Press Releases

The N.C. Coastal Habitat Protection Plan Steering Committee will meet by web conference at 1 p.m. April 20.

Brian Deanes is the Marine Patrol Officer of the Year for 2020, but when he first learned he was chosen he was a little surprised.

The N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve will conduct an application process to identify potential members for its Local Advisory Committees. Community members are needed for each of the Coastal Reserve’s ten sites: Bird Island Reserve, Bald Head Woods Reserve, Zeke’s Island Reserve, Masonboro Island Reserve, Permuda Island Reserve, Rachel Carson Reserve, Buxton Woods Reserve, Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve, Currituck Banks Reserve, and Emily and Preyer Buckridge Reserve.

The recreational cobia fishing season will open May 1 in North Carolina waters with new private vessel limits.

The N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve will hold local advisory committee meetings by web conference April 19-30, 2021. The public may join the meetings online or by phone.

Newly amended rules pertaining to coastal recreational water quality monitoring to protect the public health of swimmers go into effect today.

RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Waste Management (DWM) will host a public hearing on Tuesday, May 4, on a draft solid waste permit for the first of three new landfills at the Allen Steam Station. The draft permit will include Duke Energy’s construction and operation of the first new landfill (called the North Starter Landfill) for the disposal of excavated coal ash at the Allen Steam Station. Members of the public are invited to attend the public hearing online or by phone and provide their comments on the proposed permit.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources (DWR) has approved permit modification requests to install anaerobic digesters at four animal feeding operations participating in a biogas processing project with Align RNG, LLC.  After extensive review of the applications and consideration of community concerns, DWR added additional sampling conditions and site-specific changes to the best management practices.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has assessed $199,379.16 in penalties in the recent enforcement actions against Chemours for failing to meet conditions of the Consent Order and violations related to the construction and installation of the required treatment measures at Old Outfall 002 and Seep C.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ) will host a digital public hearing on Tuesday, May 4 on a draft renewal permit for The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s (UNC) Title V air permit. The public is invited to attend the hearing online or by phone provide their comments on the proposed permit. DAQ will also accept comments on the draft permit through May 6.