Press Releases

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries Shellfish Lease and Aquaculture Program will hold a public hearing on proposed shellfish bottom and water column leases in Hyde County at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, 2026. The hearing will be held in person at the Hyde County Courthouse, 40 Oyster Creek Road, Swan Quarter, N.C. 27885 and via Webex.

The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission will hold three public hearings to receive public comment on proposed rules for monitoring and minimizing three PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in wastewater discharged into North Carolina’s surface waters. The hearings are part of a comment period that begins on March 16.

The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission will hold three public hearings to hear public comment on proposed rules for monitoring and minimizing 1,4-dioxane, a substance likely to cause cancer, in wastewater discharged into North Carolina’s surface waters from certain facilities. The hearings are part of a comment period that begins on March 16.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries has opened the 2026 application period for the state’s Shellfish Lease and Aquaculture Program. Individuals interested in leasing public coastal waters to cultivate shellfish may submit applications through Aug. 1, 2026.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries has updated freezer sites for collecting Gulf Flounder carcasses from recreational fishermen during the 2026 spring season, held March 9-22 in ocean waters from Portsmouth Island to the South Carolina line. The carcasses will be used for research purposes.

North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson and Matt Calabria, Director of the Governor’s Recovery Office for Western North Carolina (GROW NC), traveled to Lady Marian Dam in McDowell County today to highlight the Department’s recent awards of $7.3 million to address at-risk dams that were damaged by Hurricane Helene. 

Today Governor Josh Stein and Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson visited Cape Fear Public Utility Authority's Sweeney Water Treatment Plant in Wilmington to announce $17 million in grants to protect families from forever chemicals like PFAS and GenX in their drinking water. The funds will be used to extend waterlines to connect more than 300 homes with contaminated wells to CFPUA's supply of safe drinking water. This funding follows the Governor's recent announcement of more than $472 million for drinking water and wastewater infrastructure projects across 66 counties

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will collect Gulf Flounder carcasses from recreational fishermen during the 2026 spring season, held March 9-22 in ocean waters from Portsmouth Island to the South Carolina line. The carcasses will be used for research purposes.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries is reminding fishermen that Sheepshead regulations will change for both recreational and commercial fisheries beginning March 1. The Division is implementing changes because of increases in sheepshead harvest, particularly juvenile fish, in recent years.

The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission will meet March 11-12 on the Ground Floor Hearing Room of the Archdale Building in Raleigh. Members of the public may attend in-person or join the meeting by computer or phone.