RALEIGH — With meetings on hold for the past couple of months awaiting new members, state Department of Environment and Natural Resources officials are hopeful that a slate of appointments released by the governor’s office yesterday means the Coastal Resources Commission (CRC) can soon return to work. Gov. Pat McCrory…
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Coastal Parks, Aquaria Could Get $5 Million
RALEIGH — Cultural and historic sites on the coast will see more than $5 million in much-needed repairs under a plan released this month by the McCrory administration. State budget director Art Pope distributed a list to lawmakers outlining a funding plan for $90 million in capital projects, many of…
CRC: ‘Essentially Out of Business’
RALEIGH — With just a fraction of its membership seated, the state’s Coastal Resources Commission decided to postpone this week’s meeting in Nags Head, which would have been the first since a sweeping overhaul of its membership and structure. The commission was trimmed from 15 to 13 members and all…
CRC Meeting: Quorum or Quandary
RALEIGH – After the state legislature fired most of its members this summer, a short-handed N.C. Coastal Resources Commission will meet today in a special session to decide whether to appeal a court decision over a variance to the state’s policy on sandbags on the beach. If everyone joins the…
Commissions Are Out of Business
RALEIGH — Over the next few weeks expect to see some of the blanks left after the hectic windup to the legislative session filled in, with appointments pending for an array of state boards and commissions and the fate of more than three dozen bills still up in the air….
Legislature Wraps Up Session
RALEIGH — On the heels of this week’s budget deal a handful of remaining environmental laws moved through the N.C. General Assembly as lawmakers wrapped up the 2013 session this morning. Just this week alone, the legislature passed or will do so this morning bills for Gov. Pat McCrory’s signature…
Budget Deal Shuffles State Trust Funds
RALEIGH – State House and Senate leaders reached a deal on a $20.6 billion state budget over the weekend releasing a plan that like its prior versions is filled with policy and structural changes. Key environmental provisions in the budget include a reorganization of the state’s conservation trust funds, the…
Lawmakers Consider Another Rules ‘Reform’ Bill
RALEIGH—A bill that would force state agencies to review all rules every 10 years and, say critics, turn an already cumbersome rule-making process into a bureaucratic nightmare is one of several key environmental bills moving through the N.C. General Assembly in the late session flurry of activity. Late Thursday, after…
McCrory Objections Slow Landfill Bill
RALEIGH — Movement on a controversial landfill bill passed by the Senate has slowed considerably in the House because of concerns raised by the McCrory Administration. Senate Bill 328, the Solid Waste Management Reform Act of 2013, makes sharp reductions in landfill buffer requirements and environmental safeguards, increases the duration…
Jetties, Dumps and Fracking Wells
RALEIGH — While much of the attention in the week ahead will be on the rollout of the N.C. House version of the state budget, there is plenty going on behind the scenes as environmental bills dealing with jetties, regulations, fracking wells and landfills are readied for a new round…
McCrory, DENR Oppose Jetty Bill
RALEIGH — A move by coastal senators to scuttle a two-year-old compromise on the use of terminal groins to halt beach erosion has gotten a cold reception from the McCrory Administration. Michelle Walker, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources, said the department is opposed to…
Senate Budget Remakes Conservation Funds
The Natural Heritage Trust Fund provided money to help preserve a portion of the Green Swamp in Brunswick County. The swamp is home to many native plants, like this hooded pitcher plant. Photo: N.C. Native Plant Society RALEIGH — As promised, N.C. Senate leaders released their budget Sunday night, closely…