Advocates push state legislation as EPA scales back GenX and PFAS regulations.
EPA
Proposed state rules on discharges defanged as EPA retreats
The Environmental Protection Agency’s announcement this week that it will rescind and reexamine four expected PFAS rules follows a state Environmental Management Commission committee’s opaque decision stalling proposed surface water rules on three compounds.
Zeldin says PFAS limits may get tougher, downplays layoffs
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin told a Senate committee Wednesday that news reports about the EPA weakening PFAS were inaccurate and that the standards could instead get tougher.
Historian David Cecelski: Carolina coast still worth the fight
The recent shackling of the Environmental Protection Agency “foreshadows the breathtaking descent back into the worst days of our coastal past, when our estuaries, our beaches, our fisheries and the sources of our drinking water were a free-for-all, open to plunder, pillaging and poisoning.”
EPA, Corps to hold input sessions on ‘waters of the US’
The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of the Army have scheduled virtual and in-person input sessions starting April 29 to collect information on key topics of the federal definition of “waters of the United States.”
Doomed to repeat history: What’s in future for NC wetlands?
Guest commentary: Ignoring the past guarantees a grim future for our coastal communities, as the fishermen of Rose Bay warned decades ago. Will we listen now, or once again pay the price for failing to protect our way of life?
No NC limit on 1,4-dioxane means water customers bear costs
It costs an additional $1-$3 million a year to remove 1,4-dioxane, a likely carcinogen, from drinking water drawn from the Cape Fear River, costs that could be avoided if upstream polluters were required to reduce the amount of the compounds they discharge.
EPA drinking water grant for Brunswick snarled by DOGE
The Trump administration tried to cancel as “wasteful” a $20 million federal award to help Brunswick County’s rural communities of Supply, Ash and Longwood replace lead water pipes and clean up nearby wetlands, while the cofounder of a recipient nonprofit insists, “Our grant is so much about community.”
EPA targets remaining federal isolated wetlands protections
New Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said the agency is pursuing a definition for the waters of the United States “that is simple, that is durable and it will withstand the test of time.”
Commission OKs proposed wetlands rule for public comment
The Environmental Management Commission voted during its meeting Thursday to take the next step in the rulemaking process to codify an amendment directed by a 2023 session law to align the state with the federal definition of wetlands.
State seeks impaired watershed restoration project proposals
The Department of Environmental Quality expects to receive $1.5 million in federal grants to fund all or portions of eligible watershed restoration projects.
Navassa Superfund site progress update set for next week
Ongoing and future work at the former Kerr-McGee Chemical Corps site in Navassa will be discussed during a March 4 meeting at the town’s community center.
EPA to NC: Solvent discharge limits deadline ‘mandatory’
A pending lawsuit notwithstanding, the Environmental Protection Agency has put North Carolina on notice: There’s no extension of the time frames for addressing the federal agency’s objections regarding the discharge of 1,4 dioxane into waters upstream of the Cape Fear.
EPA adds 9 more PFAS to chemical reporting requirements
Nine additional per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances have been added to the EPA’s annual Toxics Release Inventory reporting requirements.
Meeting on Navassa superfund site cleanup progress slated
Representatives from the Multistate Trust, EPA and N.C. Department of Environmental Quality plan to host community meeting on the latest cleanup efforts in the former Kerr-McGee wood treatment plant Superfund Site.
State sets temporary allowable PFAS limits in groundwater
The North Carolina Division of Water Resources released interim maximum allowable concentrations to help define cleanup targets for groundwater contaminated with high levels of the chemical compounds.
