…apply to the potential hazards from rising seas: “Due to the inherent uncertainties with projections of future hazard events, states are expected to look across the whole community of partners (for example, public, private, academic, non-governmental, etc.) to identify the most relevant data and select the most appropriate methodologies to…
Search Results for: Kirk Ross
McCrory Budget and the Environment
RALEIGH – The minimalist budget that Gov. Pat McCrory released last week cuts money to a grant program that protects water quality and sensitive land and continued the whittling of the state’s major environmental agency. As promised in his State of the State speech, McCrory included a proposal in his…
Proposed Move of State Parks Causes Jitters
RALEIGH — Although not as many headlines about sweeping changes in state government are expected during the current legislative session, one major proposal is already in the works. Officials with the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources, or DENR, and the Department of Cultural Resources say they are hammering…
State Studies LNG Plant at Ports
RALEIGH – A plant to export liquid natural gas could be built at the state ports in Morehead City or Wilmington, according to a report presented recently to the N.C. General Assembly. Though significant hurdles exist, the 41-page report by the N.C. Department of Commerce estimates that a liquid natural…
One Commission to Review Them All
RALEIGH — The name says it all: Rules Review Commission. As you might guess from the title, the ten-member state commission’s main task is reviewing rules, in this case the rules under which government agencies enforce their mandates. They are the techniques, measurements and procedures for regulating everything from air…
Old Hatteras Oil Well Draws State’s Attention
HATTERAS — Core samples from a decades old oil test well near the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse that was abandoned as a dry hole in 1946 will get another look as part of the state’s effort to expand oil and gas exploration, state officials say. Officials with the N.C. Department of…
A Look Ahead at the Legislative Session
RALEIGH – The N.C. General Assembly will start the new year with a few new faces, but the script will largely remain the same. When both chambers are gaveled to work at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, members will hold a couple of ceremonial votes, hear a few speeches and then…
What’s Next for the Sutton Plant?
The Sutton plant near Wilmington is one of the four “high-risk” sites identified by Duke Energy as priority for clean up. Photo: Cape Fear Riverkeeper RALEIGH — On the heels of an announcement by Gov. Pat McCrory that he’ll sign the recently passed Coal Ash Management Act, regulators stepped up…
Lawmakers Weaken Wetlands Protections
RALEIGH – In what has become an annual rite, the N.C. General Assembly Friday passed yet another package of regulatory changes that weaken environmental protections. Small pockets of coastal wetlands were in the crosshairs this time. In every session since taking control of the legislature in 2010, Republicans have passed…
Now You See It… Now You Don’t
The state House included a provision in its budget to sell Jennette’s Pier, a popular tourist attraction in Nags Head. The provision was removed from the compromise budget that eventually passed. Photo: N.C. Aquariums RALEIGH — Like all state budget bills, what’s not in the final deal is often just…
An End of Session Twist
The red dots represent the 77 state air quality monitors that would be removed if the new Senate bill passes. Graphic: Southern Environmental Law Center RALEIGH – The short session in the N.C. General Assembly takes another twist. The Senate rewrote omnibus legislation yesterday — stopping just short of passing…
Catlin Defends Changes to Coal Ash Bill
RALEIGH – The principal authors of a state law to clean up coal ash ponds and basin predicted when they got started in the spring that the bill wouldn’t please everyone. It turns out that they were right. After dozens of hours of committee hearings and many more hours behind…