National Estuaries Week, Sept. 21-28, is a celebration of economically and ecologically vital and sensitive ecosystems, and there’s still time to take part and learn more.
News & Features
‘Total mess’ after third Rodanthe house in four days falls
“I would say the debris field was so dense and thick, for the first quarter-mile south of the house collapse site that it was difficult to actually walk,” Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent Dave Hallac said.
Van der Vaart: Likely carcinogen does not equal carcinogen
Chief Administrative Law Judge and Director of the Office of Administrative Hearings Dr. Donald van der Vaart revoked permit limits of 1,4-dioxane for municipal wastewater treatment plants that discharge a compound the EPA calls a likely human carcinogen into the drinking water sources of tens of thousands.
BOEM begins planning second Atlantic offshore wind lease
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is in the early stages of planning to determine new wind energy areas for the Central Atlantic region.
Bald Head Island ferry firm, passengers reach settlement
A proposal submitted to the North Carolina Utilities Commission earlier this month would ease pushback over schedules and issues with capacity.
Work gets underway to pinpoint Buxton pollution source
Corps of Engineers contractors are to start work Friday near Old Lighthouse Beach in an intensified effort to find the source of intermittent fuel odors and oily soil first exposed more than a year ago by storm erosion.
Storm thrashes NC coast: historic rainfall, crumpled roads
Brunswick and New Hanover counties each saw more than 15 inches of rainfall over the past two days as the storm that formed off the East Coast came ashore near Myrtle Beach.
Update: PFAS groundwater rule OK’d for public comment
The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission on Thursday unanimously waived the normal 30-day public notice, expediting the rulemaking process covering the compounds classified as likely carcinogens.
Plan in motion to build resiliency in Carteret’s North River
Coastal Carolina Riverwatch has worked with North River residents on a long-term plan to address multiple flooding challenges in the flood-prone, unincorporated area of the county .
Cape Lookout dredge spoils used to restore vanishing island
A haven for waterbirds since at least 1970, the quickly vanishing Sandbag Island near Harkers Island was recently expanded from a tenth of an acre to 5 acres using spoils from a dredge project around Cape Lookout Lighthouse.
NC focuses on helping municipal water, sewer — not septic
Some towns are providing assistance for people on private systems, about half the state’s households.
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.
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.
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.
Jacksonville project to pinpoint impaired areas in New River
After successfully taking on the bacterial pollution that had plagued the river for 20 years, city officials are now turning their attention and a $400,000 state grant toward the development-related runoff that causes algal blooms and fish kills.
Superintendent ‘disappointed,’ unsurprised by 7th collapse
Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent Dave Hallac tells Coastal Review it was no shock to learn last week that the seventh house had collapsed into the surf on park property in four years.