Press Releases

The Department of Environmental Quality’s Dam Safety Program is currently accepting a second round of applications for the North Carolina Dam Safety Grant Program, which will close at 5 p.m. on June 19, 2026. 

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

The Division of Air Quality (DAQ) is accepting public comments on a draft air quality permit for Egger - Lexington Particleboard Plant in Davidson County.

Today, Attorney General Jeff Jackson took legal action on behalf of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to stop Brenntag Mid-South from continuing to illegally discharge contaminants into state waters and require the company to act immediately to clean up the damage it’s caused.

Eleven new and amended Marine Fisheries Commission rules are now in effect, including rules pertaining to False Albacore management, pot marking requirements, shellfish leases and franchises and various permits.

The Division of Air Quality is accepting public comments on a draft air quality permit for ATI Specialty Materials – Bakers Plant in Union County.

The N.C. Coastal Resources Commission (CRC) will meet June 18 at the Double Tree New Bern Riverfront, 100 Middle St., New Bern. Members of the public may attend in-person or join the meeting online. The CRC Science Panel will present its findings regarding oceanfront hardened structures.

To kick off the sampling season for the Western N.C. Recreational Water Quality Monitoring Program, NC Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson visited Jean Webb Park on the French Broad River in Asheville to demonstrate how DEQ’s Division of Water Resources staff sample for E. coli in local waterways. 

The 2026 recreational flounder season will open Sept. 1-14 in Coastal and Joint Fishing Waters of the state.

Today North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Secretary Reid Wilson visited McDowell County to announce grants for 16 projects in western North Carolina designed to improve waste reduction infrastructure and debris management through the Helene Recovery Recycling Infrastructure (HRRI) grant program.