Chandler Holland, a Teens & 20s writer for the Burlington Times-News, is in her senior year of homeschooling and plans to complete the N.C. Environmental Education Certification during her gap year before attending Warren Wilson College with a merit-based scholarship.
Continue ReadingEnvironmentally Speaking
Governor Roy Cooper on Tuesday named Michael Regan, a leader in environmental advocacy with ample experience working with energy and businesses, to lead the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality. Regan served as Southeast Regional Director of the Environmental Defense Fund and National Director of the Energy Efficiency Southeast Climate & Energy Policy from 2008-2016. He also worked with the EPA on air quality for the Clinton and Bush administrations from 1998-2008.
Continue ReadingDEQ was recently recognized nationally as a 2016 Best Workplaces for Commuters Race to Excellence Award Winner for Best Employer! Best Workplaces for Commuters, a program designed to encourage sustainable transportation innovation, recognized 17 employers nationwide earlier this month during the annual “Race to Excellence” Virtual Awards Ceremony. The awards recognize organizations who have taken exemplary steps to offer transportation options such as vanpool and transit benefits or telework and compressed workweek for their employees.
Continue ReadingA state environmental program that has helped create thousands of jobs and spurred more than $14 billion in economic growth has celebrated a big milestone. The North Carolina Brownfields Program this week celebrated the signing of its 400th agreement, which puts special conditions for developers to cleanup or mitigate contamination so a site can be safely redeveloped and put back into productive use.
Continue ReadingEducators from all regions of North Carolina gathered at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences’ Nature Research Center last week for the 6th annual meeting for nonformal educators. The meeting reached its highest attendance to date with more than 90 nonformal educators representing a wide variety of nonprofit and city, county, state and federal agencies and facilities, including nature centers, science museums, gardens, arboretums, aquariums, state parks, the N.C. Forest Service, the Wildlife Resources Commission, 4-H, Soil and Water Conservation Districts and others.
Continue ReadingState environmental officials have received the full settlement payment from Duke Energy for environmental violations related to the February 2014 coal ash spill at the company’s Dan River power plant in Eden. The fine, which is the second largest environmental fine in state history, addresses violations of the federal Clean Water Act that the company committed during and after the Dan River spill.
Continue ReadingDEQ kicks off its lunchtime speaker series next week with John Gerwin, research curator in ornithology with the NC Museum of Natural Sciences. His presentation on attracting and caring for backyard birds will take place on December 7 at noon. The guest lecture series is hosted by the Department of Environmental Quality’s Office of Environmental Education and Public Affairs and features professionals from a wide range of environmental and science backgrounds representing local and state agencies, colleges and universities, and other organizations throughout the state.
Continue ReadingA court ruling this month reaffirmed the state environmental department’s decision to issue a freshwater discharge permit in Beaufort County that protects public health and the environment. The state environmental department originally issued the permit in 2013 which granted permission for Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. to discharge up to 12 million gallons per day of comingled stormwater and groundwater from a proposed mine near Vanceboro into tributaries of Blounts Creek in Beaufort County.
Continue ReadingThe Division of Marine Fisheries recently handed out 15 awards to anglers participating in the 2016 North Carolina Governor’s Cup Billfishing Conservation Series at an annual awards banquet in Morehead City.
Continue ReadingState environmental officials finalized last week a consent order for Duke Energy’s Riverbend facility in Gaston County. The consent order imposes additional monitoring of seeps to ensure protection of the environment. The order also includes fines for seeps that were supposed to be permitted back in 2010. The consent order is part of an overall strategy requiring full closure of the Riverbend facility by August 1, 2019, and in accordance with the state coal ash law The consent order was publicly noticed and the comment period was closed on Nov. 4, 2016.
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