Press Releases

Due to continued public interest, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) has received an extension from NOAA to conclude the division’s review of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of Protected Resources federal consistency submission regarding the proposed amendments to the North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule (“speed rule”). The comment period was scheduled to end at 5 p.m. on July 31 but has now been extended until 5 p.m. on Aug. 31.

MOREHEAD CITY – State recreational water quality officials today lifted a water quality swimming advisory for a sound-side swimming area in New Hanover County.

MOREHEAD CITY – State recreational water quality officials today lifted a precautionary swimming advisory in Oak Island. The advisory was lifted because floodwaters have receded, and pumping has ceased.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has recommended local health departments in the areas surrounding Lake Gaston lift recreational and fish consumption advisories for the Roanoke River near the North Carolina state line.

MOREHEAD CITY – State recreational water quality officials today advised beachgoers to be aware of the floodwaters being pumped to the ocean surf in Oak Island. Surfers and swimmers should avoid these sites.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) is awarding 20 grants to 19 communities for Phases 3 and 4 of the Resilient Coastal Communities Program (RCCP).

North Carolina is free from extreme drought in the latest advisory issued by the North Carolina Drought Management Advisory Council (DMAC) on Thursday. DMAC classified five counties in severe drought, 30 counties in moderate drought, and 47 counties as extremely dry.

MOREHEAD CITY – State recreational water quality officials today lifted water quality swimming advisories at two ocean-side sites in Dare County.

An advisory against swimming was posted today at a sound-side site in New Hanover County, where state officials found bacteria levels in the water that exceed the state’s and Environmental Protection Agency’s recreational water quality standards.