The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources yesterday levied the largest environmental fine in state history against Duke Energy for groundwater contamination from coal ash ponds at the company’s L.V. Sutton power plant near Wilmington.
Todd Miller Wins Prestigious Award
The founder and executive director of the N.C. Coastal Federation has won a Peter Benchley Ocean Award for his lifelong work in protecting and restoring the natural resources of the N.C. coast.
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly of Drilling
The first N.C. skirmish in what will certainly be a prolonged battle over offshore drilling played out in Wilmington Tuesday. CRO editor Frank Tursi takes you into the heart of both camps.
Federation Set to Launch Two Websites
Come Monday, Coastal Review Online will move to a new digital home and the federation’s website will get a complete remodeling.
Feds Announce Atlantic Drilling Plan
The Obama Administration announced plans to potentially open portions of the Atlantic coast, including offshore North Carolina, to oil and natural gas drilling for the first time in 30 years.
Feds Move Closer to Offshore Wind in N.C.
The federal government yesterday took the next significant step toward developing commercial wind energy off the N.C. coast by releasing an environmental assessment that supports the potential lease sale for more than 300,000 acres.
Sea-Level Rise Redux
There were no fireworks this week over the release of a new draft report on sea-level rise along the N.C. coast. The new report contains no scary forecasts, no hockey stick graphs.
Group Threatens Legal Action to Protect Wetlands
The N.C. Coastal Federation plans to notify two federal agencies today that it intends to sue them for not enforcing federal law to protect more than 250 acres of wetlands in Pamlico County.
Second Annual Christmas Gift Guide
From an island getaway overlooking Bogue Inlet to a killer stand-up paddleboard, our staff has come up with an array of suggestions for our second Coastal Christmas Gift Guide.
Storms, Whales and Refugees
A great hurricane drove the Ca’e Bankers from Shackleford Banks to Harkers Island, Salter Path and a place they called the Promise Land, but not before they took the most famous whale in N.C. history.
Ca’e Bankers
Old photos and artifacts, like an old whale gun, tell the story of the hardy fishing families who once lived in Diamond City and the other settlements near the Cape Lookout Lighthouse.
Coastal Sketch: John Runkle
Meet John Runkle, an environmental attorney and the only person to serve on the N.C. Coastal Federation’s board of directors for all 32 years.
No Sand on Shack, Park Says
After listening to the public and consulting the experts, the superintendent of Cape Lookout National Seashore decided to back away from his controversial request that dredged sand be considered to shore up the eroding end of Shackleford Banks.
CRC Chairman Avoids Climate Dust Up
The chairman of the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission defused a potentially explosive issue in the sea-level rise debate by appointing a respected geologist to the CRC’s panel of science advisers.
CRC Limits Sea-Level Rise Study to 30 Years
The N.C. Coastal Resources Commission yesterday directed its scientific advisors to limit their new study of sea-level rise to how high the ocean might get 30 years in the future, not 100 years.
Coastal Sketch: Orrin Pilkey
Orrin Pilkey spent his life fighting for the world’s beaches. Duke University honored one of its most distinguished professors by naming a new research lab for him.
