The close to 800 acres is expected to further the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s mission to protect water quality, while supporting military readiness, as well as to provide a new official portion of North Carolina’s Mountains-to-Sea Trail, the environmental group said Monday.
Spotlight
Mapping upgrades go live in online flood blueprint tool
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s online tool designed to help local governments, agencies and nongovernmental partners plan and prioritize flood resilience actions now includes new maps for five river basins in Eastern North Carolina.
Corps says initiative will streamline infrastructure permitting
An Army Corps of Engineers initiative announced earlier this year is geared to speed up and improve the permitting process for civil works projects, eliminating “bureaucratic delays” with new technology and tools, but when it comes to dredging and beach nourishment, nothing is as simple as that may sound.
Commercial, for-hire fishing license, permit presale is April 15
Commercial and for-hire fishers may take advantage of the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries’ presales for fishing licenses and permits beginning April 15.
Don’t hate the pines but Pollen-palooza ’26 is now upon us
One day, you’ll be standing at your window, minding your own business, watching plants start to green up, and then the blast of springtime begins, but it’s hard to see why there’s so much of it.
Carolina Long Bay wind energy firm takes Trump buyout
The Interior Department’s announcement Monday that the developer of wind energy leases off the North Carolina and New York coasts had taken a $1 billion taxpayer buyout rather than proceeding marks a sharp pivot from the company’s previously stated position.
Study of past erosion-control lessons key to ongoing review
Analyzing lessons learned over decades of fighting back the ocean is critical as the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission’s Science Panel wraps up its ongoing study of the effects of permanent beach erosion control structures such as seawalls and jetties.
Panel takes new look at beach erosion-control structures
Special report: As beach erosion alarms sound up and down the North Carolina coast and Outer Banks houses continue to fall into the ocean, policymakers are once again eyeing the science behind the state’s longstanding hardened structures ban.
Tea parties too: Edenton, Wilmington women protested tax
Through boycotts and burning, women in Wilmington and Edenton took a stand in 1774 against England’s taxation without representation by forming their own tea party protests, the earliest-known political actions organized by women in the American colonies.
Leland council looks to firm up town’s purchasing policy
The Brunswick County town’s board voted Wednesday to seek Local Government Commission guidance regarding procurement policies related to elected officials amid fallout from an investigation into a council member’s laptop order.
Hertford residents protest ICE’s plans for Rivers Correctional
Plans for a Hertford County for-profit prison that closed in 2021 to reopen as an immigrant detention center drew a few dozen protestors Saturday in this sparsely populated, rural part of the coast.
New state Clean Water Act certification rules take effect
Applicants for permits for construction and other projects with impacts to waters or wetlands that meet thresholds and conditions under the state’s newly implemented general certification will be waived from the 30-day notice requirement.
Creek Week to connect residents with region’s waterways
Cape Fear Creek Week, scheduled for March 14-21, offers a variety of opportunities to connect participates with local waterways of the Cape Fear Region.
Public hearings set on proposed wastewater discharge rules
Six public hearings scheduled for next month through May will cover proposed PFAS and 1,4-dixoane monitoring and minimization rules governing wastewater discharges into North Carolina’s surface waters.
New cost report puts proposed Mid-Currituck bridge at $1.2B
A new analysis of two revenue options has cast doubts on the project’s future, with serious concerns raised about the latest estimated construction costs that hover around $1.2 billion.
Population growth to impact water infrastructure: Forum
The 2026 Emerging Issues Forum held last week evaluated challenges associated with the state’s aging water infrastructure and its workforce, and possible solutions.
