The proposed budget includes funding to address PFAS in drinking water sources and to support a team within DEQ to address PFAS statewide.
News & Features
Outer Banks recycling stabilizes after years of turmoil
Upheaval in markets, controversy over incineration and escalating costs had prompted officials in Dare and Currituck county towns to question whether to continue the service.
Albemarle-Pamlico resilience gets $27.25 million boost
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced funding for the agency’s National Wildlife Refuge System for Albemarle-Pamlico restoration initiatives.
EPA rule would require water providers to monitor for PFAS
An Environmental Protection Agency rule would set limits on six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in public water systems with providers responsible for monitoring and notifying the public when levels exceed standards.
Offshore wind advocates weigh opportunities, uncertainties
Government officials, researchers and utility insiders shared their observations and concerns about the burgeoning industry during a recent symposium.
Cost-share funding for runoff management gains support
The state Environmental Management Commission has unanimously adopted a resolution calling for expanding and funding programs to help landowners manage and lessen polluted stormwater runoff.
PFAS testing: 1,000 homes qualify for filtration or tap, so far
As PFAS sampling continues on private drinking wells, nearly 1,000 households downstream of Chemours’ Fayetteville Works plant have levels that qualify for in-home filtration systems or a public water utility connection.
Solutions are few for imperiled oceanfront homes: Panel
Officials at the first public meeting of an interagency work group said that while prevention could be far less costly than cleanup, limited programs or funding options are available to deal with erosion-threatened oceanfront homes before they collapse.
Environmental Justice Board to assist on flood resiliency
The Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board has appointed a committee to advise the Division of Mitigation Services on including underrepresented communities in its development of a statewide flood resilience plan.
Ocean Isle Beach may test hay, pine straw bales to trap sand
The Brunswick County town has been granted a variance to use hay and pine straw bales as an alternative to sand fencing at six areas on the eastern end of the island.
Groups join forces to save, release cold-stunned sea turtles
The state’s three aquariums, with help from the Coast Guard, National Park Service, veterinarians and others, recently released more than 100 sea turtles back into warmer ocean waters.
Scientists dispute claims behind call for wind moratorium
Researchers say there’s no evidence that offshore wind development surveys contributed to the recent deaths of whales along the Mid-Atlantic coast, where officials have called for a moratorium.
EPA Secretary Regan touts PFAS funding during NC stop
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan announced Monday in Maysville that $62 million in federal infrastructure money will be available to address drinking water contamination in North Carolina.
Paid parking ‘a major issue’ in Topsail Beach
Topsail Beach, the lone town on Topsail Island to maintain free public parking, could be next in joining the ranks of beach towns that charge public parking fees.
Topsail Island panel to lobby for terminal groin funding
North Carolina law bars state money for terminal groins, but the Topsail Island Shoreline Protection Commission has made it a goal this year to change that law.
Rodanthe sand project unlikely, but new study to begin
Beachfront property owners in Rodanthe want beach nourishment to protect their erosion-threatened houses, but the questions of how much sand and how to pay for it are unanswered.
