The state Division of Water Resources is accepting comments through Oct. 4 on a request to set interim maximum allowable concentrations in groundwater for eight PFAS.
Archives
UNCW Blue Economy Index rises 3.07% during August
The University of North Carolina Wilmington Blue Economy Index, a measure of economic activities in the oceans, slightly underperformed its closest benchmarks.
Bald Head Island curfew put to rest as staff eyes cameras
Public resistance to a proposed ordinance setting a curfew for teens has prompted village staff to instead look to camera systems and other ways to curb late-night sign vandalism and water-balloon attacks.
Blaze the plover returns from Illinois after rearing chicks
Blaze, a piping plover shown here on the beach in Waukegan, Illinois, has returned for the second consecutive year to winter at Masonboro Inlet in New Hanover County. The small, but determined piping plover was abandoned before she hatched and became among the first captive-reared chicks to be released from the University of Michigan Biological Station in 2023. Within about two months of her release into the wild, Blaze migrated south to spend the winter at Masonboro Inlet, according to Audubon North Carolina. Audubon officials spotted Blaze Aug. 15 at the inlet, returning from Waukegan, where she successfully raised three chicks. Photo courtesy of the Lake County (Illinois) Audubon Society.
Expectations: ‘Make the best of the way things turn out’
How and where you set your expectations ahead of a planned fishing trip determines how that adventure will turn out far more than the number of fish boated.
Commission advances rule for straw bales in lieu of fencing
The Coastal Resources Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved the fiscal impact analysis of the proposed rule, which officials don’t expect to result in a significant increase in the use of straw bales to curb erosion.
Park projects in 3 coastal counties chosen for state grants
Of the nearly $18 million in grants being awarded through the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, about $1.5 million will go to efforts in Chowan, Hyde and Brunswick counties.
Town council puts Hotel Hinton permit decision on hold
Edenton officials have tabled action on a requested permit related to SAGA Realty and Construction’s $9 million plans for the historic Hotel Hinton.
Conchologists expand, revise popular seashell field guide
Seashell enthusiasts teamed up to revise and expand the decades-old “Seashells of North Carolina” written in 1997 by Hugh Porter, who had a 55-year career at UNC Institute of Marine Sciences, and Lynn Houser.
Groups petition EPA to revoke NC’s water permit authority
Advocacy groups are asking the Environmental Protection Agency to revoke the state’s authority to regulate water pollution through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit program.
Division, nonprofit team to tag red drum, track by satellite
Popular among anglers, little is known about the reproduction and migration of the state’s official saltwater fish, which the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries and N.C. Marine & Estuary Foundation’s new pilot tagging study seeks to remedy.
Full sun, fully shaded
A sea of sunshades hug the shoreline recently in Atlantic Beach on Bogue Banks. Photo: Dylan Ray
Fisheries aligns with Wildlife Resources’ flounder season
The Division of Marine Fisheries has lined up its rules with those of the Wildlife Resources Commission for recreational flounder fishing by hook-and-line in joint waters.
Perquimans answers longtime call to develop water access
The county last year completed a $7 million deep-water boat basin on the Perquimans River near Hertford, the first step in officials’ decades-long goal of developing the waterfront for commercial use.
State outdoor recreation plan online survey closes Sept. 30
The online survey is to help the state guide its comprehensive outdoor recreation plan that must be updated every five years.
A Forgotten People: Bohemian oyster shuckers on NC coast
“By drawing especially on coastal newspapers, and with help from some wonderful librarians, archivists, and museum curators, I will try to sketch the best portrait I can of the Bohemian oyster shuckers and their lives on the North Carolina coast between 1890 and 1914,” historian David Cecelski writes.
