State Regulators On the Hot Seat

RALEIGH — The air turned foul in a General Assembly committee meeting Tuesday when representatives of various industries in assailed the state Department of the Environment and Natural Resources. One DENR official told the Joint Select Committee on Small Business and Economic Development that North Carolina’s environmental laws sometimes are stricter than federal laws, and other times they are less stringent. But Republican Rep. Connie Wilson of Charlotte said she was concerned about DENR’s excessive regulations that thwart economic development in the state. And Democratic Sen. A. B. Swindell of Nashville expressed outrage at DENR’s intransigence.