Eighteen journalists recently spent a week touring central and eastern North Carolina to learn about the state’s most-pressing environmental issues. Two “Coastal Review Online” reporters were among them. This is the first of their two reports.
News & Features
Federation Staff Finally Moves Home
It’s been a long time coming, but the N.C. Coastal Federation Southeast staff finally moved into its new office, a remodeled beach house in Wrightsville Beach.
Oyster Workshop: A Meeting of the Minds
Experts gathered in Beaufort to talk about the best ways to restore and enhance North Carolina’s oyster populations and water quality.
Groups Ask Court to Dismiss State Suit
The N.C. Coastal Federation and two other environmental groups say the state’s lawsuit against tougher air-pollution regulations was filed three years too late.
The Congo of Polluted Water
If connected end-to-end, North Carolina’s impaired river and stream segments would form the ninth-longest river in the world. Its acreage of polluted lakes, marshes and sounds would cover Yellowstone National Park.
A Sneak Preview of the Coming Session
Environmental bills that the N.C. General Assembly will likely consider this year include one that would loosen restrictions on environmental ordinances passed by local governments.
Venerable Lab Under Budget Axe
The second-oldest federal fisheries laboratory in the country will have to close its doors in Carteret County if Congress passes President Obama’s 2015 federal budget.
The Fickleness of Sand
Beach sand is a fickle thing. There’s too much of it in Nags Head, where it’s covering walkways and spilling into pools and not enough of it a few miles away in Rodanthe.
Talking Shop About Oysters
Experts will gather near Beaufort today for a two-day workshop to talk about restoring the state’s native oysters.
Deja Vu All Over Again?
A task force created by the state legislature is studying ways to acquire Oregon Inlet and adjacent lands. With the land in hand, the state could then resurrect the old plan to build jetties at the inlet.
Coastal Residents Seek Rate Relief
Coastal residents are facing a tidal wave of pending insurance rate hikes. A bill in the N.C. General Assembly could offer some relief.
Meetings Set for Inlet-Management Study
The first of four meetings to hear what people think are the best ways to manage the developed inlets along the N.C. coast will be held this week in Buxton.
Opinions Split on Offshore Seismic Testing
Gov. Pat McCrory welcomed a new federal environmental review that opens the N.C. coast to seismic testing for oil and natural gas, but a number of groups and hundreds people at town meetings disagree.
CRC Removes Restrictions at Old Inlet
To no one’s surprise, the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission yesterday sided with its science panel and agreed to a rule change that will lift the development restrictions from Mad Inlet at Sunset Beach.
Sunset Beach Wants CRC to Table Inlet Proposal
The state’s Coastal Resources Commission will take up a controversial proposal when it meets today to remove an old inlet from state rules that restrict development near inlets, but Sunset Beach wants the CRC to table it.
Spreading the Word About Runoff Control
Burrows Smith, a Wilmington developer, will be one of the attendees at a conference next month who will be preaching about new methods to control poisoned runoff to protect coastal waters.
