The Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Division of Water Resources (DWR) will conduct an online public hearing on October 20, 2020 to discuss the proposed removal of the supplemental Swamp (Sw) classification and a portion of a water quality management plan, for an area of the Cape Fear River located in Brunswick and New Hanover Counties (Cape Fear River Basin).The proposed actions would affect the Cape Fear River from the upstream mouth of Toomers Creek to a line across the river , between Lilliput Creek and Snows Cut, where the Intracoastal Waterway meets the river.
The proposal is the result of the 2018 disapproval of the Sw classification and part of the associated management plan by the Environmental Protection Agency and a 2019 petition submitted by the Cape Fear River Watch and Waterkeeper Alliance to remove the Sw classification, granted by the Environmental Management Commission (EMC).
Based on public health guidance to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the public hearing will be held virtually. All participants must register by 12 p.m. on day of hearing.
Date: Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Time: 6:00 p.m.
WebEx link: https://tinyurl.com/yxo91csz
WebEx password: bpKhm8bjP32
WebEx phone number: 1-415-655-0003
WebEx access code: 161 082 1972
(Participants may log in and join the meeting 15 minutes prior to the start time.)
Public comments may be submitted through Nov 2, 2020 by emailing elizabeth.kountis@ncdenr.gov or mailing to:
Elizabeth Kountis
DEQ-Division of Water Resources Planning Section
1611 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-1611
More information on the proposed classification removal can be found here. A list of documents related to the proposal are listed below.