N.C. Legislative Building, Raleigh. RALEIGH – Final votes are expected this week on a $23.9 billion budget adjustment bill that includes several coastal projects, including a dredge dedicated to Oregon Inlet, and a special provision that largely mirrors recently introduced legislation responding to GenX and emerging contaminants. Related: Budget Process…
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Gov., DEQ Warn About New GenX Legislation
Built by DuPont, the Chemours Co.’s Fayetteville Works complex along the Cape Fear River covers 2,150 acres in Cumberland and Bladen counties. File illustration RALEIGH — Gov. Roy Cooper and Department of Environmental Quality officials warned that the latest proposed legislation in response to health concerns about GenX and other…
Budget Process Underway, Draws Criticism
Dredges operate in Oregon Inlet. File Photo RALEIGH — Funding for continued work on oyster restoration, beach renourishment and a plan for a private-public partnership to purchase a hopper dredge dedicated to keeping Oregon Inlet open are among the top coastal items in this year’s budget, legislators say. Rep. Pat…
New GenX Bills Prompt Enforcement Worries
N.C. Legislative Building, Raleigh. RALEIGH – Compromise legislation emerged from a monthslong back and forth between the House and Senate Thursday, but legal experts say that rather than dealing with GenX contamination, the new law could make it more difficult to enforce environmental laws. Tandem bills were filed in the…
House, Senate Move Toward Deal on GenX
N.C. Legislative Building, Raleigh. This is a developing story. Update: House and Senate Republicans and Democrats filed competing bills Thursday with different approaches to addressing GenX and other emerging contaminants. RALEIGH — “We’re moving forward on it,” Senate Rules Committee chairman Bill Rabon said Wednesday afternoon as he and Rep….
Little Support for Ferry Route Cuts, Fare Hikes
A state ferry arrives at the Swan Quarter dock. Photo: N.C. Ferry Division RALEIGH — The reception to recommendations for fare increases and cuts in off-season ferry trips ranged from tepid to ice cold at a legislative hearing here last week. Members of the joint House and Senate Program Evaluation…
Cooper Warns Zinke of Lawsuit Over Drilling
…based on tourism and fisheries. “I think he heard loud and clear from a cross section of North Carolina that we do not want offshore oil and gas drilling off the coast of North Carolina,” Cooper said. “We’ve been saying since this summer ‘no way, not off our coast.’” Watch…
New Questions As GenX Debate Continues
This story has been updated. RALEIGH — When test results show high levels of GenX or any of the other emerging contaminants not regulated by the federal government, does North Carolina have the authority to step in and regulate it? Built by DuPont, the Fayetteville Works complex along the Cape…
Ferry Study Eyes Raising Fares, Cutting Runs
The state ferry Croatoan. Photo: Program Evaluation Division RALEIGH – A study directed by the legislature’s Program Evaluation Division and released Monday says the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Ferry Division could save $1.5 million by reducing off-season crossings and raise $1.7 million though fare hikes without harming year-round residents…
GenX Bills Expected During January Session
RALEIGH – Legislators are sorting through a list of potential environmental provisions ahead of the General Assembly’s return in early January, moving up the timetable for further state response to GenX and other emerging contaminants. North Carolina State University water quality scientist Detlef Knappe and graduate student Catalina Lopez are…
Wilmington, Port Seek State Help On Rail Fix
WILMINGTON – Last year when the House Select Committee on Strategic Transportation Planning and Long Term Funding Solutions took a trip to the coast, members scouted the clogged New River Inlet on shallow-draft shrimp trawlers. For this year’s visit, the vessels encountered were considerably larger. A container ship calls at…
Analysis: Securing Safety of Drinking Water
…– to make sure we have safe drinking water for all the citizens across our state.” But the change would require a major regulatory overhaul from a legislative leadership that has overseen extensive regulatory rollbacks. Whisnant said that while there is some support now for a precautionary system, it’s hard…