Press Releases

Air quality officials have issued an advisory for air pollution in Western North Carolina on Monday and Tuesday as smoke from numerous wildfires blankets the region.

With wildfires burning across Western North Carolina, state air quality officials are distributing a visibility guide for assessing health risks from smoke due to wildfires.

For the first time since the drought of 2008, exceptional drought conditions have moved into Clay and Cherokee counties, the two most western counties in North Carolina.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission is looking for commercial and recreational fishermen and scientists to advise it on various fisheries issues.

Officials with the state environmental department are asking for public feedback on draft permits that aim to protect water quality at Duke Energy’s W.H. Weatherspoon Plant.

The state environmental agency will hold a public hearing Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016 on a draft water quality permit that would serve as a critical step toward safely closing coal ash ponds at Duke Energy’s Rogers Energy Complex.

The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission will meet Nov. 16-18 at Hilton Garden Inn, 5353 N. Virginia Dare Trail, Kitty Hawk.

The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries has certified a new state record cubera snapper and the first state record rainbow runner.

Randal Harmon of Morehead City caught the cubera snapper on Sept. 28 while fishing off Atlantic Beach on the Capt. Stacy headboat.

Governor Pat McCrory announced today that more than $945,000 in grants has been awarded for nine projects that will help North Carolina communities restore streams, reduce flooding and erosion, aid in stormwater management, provide recreational opportunities and benefit the state’s water resource

The Elizabeth City office of the Divisions of Coastal Management and Marine Fisheries is closing for facility repairs and will remain closed for an undetermined amount of time.