Those are the environmental bills that are due up next as the N.C. General Assembly enters the last few weeks of its session.
News & Features
McCrory, DENR Oppose Jetty Bill
A move by coastal senators to scuttle a 2011 compromise on the use of terminal groins to halt beach erosion has gotten a cold reception from the McCrory Administration.
State Senate Takes Ax to Ocracoke Center
North Carolina spent $7 million to renovate an old Coast Guard Station on Ocracoke for the east campus of the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching. Now the Senate wants to shutter the place.
State Could Acquire Oregon Inlet?
The Senate’s proposed budget contains a provision that creates a task force to look into acquiring the notorious inlet in Dare County from the federal government.
Coming Full Circle in Down East Carteret
Another 400 acres of wetlands will soon be restored in a monumental project that the N.C. Coastal Federation and several partners started more than a decade ago to turn 6,000 acres of farmland in Carteret County back to wetlands.
Wood Pellet Plans Raise Suspicions… Again
The N.C. State Ports Authority’s latest plans to bring wood pellet exporting facilities to its ports in Morehead City and Wilmington have again raised questions about the authority’s openness and willingness to involve the public.
Proposed Turtle Habitat Has Locals Worried
Some local governments say a federal plan to increase protection of loggerhead sea turtles is a threat to crucial beach re-nourishment, but federal officials say the critics’ contentions are overblown.
Senate Budget Remakes Conservation Funds
The proposed N.C. Senate budget closely mirrors Gov. Pat McCrory’s proposal in terms of overall dollars, but it contains a number of key distinctions in priorities, including a complete overhaul of the state’s conservation trust funds.
How Much Freshwater Can a Swamp Take?
That’s the main question being asked about two proposed quarries that will dump almost 24 million gallons a day of freshwater into brackish, blackwater creeks.
Jockey’s Ridge Makes Fetching Classroom
Jockey’s Ridge State Park is a place where kids learn about yucca plants and pennywort, blue crabs and croaker and all about the watery world around them.
Bill Guts Safeguards for Terminal Groins
Small jetties, called terminal groins, could be built at all the inlets along the N.C. coast, under a bill that a state Senate committee passed yesterday, and state taxpayers could be asked to pay for all of them.
Ruling Favors Putting Septic Tanks on Beach
A new state ruling will make it easier for the owners of houses like this one to replace septic systems lost to storms on the beach as long as they are 50 feet from the water at low tide.
Busy Week Ahead at Legislature
Legislators are considering many environmental bills as the so-called “crossover” deadline approaches this week in the N.C. General Assembly. We offer a summary of important bills to help you keep up.
Hoop Pole Gives Kids a Taste of the Coast
Students from the N.C. School for the Deaf spent some time at the federation’s Hoop Pole Creek Preserve to learn about the coastal environment. Some of the kids had never been to the beach before.
‘Reform’ Bill Could Have Sweeping Effects
The N.C. Senate is considering yet another “regulatory reform” bill that follows similarly named bills of the previous two sessions. The bill would make an array of changes to environmental policy and regulations that could have far-reaching implications.
Some Hammerheads to Get Protection
Federal fisheries managers have proposed adding four populations of hammerhead sharks to the Endangered Species List. Those off the Southeast coast aren’t included despite dramatic declines in their population.
