The state was reviewing Speaker Tim Moore's chicken plant. Then Moore's aide got involved.

POLITICS & GOVERNMENT
The state was reviewing Speaker Tim Moore’s chicken plant. Then Moore’s aide got involved.
BY DAN KANE AND WILL DORAN

JANUARY 09, 2019 10:24 AM

In March 2016, a top aide to House Speaker Tim Moore asked a state Department of Environmental Quality official about two underground storage tanks removed from a former chicken processing plant in Siler City that was up for sale. One of those tanks had leaked gas.

“Mitch Gillespie is asking about the status of the Siler City UST (underground storage tank) issue,” Caroline Daly, DEQ’s legislative liaison, wrote in the March 2, 2016, email to the section chief who oversees underground tank regulations. “Do you know what this is about and can give me an update to share?”

That triggered several emails within the department. Within hours, DEQ officials reported back that the site had the green light for entry into a state program that subsidizes the cleanup costs for underground tanks. Daly then relayed the decision to Gillespie so he could pass it along to the property owners, who ultimately received $22,000 from the state. Among them: his boss, Speaker Moore.

More, including video, at the link.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article223925075.html