who are concerned about the safety of their drinking water. Scientists do and should continuously question the status quo, and disagreement among them is to be expected. But both media and scientists should also be expected to recognize facts.

At issue is how much Chromium 6 and Vanadium, both naturally occurring compounds that can also be found in coal ash, is considered safe in drinking water. Rudo doesn’t just disagree with other scientists on this subject — he has even contradicted himself. The federal safe drinking water standard for Chromium is 100 parts per billion and, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, “assumes that a measurement of total chromium is 100 percent Chromium 6.” Rudo himself recognized this fact in November 2014 when he advised well owners near coal ash ponds that their water was safe to drink because “your well water meets federal drinking water standards.”

Just a few months later, Rudo reversed course and advised the same well owners not to drink their water. Rather than relying on the federal standard he said was safe just months before, he used his own threshold, which was 1,400 times lower than the federal standard.

We realize that this is a dynamic science and there are differing viewpoints. For example, the original recommended level in well owners’ letters for Vanadium was set 33 times lower than what’s found in daily multivitamins. For Chromium 6, Rudo’s analysis is out of step with the federal government and 49 other states. If one followed the threshold he proposes, every state would have to issue “do not drink” orders to tens of millions of people. Many cities and states recognize that Chromium 6 represents some risk at levels below the federal drinking water standard, but none issue “do not drink” orders under those circumstances.

Despite these inconsistencies, the disagreement among staff at the state environmental and health and human services departments was about how best to advise North Carolinians about the safety of their drinking water. Staff at the state environmental department found untenable that he limited his threshold to only those well owners near the coal ash ponds. He refused to apply the same recommendation to the other 900,000 North Carolinia wells or the 2.5 million people who consume well water that measures above his threshold.

When pressed during a deposition, Rudo was not able to explain the inconsistencies in his scientific conclusions. Rudo’s unprofessional approach to this important matter does a disservice to public health and environmental protection in North Carolina. It doesn’t help that political special interest groups perpetuate his exaggerations and fuel alarm among citizens for their own purposes.

Tom Reeder
Assistant Secretary for the Environment
Department of Environmental Quality

Randall Williams, MD
Deputy Secretary for Health Services
Department of Health and Human Services

Three years ago North Carolina had the highest income and corporate tax rates in the Southeast. By signing historic tax reform into law, we are putting more money back into the paychecks of hardworking families and businesses by reducing personal and corporate tax rates. This reform is saving North Carolinians $4.4 billion over five years and has made North Carolina attractive to corporations, investors, entrepreneurs, small businesses and families.

Turning a budget deficit into a surplus

North Carolina has also made paying off debt a priority. Businesses in North Carolina once owed the federal government more than $2.5 billion for unemployment insurance. Reforms to the state’s unemployment system allowed this debt to not only be repaid three years early but built up a reserve fund of more than $1.5 billion to prepare for any future economic downturns. It also reduced unemployment taxes for businesses by almost $800 million, allowing further investments in employees, modernization and expansion.

Streamlining the state’s workforce development programs and making government more customer-friendly have built on these reforms and supported existing and new companies in our state. This has helped put North Carolinians back to work. North Carolina has lower unemployment in all 100 counties, and our private sector has created more than 275,000 jobs, taking North Carolina from the fifth-highest unemployment rate in the United States to one of the fastest drops in unemployment in the country.

These initiatives, along with turning a budget deficit into a surplus, have fueled the Carolina Comeback and allowed our state to make strategic investments to remain a top state for business.

North Carolina is investing in roads and infrastructure to connect more businesses, people and visitors to opportunities. We are working to retain veterans and ensure they and their families have the education, jobs, health care and other services they deserve.

In the last three years, North Carolina has invested more than $1 billion in new funding for teacher raises, and we have committed to boosting average teacher pay to more than $50,000 for the first time in state history. We have also set a bold goal to connect every classroom to robust Wi-Fi to enhance digital learning opportunities.

Preparing for future growth

However, the most important investment North Carolina has made that will have the largest impact in the next decade on maintaining our status as a top state for business is the Connect NC bond. Overwhelmingly approved by voters this year, we championed this bond proposal to invest in our state’s education, public safety, state parks, agriculture and infrastructure. The passage of this $2 billion bond was a model for the rest of the nation on how people from all parties and backgrounds can work together in our state to prepare for future growth rather than react to it.

The $1.3 billion investment from the bond for higher education builds on our world-class university and community college systems. Investments were primarily dedicated to STEM fields, including the construction of new science labs, health facilities, nursing schools and engineering buildings. These strategic investments will make sure our students and workforce have the talent needed to attract businesses and compete globally.

The bond also invests $100 million into North Carolina’s State Parks and Zoo, protecting our natural resources and improving our quality of life that is second to none. Public safety was supported through updates to National Guard readiness centers, and small towns will receive funds for needed water and sewer infrastructure to support future growth and job creation.

Pragmatic leadership has propelled a strong economic comeback and made North Carolina one of the fastest-growing states in the country. Our state is committed to honoring the rich legacy of inclusiveness, diversity and hospitality that makes North Carolina a global destination for jobs, business, tourists and talent. Through strategic investments, North Carolina is poised to continue the progress and remain a top state for business for generations to come.

North Carolina proudly welcomes all people to live, work and visit our great state.

We didn’t become the ninth most populous state in the nation by accident. We have long held traditions of both ensuring equality for all of our citizens and our visitors, while also respecting the privacy of everyone.

We are also a state that strives to allow our people and businesses to be as independent as possible without overreaching government regulations.

These North Carolina values of privacy and equality came into conflict recently when the Charlotte City Council passed a new mandate that forced on businesses a city-wide ordinance of bathroom and locker room regulations, something frankly we had never seen or had before in that great city or in North Carolina.

Simply put, this government overreach was a solution in search of a problem.

In fact, the Charlotte City Council rejected this proposal less than a year ago.

In a letter prior to the most recent vote, I notified the Charlotte City Council that this unnecessary and intrusive mandate conflicts with basic expectations of privacy in the most private of settings.

Therefore, as I expected, the state took action on what was seen as government overreach.

You know, after listening to people’s feedback for the past several weeks on this issue, I have come to the conclusion that there is a great deal of misinformation, misinterpretation, confusion, a lot of passion and frankly, selective outrage and hypocrisy, especially against the great state of North Carolina.

But based upon this feedback, I am taking action to affirm and improve the state’s commitment to privacy and equality.

To that end, today I have signed an executive order with the goal of achieving that fine balance.

This executive order accomplishes the following:

First, it maintains common sense gender-specific restroom and locker room facilities in government buildings and in our schools, and when possible, encourages reasonable accommodations for families and those who have unique or special circumstances.

Second, the private sector can make its own policy with regard to restrooms, locker rooms and/or shower facilities. This is not a government decision. This is your decision in the private sector.

Third, I have affirmed the private sector and local government’s right to establish its own non-discrimination employment policies.

And fourth, as governor, I have expanded our state equal employment opportunity policy to clarify that sexual orientation and gender identity are included.

And fifth, I will immediately seek legislation in the upcoming short session to reinstate the right to sue for discrimination in North Carolina state courts.

Simply put, I have listened to the people of North Carolina, and the people of North Carolina are entitled to both privacy and equality. We can and we must achieve both of these goals.

Now I know these actions will not totally satisfy everyone, but the vast majority of our citizens want common sense solutions to complex issues.

This is the North Carolina way.

Republicans, Democrats and Independents came together to pass the Connect NC bond by an overwhelming, bipartisan majority.

At a time when it seems like we are more distant from our friends, family and neighbors than ever before, we showed that as a state, we CAN come together to do what’s right for North Carolina and our future. By passing the $2 billion bond to invest in our state’s incredible community colleges, universities, state parks and national guard facilities, we proved that we can unite as a state and look towards the future and work together to solve problems.

That’s what North Carolina is known for. It’s what we’ve always done as a state.

It’s the reason that over the last three years, we focused on rebuilding North Carolina’s economy and lifting us out of one of the worst recessions in our state’s history.

It’s the reason we’re turning unemployment offices into career centers, and modernizing state government services like the DMV to provide better customer service.

It’s the reason we reformed our 60-year old tax code, and updated it for the modern world, unleashing the innovative spirit of our entrepreneurs, the world-class work ethic of our farmers and the gritty perseverance of our manufacturing workers. Instead of taxing North Carolina families with the highest income taxes in the southeast, we lowered their tax burden and put more money back into their paychecks. And in the process, we became one of the most competitive states for jobs in the country and will be even more competitive in the future.

It’s the reason that when we saw that veterans were moving out of our state for opportunities elsewhere, we worked together to pass in-state tuition for our brave men and women and made it easier for them get jobs so they can stay here in North Carolina and raise a family.

It’s also the reason that we’ve turned the tide of neglect and started investing in our schools and helping students achieve. It’s the reason we’re raising teacher pay faster than any other state, bringing innovative digital learning technologies to the classroom and focusing on helping our children to graduate with the knowledge and skills to succeed.

It’s about the future.

To those out there who turn on the news and are worried about the direction of our country and our state, the passage of the Connect NC bond shows that there is a path forward. A path where we put aside our differences, and focus on the kind of future we want to leave for our children and grandchildren.

2016 Race for Governor

We need to continue this kind of visionary, forward-thinking leadership, and stay focused on solving our state’s problems, not take our state back to the days of record high unemployment, higher taxes, and bigger government. We need a governor who will lead, and who will do what’s right to prepare our state for the future.

We need a governor who will continue to focus on jobs, improving education and raising teacher pay, not someone who won’t show up for work when it matters or hide and simply do or say what’s politically expedient. We need a governor who will stand up to Washington, D.C. when they step out of bounds, not step aside.

And we need a governor who isn’t afraid to tackle the toughest challenges we face as a state like drug addiction, mental health, infrastructure and public safety.

Together, we can continue this kind of visionary leadership for another 4 years.

I believe parents should be able to choose a school that best meets the educational needs of their own kids. It’s as simple as that.

And contrary to what the union bosses and some in the educational establishment want us to believe, expanding school choice will only help to strengthen the state’s education system as a whole, not undermine it.

In only three short years, I’m proud to report that we’ve made great progress in advancing the cause of educational opportunity and school choice across North Carolina. And perhaps the biggest takeaway of our progress is that North Carolinians want and demand choice.

After I signed the Opportunity Scholarship program into law in 2013, which allows low-income families with kids trapped in schools that can’t meet basic educational needs to receive up to $4,200 to send their child to a private school of their choice, the number of available scholarships couldn’t keep up with demand. In the 2015–2016 school year alone, over 5,000 students applied for only 1,200 available scholarships.

“I need a dictionary to define all the words I feel right now: elated, happy, relieved… We are jumping for joy.”

Predictably, this program was vehemently opposed by the teachers union and drew a swift legal challenge from its special interest opponents. But we fought back and in 2015, the North Carolina Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of this program in what can only be described as a historic victory for parents who want the best education possible for their children. As one mother of an opportunity scholarship recipient put it after the ruling, “I need a dictionary to define all the words I feel right now: elated, happy, relieved… We are jumping for joy.”

The opportunity scholarship program is important not just because it serves as a model for the nation, but because it is rooted in our core belief as North Carolinians that every child — regardless of zip code, background or economic status — should have the opportunity to receive the best education available. And the Supreme Court’s decision helps set the legal precedent that parents, not Raleigh bureaucrats, ought to have control over the education of their children. To help meet the growing demand, the latest budget I signed increased funding for opportunity scholarships to $40 million to fund up to 6,000 additional scholarships over the next two years.

These types of scholarship programs are especially impactful for families with special needs children. Currently, 770 special needs students whose needs were not being met in a traditional public school setting are receiving up to $6,000 per year so they can attend a school that can meet their educational needs.

Since the cap on the number of charter schools was lifted in 2011, we are also seeing an explosion of interest and enrollment in charter schools. In fact, the number of students enrolled in charter schools has increased by more than 50% since 2012 to more than 80,000, and there will be an expected 200 charter schools open across 59 counties when the next school year begins. But despite this increase in enrollment, tens of thousands of students are still on a waiting list.

More than 280,000 students are benefiting from a school choice program in North Carolina today

Opponents argue that charter schools divert resources away from traditional public schools, and thus, reduce the opportunity for every child to get a good education. I disagree. The expansion of charter schools is helping to create a healthy competition among all schools and serves as a great laboratory of educational innovation for teachers, administrators and policy makers alike. While demanding transparency and high standards, we should and are learning from their successes and failures, and support the ideas that work. That’s why I recently signed legislation providing a fast-track review process for successful charter schools to be replicated in communities across the state — it’s just common sense.

“I believe parents should be able to choose a school that best meets the educational needs of their own kids.” – Governor Pat McCrory

Today, thanks to our efforts, more than 280,000 students are benefiting from a school choice program in North Carolina, including an estimated 107,000 students enrolled in a home school. Enrollment in non-traditional schools is estimated to grow to 306,000 next year.

But school choice means so much more than just a choice of educational settings. We are also aggressively expanding digital learning opportunities for students in public schools across the state by bringing new technologies to the classroom and broadband connectivity to every K-12 school in the state. Working with the State Board of Education, we have set the goal to completely transition from paper textbooks to digital textbooks by 2017 — a bold initiative that will mean more opportunities for students to receive an education tailored to their specific needs.

Contrary to what some say, we haven’t expanded school choice at the expense of traditional public schools in North Carolina. In fact, while the public education system was neglected under previous governors and state leaders, our administration has pushed for historic levels of investment in our public schools. We have increased education funding each and every year I’ve been in office, bringing overall funding for public schools to an all-time high. In fact, we are spending more per student today than when I took office three years ago.

We’re also investing in our public school teachers. Teacher pay in North Carolina fell behind more than any other state between 2002 and 2012 under previous governors. But when I took office, we began to fix the problem, passing the largest teacher pay raise in the country and increasing average teacher pay to $47,800 plus benefits. And as the revenue picture for next year comes into focus over the coming months, we will continue to look at ways to increase investment in education for students and teachers.

In addition to record investment in public schools, we are also increasing accountability with the advancement of a school grading system, adding an additional layer of transparency for parents and policy makers with regard to school performance measures. While these measures have come under scrutiny by some who would rather no accountability at all, they have been praised in a bipartisan fashion, with even the Democrat Superintendent of Public Instruction saying the school grades are largely accurate.

The fact is that while choice in education means more competition, innovation and accountability in our education system as a whole, it also leads to greater opportunities for all students, including those in public schools. Here’s what the superintendent of our state’s largest public school system said recently on this very topic: “In the past, public schools could assign students to wherever they wanted to because parents couldn’t make a choice to leave the public schools… Now we’re trying to make every school a choice of high quality so that parents don’t want to leave.”

And “competition” does not mean “no collaboration.” In fact, one of my top initiatives as governor has been to bring the leaders of our state’s education system together as a part of the education cabinet, where we do more than talk about ways to improve education, we actually work collaboratively to develop and implement strategies to improve student outcomes together. Every part of our education system plays a role.

I’ve seen the results of our progress first hand. As governor, I have had the privilege of traveling around North Carolina to meet with thousands of teachers, students and parents, who have come up to me to thanked me for giving their students a chance and a hope for a better life. I’ve seen first hand how our education system can be stronger when we put the talent, knowledge and energy of all our people behind one goal: helping our students achieve their full potential.

Unfortunately, many Democrats like gubernatorial candidate Ken Spaulding are all too eager to carry water for the unions and put the power of the special interests above the best interests of our children by opposing school choice and accountability initiatives. But our families and students, especially those trapped in struggling schools, cannot afford a governor that would roll back the advancements made in promoting school choice.