Press Releases

The State of North Carolina has made a recommendation to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the organization designate all 100 counties in the state as meeting a stricter federal air pollution standard set last year.Ambient air quality monitoring data and an analysis of smoke impacts from the 2023 Canadian wildfires supports the state’s recommendation to the EPA that North Carolina be designated fully in attainment with the nation’s revised annual standard for fine particulate matter, also known as PM2.5.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ) has issued a modified air quality permit to International Paper – Riegelwood Mill in Columbus County.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR) has identified elevated 1,4-dioxane levels discharged from the City of Asheboro Wastewater Treatment Plant to Hasketts Creek, which drains to the Deep River within the Cape Fear River Basin. 1,4-Dioxane is categorized by the EPA as a likely human carcinogen, or a substance that likely can cause cancer.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet in person Feb. 19-21 at the Hilton Garden Inn, 5353 N. Virginia Dare Trail, Kitty Hawk, N.C. 27949. The meeting will also be livestreamed on YouTube.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) State Energy Office is holding a series of public engagement opportunities in February and March to provide information and gather feedback on the Department’s initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of the federal Climate Pollution Reduction Grant’s (CPRG) Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP).

The North Carolina Sedimentation Control Commission will meet in the Ground Floor Hearing Room of the Archdale Building in Raleigh at 10 a.m. on Feb. 6, 2025.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries Standard Commercial Fishing License Eligibility Board will meet by teleconference at 10:30 a.m. on April 17. The board will consider license applications that are deemed complete and submitted by March 28.

DWR will hold a public hearing on Feb. 27 at the Currituck County Center to hear public comment on North Carolina Department of Transportation and North Carolina Turnpike Authority’s 401 water quality certification application for the proposed Mid-Currituck Bridge project.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) is announcing the availability of approximately $2 million in funding to help local governments in 20 coastal counties improve public access to coastal beaches and waters for the 2025-26 fiscal year.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will hold an in-person workshop January 27 with the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Advisory Committee to review draft Amendment 4 to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan.