Two cargo ship engineers convicted of illegal dumping ship waste off of Wilmington’s port will spend months in federal prison.
News Briefs
Staff Prepares for Cold-Stunned Turtles
Staff at the Sea Turtle Assistance and Rehabilitation Center at the North Carolina Aquarium at Roanoke Island are prepared in case plummeting temperatures this week result in a flood of cold-stunned turtles.
Trump Picks Scott Pruitt to Lead EPA
Oklahoma’s attorney general is chosen to lead the EPA over North Carolina Environmental Secretary Donald van der Vaart.
Rabon Appointed to Rules Committee
Sen. Bill Rabon of Brunswick County has been named the new Senate Rules Committee chairman, Senate majority leader Phil Berger announced Tuesday.
Wood Pellet Facility Operations Set to Begin
Enviva’s terminal at the N.C. Port of Wilmington and the company’s wood-pellet production facility in Sampson County are substantially complete and the port’s handling of the biofuel is expected to begin this month.
Swan Days Festival Set for Dec. 10
Lake Mattamuskeet Wildlife Refuge will host its annual celebration of bird migration Saturday.
Update on Navassa Cleanup Set for Dec. 7
Federal and state officials are set to discuss with the public the latest on the contamination cleanup at the former Kerr-McGee Chemical Corp. site in Navassa.
Judge Affirms Blounts Creek Discharge Permit
An administrative court judge has affirmed a decision to allow a mining company to dump up to 12 million gallons of wastewater into Blounts Creek.
Coastal Reserve Committees To Meet
Local advisory committees for the Currituck Banks Reserve, Buxton Woods Reserve and Kitty Hawk Woods Reserve are slated to meet in December.
Federation Urges Caution on Park Plans
The North Carolina Coastal Federation says plans in the works to develop a 300-acre addition to Hammocks Beach State Park should be limited to “low-impact” activities or risk damaging its natural features.
Piedmont to Replace Gas Line Beneath River
Piedmont Natural Gas seeks permits to install a replacement gas line beneath the Cape Fear River to the Sutton steam plant in New Hanover County.
DEQ Secretary Asks Trump to Curb EPA
North Carolina is one of five states asking the president-elect to roll back federal control and give states more power to regulate the environment.
Revenue-Sharing Bill Halted in Senate
The Senate, in a procedural vote Thursday, rejected a bill that would have allowed revenue sharing from offshore energy production with states, including North Carolina.
Truax To Join Environmental Defense Fund
Hawley Truax, the environment officer at the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, will start at his new position at the Environmental Defense Fund in January.
Cape Lookout’s Pat Kenney Gets Promotion
Pat Kenney, superintendent at Cape Lookout National Seashore since 2011, was recently selected as the new deputy superintendent of Yellowstone National Park.
Figure Eight’s Terminal Groin Vote Falls Short
A vote on a special assessment of Figure Eight Island property owners to pay for a proposed terminal groin at Rich Inlet has come up short of the number needed for the project to proceed.
