While solar industry changes and a wind project moratorium passed, bills with coastal stormwater changes, the creation of a new fund to pay for beach re-nourishment, new dredging plans and repeal of the plastic bag ban on the Outer Banks remain on the table.
News & Features
GenX Unknowns Frustrate Folks at Forum
Wilmington-area residents who attended the recent forum on GenX contamination in the public water supply wanted to know about safety, but answers may be years away.
Stewards Aim to Protect Beach-Nesting Birds
The Emerald Isle Waterbird Stewards Program, under the supervision of the Wildlife Resources Commission, is working to protect beach-nesting least terns and Wilson’s plovers, both of special concern in North Carolina.
Butler Raises GenX Issue During Budget Talks
New Hanover County’s Rep. Deb Butler pointed to concern about the GenX compound in the Wilmington area’s drinking water supply and DEQ permitting backlogs in a plea to spare the agency from cuts in the budget passed Thursday.
Navassa Residents Demand Health Answers
Folks living near the site of a former wood-treatment operation in Navassa in Brunswick County say their questions about its health risks have gone unanswered for too long.
Can Hemp Take Root As Coastal Cash Crop?
Northeastern N.C. farmer Fen Rascoe is one of a few dozen in the state licensed to grow hemp, a once-important cash crop now legal again for the first time in decades.
Topsail Dune Rule: Is Legislative Fix Possible?
Both sides in the ongoing battle over Topsail Beach’s repeal of its dune-protection ordinance agree that a related provision recently stripped from a pending House bill was too broad.
Agency Moves to Revamp Red Wolf Program
The Fish and Wildlife Service is considering public input as it overhauls its red wolf recovery program, a controversial effort to save an endangered species.
Park Improvements Target Runoff Reduction
Tools for slowing the flow of polluting stormwater runoff were the focus of a recent event at the Cedar Point Recreation Area, part of a collaborative effort to restore water quality in the White Oak River.
Drilling, Seismic Opponents Rally … Again
More than 100 environmental advocates gathered this week in Wilmington to renew their battle against seismic exploration for oil and gas off the N.C. coast.
New Seismic Permitting Process Begins
Federal officials this week took steps toward approving permits for seismic exploration for oil and natural gas off the East Coast, as opponents warn of its threats to the coastal environment.
Can New Reef Design Save Historic Shoreline?
The Brunswick Town/Fort Anderson State Historic Site’s storm-battered shoreline on the Cape Fear will soon test how a new oyster reef design curbs erosion in a high-energy wave environment.
House, Senate Plans Differ on DEQ Cuts
The House and Senate must reconcile policy choices and a $15 million difference in funding for the Department of Environmental Quality as work on a final budget deal begins.
Bag Ban Repeal, Topsail Dune Rule Advance
The Senate has amended a bill that would now, among other things, repeal a longstanding ban on single-use plastic bags on the Outer Banks and address Topsail Beach’s dune-protection efforts.
With Feds’ Reversal on Seismic, What Next?
The Interior Department recently moved to restart the review process for applications for seismic exploration for offshore oil and gas but it remains unclear how long permitting will take.
Agencies Lack Power to Clear Derelict Boats
A recent federal report echoes what many agencies and state and local governments already know: Abandoned boats in public waters are a problem with no easy solutions.
