Press Releases

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) State Energy Office (SEO) will hold a public hearing on March 12 to accept public comments on the Weatherization Assistance Program’s Annual State Plan. The plan describes the administration of the program for fiscal year 2027, as required by federal regulations. Members of the public are invited to attend in person or online.

 Governor Josh Stein announced today that 145 projects in 66 counties across the state will receive more than $472 million in funding for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects. The awards will help cities, towns and counties strengthen infrastructure to better withstand future storms, improve existing drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, reduce contamination by forever chemicals, and identify and replace lead pipes.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has rescheduled the Lines of Communication meetings in North Carolina that were postponed due to inclement weather in early February.

The North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission (CRC) will meet Feb. 25 and 26 at the Dunes Club, 710 E. Fort Macon Road, Atlantic Beach. Members of the public may attend in-person or join the meeting online.

The funding application period for the Recycling Infrastructure Grant program, which focuses on repairs in Helene-damaged regions, will close at the end of this week. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Division of Environmental Assistance and Customer Service (DEACS) a $25 million grant to support these efforts, part of a larger $61 million EPA award to DEQ. The award also includes funding for debris cleanup, pesticide removal, and brownfields development. Visit the NCDEQ Hazardous Waste Management State Program

The State Water Infrastructure Authority will meet in person in Raleigh and via teleconference (Webex) on Wednesday, Feb. 18, from 9 am – 4:15 pm. The public may listen to the meeting online or by phone.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will open a two-week, spring recreational Gulf Flounder season in ocean waters off the central and southeastern parts of coastal North Carolina.

Today in Woodfin, Governor Josh Stein announced $5.7 million in grants from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Flood Resiliency Blueprint to reduce flood risk in the French Broad River Basin. The announcement includes eight projects that will create new floodwater storage, restore and reconnect floodplains, relocate facilities and infrastructure out of harm’s way, and improve water quality.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources (DEMLR) is awarding more than $7.3 million to support repairs for several high-hazard dams that were damaged during Hurricane Helene.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries reminds commercial fishermen and the public that rotational harvest cultch sites in the Pamlico Sound remain open to mechanical oyster harvest, although the season has now closed in all other mechanical oyster harvest management areas.