Democrats in the State Legislature have handed Republicans a gift.

Last year, four waste management companies proposed to build huge trash dumps in North Carolina, primarily so they can haul trash and debris here from up north and dump it.

It’s hard to see any merit in this proposal unless you happen to live in Massachusetts or New York (and don’t want the dumps near you), think North Carolina should join Fred Sanford in the trash business, or own a waste management company.

Environmental groups have raised a host of criticisms: Dumps being built in flood plains, in wetlands, and next to wildlife refuges.

State government and legislative staffs came up with legislation to address all the environmental concerns and to put teeth in the requirements that dump builders show an ability (and accept liability) to fund clean-up for the dumps if they pollute.

A battalion of pro-dump lobbyists descended on the bill and all but gutted it: 1) Weakening the ban on building dumps in flood plains by providing variances; 2) Gutting the provision preventing dumps from being built on wetlands or prior converted wetlands; 3) Weakening the tighter liabilities for dump builders.

About the only thing Senators haven’t gutted is a provision that a mega-dump can’t be built five miles from a wildlife refuge, and, I guess, the lobbyists will go to work on that as soon as the bill reaches the House.

This gives Republicans – unless they feel building mega-dumps to store out-of-state garbage here for the next two or three generations is a good idea – a rare chance to show that while Democrats talk a lot about the environment there’s a big gap between what they say and what they do.

Republicans should take a stand to restore all the original – tougher – requirements. And they should make Democrats vote against those requirements. Or, to put it another way, they should make Democrats vote for building those mega-dumps in North Carolina.

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