State Auditor Dave Boliek’s office released its performance audit of the Department of Environmental Quality’s Pre-Regulatory Landfill Program on Monday, revealing what the report called a shortfall in the statewide monitoring of former landfill sites.

The report found that 78%, or 534, of the 688 identified landfill sites where municipal solid waste disposal occurred without regulatory oversight have never been investigated under the DEQ program. Eleven of the list of top 100 of 629 program sites prioritized for investigation because of risk are in coastal counties.

The audit noted that, for most of the pre-regulation sites, it’s unknown what contamination may be present, whether it has spread to nearby properties or water supplies, or whether current conditions pose a risk to nearby residents. More than 80% of the landfill sites are within 1,000 feet of what are described as “vulnerable areas,” which includes homes, schools, daycares, churches, or drinking water wells.

“The Pre-Regulatory Landfill Program is a complex issue that creates challenges from a regulatory, legal, funding, and administrative standpoint,” said Boliek in the news release accompanying the audit. “But the bottom line is there are hundreds of potentially hazardous landfill sites across North Carolina, and despite tax dollars supporting a program meant to investigate these sites, 78% haven’t been examined. This audit lays out the facts, giving taxpayers a reliable update on a longstanding government issue.”

The program was established as part of the Division of Waste Management in 2007 to identify, assess, and remediate sites that accepted a wide range of waste prior to 1983. That’s before when modern environmental regulations were adopted. The list includes public and private sites near homes, schools and drinking water sources that could contain hazardous materials that pose health and environmental risks.

The risk ranking reflects scoring as of April 2025. In addition to the risk ranking, the audit includes an appendix listing all landfills alphabetically by county, then by risk priority rank within each county, if applicable. Another appendix identifies sites where issues related to property access have prevented or delayed investigation or cleanup and shows how long those delays have persisted in years.

The average estimated cost to investigate, assess and remediate a site is about $1.9 million. That would put the total cost, if applied to the remaining sites, at close to $1 billion. According to the report, of the 97 sites investigated since the program started, DEQ has secured 370 acres of waste, sampled 1,642 water supply wells and provided an alternate water supply to 30 homes.

According to the announcement, the DEQ Division of Waste Management agreed with the findings and the auditor’s recommendations. The audit lists all landfill sites, including sites pending access permission and sites that have been addressed, prioritized according to risk.

Among the ranked priority list’s top 100 sites in coastal counties are the following:

• No. 5, Jacksonville Wastewater Treatement Plant Landfill at Sturgeon City in Jacksonville, Onslow County.
• No. 9, Burnt Mill Creek Landfill in Wilmington.
• No. 11, Buxton Dump in Dare County.
• No. 30, Belltown Road Dump in Craven County.
• No. 44, Winnabow Landfill in Brunswick County.
• No. 53, Bolivia Refuse Disposal in Brunswick County.
• No. 67, Otway Community Refuse Dump in Carteret County.
• No. 73, Pantego Refuse Disposal in Beaufort County.
• No. 84, Rural Garbage Service in New Hanover County.
• No. 92, Ray’s Rural Dump in Onslow County.
• No. 98, Carolina Beach Refuse Disposal in New Hanover County.

Coastal Carolina Riverwatch recently announced that registration and sponsor opportunities are open for the 2026 Water Quality for Fisheries Symposium, a collaborative forum for sharing recent research, best management practices, policy development, restoration and resilience projects, and advocacy that protects water quality and quality of life on the coast.

The annual event, set for Oct. 19-20 at the Sturgeon City Environmental Education Center in Jacksonville, is designed for fishermen, students, researchers, agency partners, local governments, decision makers, educators, advocates, and coastal community members who care about clean water, healthy fisheries, and the future of working waterfronts.

The 2025 Water Quality for Fisheries Symposium included 121 registrations, with 120 in-person participants, 21 speakers, 34 scholarship registrations, and 45 organizations represented. Organizers said the event created space for “real conversations across sectors, helping connect research, policy, and lived experience in ways that support fisheries resilience and coastal public health.”

Hosting the event this year at Sturgeon City in Jacksonville “reflects the strong local leadership and engagement shown during the 2025 event, including participation from Onslow County Commissioners who attended sessions, listened to fishermen and researchers, and joined discussions about water quality and fisheries impacts.”

This year’s conversations will focus on the issues coastal communities are already facing, including stormwater runoff, wastewater and septic concerns, industrial pollutants, plastic pollution, harmful algal blooms, fish kills, contaminants in seafood, restoration opportunities, and the need for practical solutions that support both healthy waters and strong coastal economies.

“These priorities are directly connected to the Water Quality for Fisheries program’s work to enhance the sustainability of North Carolina’s coastal fishing communities by addressing water quality issues that affect fisheries,” organizers said.

A reduced registration fee is offered to students and fishermen, “because these voices are essential to the conversation,” according to the announcement. General registration is also open. Register online.

City officials in Jacksonville announced on Monday that an early morning sewage spill reached a tributary that leads to the nearby New River.

According to the announcement, which is required by state law, 35,751 gallons of untreated sewage spilled into Mill Creek near the area of Dewitt Street in Jacksonville. Officials attributed the spill to a bypass pump that malfunctioned.

City crews stopped the discharge at 8 a.m. Monday by swapping in a new relay on the primary pump.

Crews have deployed chlorine tablets and pelletized lime at the site, according to the mandated announcement. Sampling in multiple locations along the creek will continue until bacterial counts clear up.

“At no time was city drinking water compromised and there is no danger to the public,” officials stated.

State requires that owners or operators of wastewater collection or treatment works issue a press release when an untreated wastewater discharge of 1,000 gallons or more reaches surface waters. The city’s announcement was in accordance with that regulation and issued to the media covering Onslow County.

The state Division of Water Resources was notified of the spill and is reviewing the matter, according to the press release. If you’d like more information, call city hall at 910-938-5249.

A crew on Monday began removing a storm-battered, dilapidated waterfront boardwalk near Jacksonville’s Northeast Creek Park boat launch area.

The removal marks the first step in a series of park improvements and additions, including a new boardwalk, fishing pier that will be built out into Northeast Creek and parallel to the shore, and an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant kayak launch.

The Northeast Creek Park restoration project also entails construction of a new living shoreline and wetlands restoration.

Work to rebuild and expand the site is expected to begin in later winter into the spring of 2027, according to a city release.

“We are excited to be able to get this project underway,” Jacksonville Stormwater Manager Pat Donovan-Brandenburg stated in the release. “Having a safe boardwalk and pier as well as adding a kayak launch for public is important to improving quality of life here in Jacksonville. Equally important, is addressing the erosion we see along our waterways due to storms and water rise. Expanding on the wetlands and installing a living shoreline will work to preserve this.”

The project has been funded through a multi-year, $16 million National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grant the city was awarded in October 2024. Funds from that grant are also being used to expand the city’s Oyster Highway project, Scales Creek flood mitigation and watershed restoration, and shoreline and wetland restoration for Phillips Park and Chaney Creek.

These projects will be headed by the city’s stormwater and engineering divisions.

The North Carolina Symphony is performing for free in Jacksonville this summer in honor of the nation’s 250th birthday.

Conducted by Sophie Mok, Classical Favorites Celebrating America 250 will showcase the music of composers including Copland’s “Buckaroo Holiday,” John Williams’ “Liberty Fanfare” and “Armed Forces Salute,” and Sousa’s “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”

The concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. June 16 at Northside High School, 365 Commons Dr. S in Jacksonville.

Tickets are required and may be reserved now.

Sturgeon City Environmental Education Center in Jacksonville is inviting women of all ages for an evening of inspiration, connection and empowerment to help shape the future of science.

“She Innovates: A Women in STEM Event” will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Feb. 11 at Sturgeon City, 50 Court St. in downtown Jacksonville. Attendance is free.

Sturgeon City educators will lead hand-on activities focused on the work of women including Rachel Carson, Katherine Johnson, Rosalind Franklin and Dr. Mae Jemison.

Women professionals in various STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields will be there to share their career journeys and offer insights into their educational paths.

This will be an open-flow event where participants may arrive and depart at their convenience.

Jacksonville will kick off Black History Month with an afternoon of inspiration and celebration at the African American Read-In.

Now in it’s 22nd year, the read-in celebrates culture, creativity, and the power of reading together.

The program is scheduled for 2-4 p.m. on Feb. 1 at the Jack Amyette Recreation Center, 825 South Drive, where after-school students will share poems, literature and artistic works created by African American authors.

Entertainment and light refreshments will be served following the ceremony.

North Carolina Department of Transportation officials anticipate a section of N.C. 24 near the U.S. 17 Bypass in Jacksonville to be closed for utility repairs longer than initially planned.

Officials announced Monday that travelers would need to detour around the stretch of Lejeune Boulevard while the city repairs a sewer line, with the expected reopening date to be Dec. 22.

On Friday, NCDOT sent out an update announcing that the closure was going to be extended “due to unforeseen utility conflicts during emergency utility repairs.” The road is expected to reopen by 5 p.m. Jan. 9, weather permitting. 

N.C. 24 West to U.S. 17 Bypass South is still open for travel.

The expected impact to traffic is high, according to DriveNC.gov, where real-time travel information and updates are posted.

Travelers can use one of two detours:

• N.C. 24 West to Bell Fork Road to West Huff Drive, to U.S. 17 Bypass South, exit N.C. 24 Business (Lejeune Boulevard) 
• N.C. 24 West to Bell Fork Road to Hargett Street to N.C. 24 Business (Lejeune Boulevard)

More than 100,000 gallons of untreated wastewater is estimated to have been released over this past weekend into a major tributary in Jacksonville.

City crews worked throughout Saturday evening after being notified of and finding a broken stormwater pipe and sewer line near Lejeune Boulevard, which is also Highway 24, near Scales Creek, according to a release.

An estimated 129,000 gallons of untreated wastewater is believed to have been discharged into the creek, which flows directly into the New River.

Crews “will continue work over next several days to fix the issue,” the release states.

Motorists on Lejeune Boulevard are being asked to slow down and use caution in the area where crews are working.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources was notified Saturday about the discharge “and is reviewing the matter,” according to the release.

North Carolina Department of Transportation officials are hosting an open house and public hearing Tuesday on the proposed Jacksonville Parkway extension.

Transportation officials will be available to answer questions and receive comments on the proposed project, which would include a roughly 4-mile-long roadway that would extend Jacksonville Parkway from N.C. Highway 53 (Western Boulevard) to U.S. 17 (New Bern Highway).

The project would “improve overall mobility in the area, alleviate traffic congestion and provide alternative routes for drivers,” according to NCDOT.

An open house is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. in Jacksonville Commons Elementary School, 1121 Commons Drive North. The public hearing will kick off at 6:30 p.m. with a presentation, which will be livestreamed.

Transportation officials will be on hand to answer questions and receive both verbal and written comments on the proposed alternatives. Alternative 3 in the map above is deemed the preferred alternative.

Comments on the proposed project will be accepted through Nov. 28 by phone by dialing 984-205-6615 and entering code 10888 or at jacksonville-parkway-extension@publicinput.com.

Those who require auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act who wish to participate in the workshop should contact Emily Richards at 919-707-6014 as early as possible.

Interpretive services are available upon request prior to the meeting by calling 1-800-481-6494.

Jacksonville’s Red, White, & Salute, an evening dedicated to celebrating and honoring the city’s military community, is set for 5-9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7, at the Jacksonville Commons at 100 Recreation Lane.

Enjoy live music from multiplatinum country band Lanco, with special guest Will Morton Music.

Other activities are planned, including axe throwing with Beary The Hatchet Axe Throwing Co., mechanical bull riding, and a fireworks finale.

The event will also feature food trucks, craft vendors and a beer garden hosted by Salty Turtle Beer Co. of Surf City.

It’s all part of two weeks of celebrating and honoring veterans and will also feature tours of the Lejeune Memorial Gardens and the Veterans Walk of Honor, name submissions for which are being accepted until Oct. 24.

The Onslow Veterans Pow-Wow, which organizers say is the only pow-wow in the country that invites the public, honors veterans and includes multiple tribes, is Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 1-2. Tribal dancers and participants from as far away as Arizona are expected.

At 9:30 a.m. Friday, Nov. 7, the Onslow Civic Affairs Committee will host the Freedom Fountain Observance at 895 New Bridge St. The annual observance is held to dedicate the fountain to those who have served and the committee invites representatives from each Onslow municipality to add a few drops of water to the fountain pool.

At 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 8, the Veterans Day Parade hosted by Rolling Thunder Inc. Chapter NC-5 will begin in front of Coastal Carolina Community College and continue down Western Boulevard to Liberty Drive.

At 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 11, join the Disabled American Veterans for its Veterans Day observance at 300 Sherwood Road.

The Military Basketball Association Tournament, Nov. 9-11, is sponsored by the National Montford Point Marine Association and hosted by the Eastern North Carolina Marine Basketball Men’s Varsity Basketball program at the Jacksonville Commons Recreation Complex, 100 Recreation Lane.

The tournament promotes the military athlete through the classic game of basketball. All benefits will go to an Onslow/Jacksonville Charity.

Also, the city is providing free green lightbulbs at events leading up to the week of Nov. 11 and offering them for pickup at city hall for Operation Green Light. The observance allows the community to show support for veterans by shining a green light from their home or business.

For more information on these events, visit the city’s Veterans Tribute website.

Upgrades could begin later this month to a busy intersection in Jacksonville.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation announced Friday it recently awarded a $8.5 million contract on a project that will improve traffic flow and safety at the intersection of Western Boulevard and Jacksonville Parkway.

Rocky Mount-based Barnhill Contracting Co. “can begin construction as soon as Oct. 27,” at the intersection near the Cross Pointe Center and Gateway Plaza shopping centers, according to an NCDOT news release.

Work at the intersection will include grading, drainage improvements, paving and traffic signal system enhancements. The project is scheduled to be complete, except for planting, by summer 2027.

Updates on the project will be available at NCDOT.gov or on the department’s social media.

Petty Officer 1st Class Kyle Jefferson, a native of Jacksonville, says his proudest accomplishment in the Navy is graduating from the P-8A Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course.

“The goal of the course is to train aircrew to become experts in using the P-8A’s weapons systems and sensors and to lead complex military operations involving the aircraft,” Jefferson said in a recent hometown news story published by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Heidi Cheek with the Navy Office of Community Outreach.

Jefferson graduated from White Oak High School in 2019, joined the Navy six years ago and serves as a naval aircrewman (operator) assigned to Patrol Squadron (VP) 26.

“Growing up in a military town taught me a respect for service, discipline and community,” Jefferson said. “That environment instilled in me a sense of responsibility and pride, values that are essential in the Navy. Understanding the lifestyle and mindset of military life helped make the transition smoother for me.”

The squadron flies and maintains the Navy’s P-8A Poseidon multimission maritime aircraft. The aircraft provides long-range maritime patrol capability, and according to the report, “the P-8A has transformed how the Navy’s maritime patrol and reconnaissance force will train, operate and deploy, according to Navy officials. P-8A aircraft deploy around the globe to monitor the world’s oceans wherever they are needed.”

Jefferson said that both his grandfather’s and his father’s military service inspired his decision to join the military. “My grandfather served in the Army in Vietnam, and my father served 12 years in the Marine Corps, and it seemed like a great idea to continue the legacy of military service.”

The Navy is celebrating its 250th birthday this year, and Navy officials are promoting its defense of freedom and protection of a maritime nation. Navy officials said that with 90% of global commerce traveling by sea and internet access relying on undersea fiberoptic cables, the nation’s prosperity is linked to recruiting and retaining talented people from across the country.

“The hard work and dedication of our sailors have been the driving force behind our squadron’s success, enabling us to remain mission-effective and ready at all times,” said VP-26 commanding officer, Cmdr. Taylor Barros in the report. “Their relentless commitment has shaped a forward-leaning team that consistently meets challenges head-on and excels in every operational environment.”

Jefferson said that he was grateful to others for supporting him in his Navy career.

“I would like to thank my wife, Salah, for supporting me through multiple deployments, missed birthdays and holidays,” Jefferson said. “Having a loving wife to come back to makes it a little bit easier.”

JACKSONVILLE – When the proposed flood insurance rate maps for Onslow County were released back in 2016, Jacksonville officials were surprised to say the least.

The preliminary maps created under North Carolina’s Flood Plain Mapping Program shifted more than 800 additional structures in downtown Jacksonville into a high-hazard flood zone.

“Jacksonville had the highest number percentage-wise increase of anywhere in the state,” said Ryan King, the city’s director of planning and inspections. “That was an eye opener for us because, if you look at it, we don’t have a lot of areas that flood. We don’t have a lot of structures that flood. Now, we have some, don’t get me wrong, but we don’t have a lot.”

King spoke with Coastal Review last week during an open house the city hosted for residents and business leaders to review and discuss proposed updated flood studies and revisions to the maps that have been made following the city’s appeal.

Special flood hazard areas, or SFHAs, are identified as areas with a 1% or higher annual risk of a flood. Unlike moderate to low-risk areas, where flood insurance is recommended, but optional, flood insurance and federally backed mortgages are required in high-risk zones.

Jane Sutton and her husband have opted against buying flood insurance, telling Coastal Review that their property, two blocks from the New River, does not have a history of flooding.

“I can tell you as long as I’ve lived here and as many hurricanes as I’ve lived through our neighborhood has never flooded,” Sutton said.

The couple were among the first area residents who trickled into the open house last Wednesday. They were relieved to learn their property will not be affected under the proposed revised maps.

Under the 2016 preliminary maps, which were largely based on storm surge modeling, many downtown homes would have to have been elevated, some as much as 10 feet. That would be on top of the city’s 3-foot freeboard requirement above base flood elevation.

“In the downtown area, which is an area that jumped out at me, you went to an elevation of 10,” King said. “I think that area should be in a flood zone because the houses do flood. But I think the number seemed off at 10 feet.”

There were other things that raised city staff’s concerns. Some properties in Carolina Forest, a residential neighborhood of townhomes and single-family homes roughly 5 miles from downtown, were included in a flood zone based on data from 2000, King said.

Construction of that neighborhood didn’t get underway until after that year.

After city staff shared their concerns with Jacksonville City Council, the board agreed to hire design, engineering and consulting firm Applied Technology & Management Inc. to take a deep dive into some of the discrepancies being pointed out by staff.

The city formally appealed 33 blocks, or areas of land divided into smaller sections on flood maps, identified in the revised maps the Federal Emergency Management Agency released in 2016.

North Carolina received FEMA’s approval some two decades ago to take over the state’s Flood Plain Mapping Program, a move supported by those who believed map updates are best handled at the local level by people who are familiar with the areas under review.

Revised preliminary maps were released in late March 2024.

The maps incorporate newer data, including information gathered using LiDAR, or Light Detection and Ranging, which uses laser light to measure distances and create detailed models of the environment.

The proposed revised maps do not, however, factor in sea level rise.

“And we know, from what I’ve been told, the next revision will incorporate sea level rise so we want to make sure that we get it right this time because I think it’s just going to stack on top of it as we move forward. So, this is almost like the new baseline,” he said.

Beginning Sept. 18, property owners will have 90 days to appeal the 2024 revisions. That appeal period closes on Dec. 18.

King encourages Jacksonville property owners to contact their insurance agents to inquire about flood policies.

“It’s worth reaching out to find out to protect your property, but that’s a conversation the homeowner needs to have with the insurance company,” he said.

Three Montford Point Marines are to be honored Friday with a replica of the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian honor awarded by the U.S. Congress.

The ceremony is open to the public and part of the National Montford Point Marine Association’s annual Montford Point Marines Day Ceremony set for 8 a.m. Friday in Lejeune Memorial Gardens, Montford Landing Road.

The ceremony honors and remembers the first African Americans who enlisted in the Marine Corps during World War II and trained at Camp Montford Point in Jacksonville, the present site of Camp Johnson.

Many of the Montford Point Marines have yet to be identified and the national effort continues to recognize these individuals, the challenges they endured, and the sacrifices they made on the battlefield, during 1942-1949.

Jacksonville Mayor Sammy Phillips is to provide welcoming remarks.

National Montford Point Marine Association Inc. Past President and retired U.S. Marine Chief Warrant Officer 5 Dr. James Averhart Jr. will provide the keynote address.

Col. Gregory Pace, Deputy Commander, Marine Corps Installations East, retired Master Gunnery and National Montford Point Marine Association Inc. President Sgt. Ronald C. Johnson are also expected to speak.

Because of construction at Lejeune Memorial Gardens, parking is limited. Parking will be available at the Coastal Carolina Veterans Cemetery and overflow parking will be available at the New River Shopping Center on Hargett Street.

Shuttle service will be provided from New River Shopping Center by Jacksonville Transit.

The ceremony will be broadcast on G10TV, g10tv.org, Cablecast, and made available on the city’s YouTube Channel.

For additional information about the Montford Point Marines and all annual convention activities, visit MontfordPointMarines.org.

The New River has drastically recovered in the more than 20 years since its waters were first reopened to the public after being closed nearly that same amount of time.

Bacteria levels in the river when it was shut down for recreational and commercial uses from 1980 and 2001 were astronomical. River samples collected during those years contained bacteria levels ranging anywhere from 35,000 to 70,000 organisms per 100 milliliters of water.

Today, the New River’s waters are close to those of federal drinking water standards, according to weekly sampling results, a success story that got its start when the city shuttered its downtown wastewater treatment plant and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune stopped discharging from its wastewater facility into the river.

“So, we’ve addressed the bacteria problem in the river,” said Jacksonville Stormwater Manager Pat Donovan-Brandenburg. “What’s left still is the nutrients.”

The city is now in the beginning stages of mapping out how to reduce the amount of nutrients getting into the river, one classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as nutrient-sensitive.

Jacksonville City Council members recently signed off on the approval of a $400,000 state grant awarded to the stormwater department to develop a New River Nutrient Management Plan, one that will focus on nonpoint sources of nutrient loading into the river.

In other words, stormwater that flows from streets, subdivisions, commercial and industrial areas into the city’s drainage system.

“All of that stormwater runoff from development carries two things,” Donovan-Brandenburg said. “It still carries bacteria, but that’s from natural sources; birds, deer, raccoon, cats, dogs, those kinds of things. It’s in smaller amounts, way smaller amounts, but it does still carry nutrients in the form of ammonia, phosphates and nitrates.”

While watersheds can manage a certain amount of nutrients, she explained, too many nutrients spur the growth of microscopic organisms that cause algal blooms. These blooms dissolve oxygen in the water and, when oxygen plummets in water, that causes fish kills.

Decomposing fish put more nutrients into a watershed.

It’s a vicious cycle, Donovan-Brandenburg said, but one that the river has, for the most part, evaded the past 10 years.

Last year, there were algal blooms around Sneads Ferry, a small town down river from downtown Jacksonville.

Donovan-Brandenburg attributes one of the causes of that algal bloom to that town’s population increase.

“It’s all tied to development, stormwater runoff,” she said.

In 2008, the city took over its stormwater permitting program because, unlike state employees whose offices are no closer to the city than Wilmington and Raleigh, Jacksonville city employees can be on-site short notice.

Since that year, the city issued more than 150 stormwater commercial and residential subdivision permits.

“And I will tell you we’re increasing,” Donovan-Brandenburg said. “We’ve received more plans this year than we have in the last three. So, we’ve got to do a better job with our (stormwater control measures) and we’ve got to do a better job, not only of building them, but putting them in critical locations where there is a lot of nutrients entering a tributary or the watershed.”

Stormwater control measures, or SCMs, includes things like wet retention ponds and wetlands, bioretention cells, infiltration systems and permeable pavement.

Those need to be maintained and inspected regularly in order for them to work effectively and treat the first 1.5 inches of rainfall by removing stormwater pollutant sediment, bacteria and nutrients.

“The SCMs are to remove the top three pollutants before that water reenters the watershed,” Donovan-Brandenburg said. “The city of Jacksonville, that’s a water quality component. The city of Jacksonville actually goes one step further and does a water quantity component. Instead of making the engineers design to the one-year, 24-hour storm active design to the 10-year, 24-hour storm. That’s not the state rules. That’s the city’s ordinance because we are seeing more and more flooding.”

Why? Because there has been a surge in development, she said. And those additional impervious surfaces – rooftops, driveways, and streets – create more stormwater runoff, which goes into a coastal watershed that’s also being affected by an increasing prevalence of king tides brought on by climate change.

The nutrient management plan will map out which areas of the New River are impaired by chlorophyll a, the predominant type of chlorophyll found in algae.

The New River snakes 50 miles before emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a slow-moving river, one that flushes once every 60 days, making it particularly vulnerable to nutrient loading.

The nutrient management plan will include developing milestones to track when management measures are implemented, develop criteria to measure progress toward meeting watershed goals, monitoring, and creating an information and educational component.

“This plan will tell us on what areas we need to focus on,” Donovan-Brandenburg said. “Determining those areas will help us identify what areas we need to strategically plan for and implement better and newer SCMs, or retrofit the older SCMs with something more functional. We will be trying to determine the non-point source pollution areas. We’ll be trying to come up with watershed management strategies. We’ve had a lot of people move into our area in the last five years. I don’t think that’s going to stop so we’ve got to do better about what’s coming at us in the future.”

Jacksonville officials are celebrating its environmental education summer program offered each summer since 1999 to area high school students.

Called the New River Institutes at Sturgeon City, originally named Sturgeon City Institutes, a celebration of the program being in its 25th year is scheduled from 5-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 26, at Sturgeon City Environmental Education Center, 50 Court St.

Student and teaching alumni, current students and educators, community partners and residents are welcome to the event being offered at no charge.

The Wilson Bay Initiative and the Sturgeon City projects were motivated by residents. The New River was so degraded that in 1995, when a huge hog house lagoon escaped its berm and flooded into the river, the predictions of large fish kills and sudden death to the river did not occur, because the river was already so degraded, officials said.

Around the same time, Jacksonville City Council decided to close the old Wilson Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant and open an environmentally friendly and expandable land treatment site.

In 1999 the first group of high school students participated in the Sturgeon City Institutes. That same year, they discovered the first signs that life was returning to the river. 

Close to 100 students are registered for 2024 taking place June 24-28. Though registration is closed for this year, Jacksonville City Council supports plans to increase that number in the future by extending the institutes to two weeks and to look at opportunities throughout the year, officials said.

Discover more coastal celebrations and programs at Earth Day 2024. First held in 1970 to bring awareness to environmental issues, Earth Day takes place annually on April 22.

Sturgeon City Environmental Education Center has a range of Earth Day activities planned for 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

The public event at the center, 50 Court St., Jacksonville, is to feature science stations offering hands-on exploration opportunities indoors and outdoors, food trucks, face painting and games.

As part of the center’s Earth Day festivities is a DNA model contest. This contest offers participants the chance to win a $50 Walmart gift card for the categories of best overall, most eco-friendly, and most creative. Participants can find contest rules and entry details on the website.

There is no charge to attend but organizers ask for participants to register for tickets on the website to ensure there are enough supplies and activities for everyone.

Food trucks scheduled to be at the event are Fryancee, Pelican’s SnoBalls, Tanja’s Hella Fat Food, Jireh Peruvian Coffee, and The Carolina Whip.

During the festivities expect Fantastic Faces for free face painting, banks, arts and crafts, researchers, local and county government representatives, N.C. Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores, North Carolina Coastal Land Trust, Wild at Heart Wildlife Sanctuary, Coastal Carolina Riverwatch, Onslow Literacy, Onslow County Library, New River YMCA, and Dixon High School Green Club.

Sturgeon City is former wastewater treatment plant converted into an environmental education center with hands-on science education programs and promotes protection of coastal waters.

Event sponsors include Ocean Fest, Marine Federal Credit Union, Jones-Onslow EMC, North Carolina Science Festival, Walmart Neighborhood Market Jacksonville and Walmart Jacksonville.

Projects to preserve and protect habitat and improve water quality in eastern North Carolina have been awarded a total of $866,591 in grants through the Environmental Enhancement Grant program, Attorney General Josh Stein announced Tuesday.

This year, the program is awarding nearly $3 million to 27 grantees across the state.

The grant program began after an agreement made in 2000 between the North Carolina attorney general’s office and Smithfield Foods, which provides $2 million to the state every year to be distributed among environmental projects across the state. Including this year’s grants, listed below, the attorney general office’s has awarded nearly $37 million to more than 190 projects in the state.

Jacksonville

Jacksonville is to receive $175,000 to continue efforts to preserve and protect the New River.

The grant is to help the city expand 12 of the existing New River Estuary Oyster Highway sites, construct 1,850 small patch reefs and add nearly 2.5 million oysters to improve biofiltration.

“The City of Jacksonville is committed to preserving and protecting the New River, a process which began 21 years ago with the close of the City’s Wilson Bay WWTP (waste water treatment plant) and the immediate cleanup efforts utilizing an innovative process called bioremediation,” said Pat Donovan-Brandenburg, stormwater manager for city.

“We continued those efforts three years ago with the “New River Oyster Highway” where we created 12 half-acre artificial reefs or stepping stone habitats for oyster and fish populations in the region between Wilson Bay and Stones Bay within the New River, Donovan-Brandenburg continued. Using funds these funds will enable the city to expand the 12 existing New River Estuary Oyster Highway sites by adding more than 2.48 million oysters and constructing an additional 1,850 or so patch reefs across all sites.

“This grant will help safeguard the New River,” said Stein. “It will help marine life thrive and help improve the quality of water sources.”

New Bern

New Bern is getting $134,000 to build stormwater infrastructure in an underserved neighborhood that has long been subject to flooding. The grant is a part of the city’s larger resiliency and revitalization project.

“The Attorney General’s Environmental Enhancement Grant Program award supports the city’s overall resiliency initiatives and one of the primary goals of our Resiliency and Hazard Mitigation Plan, to improve conditions for our most underserved and socially vulnerable populations,” said Jeffrey Ruggieri, Development Services Director for New Bern.

“Flooding is the biggest concern and most frequent hazard experienced in the Greater Duffyfield Community. The Stormwater Enhancement Project is a representative mitigation solution to retrofit sustainable practices and nature-based solutions in our older neighborhoods that have been plagued with disinvestment. The project will make the neighborhood safer, improve water quality, and add an amenity for the surrounding residents,” he continued. “EEG funds have been imperative to the city’s broader planning efforts, which encompass a holistic approach toward building the resilience capacity of New Bern and being better prepared for the future.”

Stein said in a statement that New Bern is making smart investments in improving water quality and preventing flooding in historically underserved neighborhoods. “I hope this grant will help improve the quality of life for people in New Bern.”

North Carolina Coastal Land Trust

The North Carolina Coastal Land Trust is receiving $50,000 for the Hoggard’s Millpond Conservation Project, which will help the trust acquire 348 acres of Hoggard’s Millpond Tract and transfer it to the town of Windsor in Bertie County to create a new public park.

“Coastal Land Trust is ever appreciative of this recently approved EEG grant for our Hoggard’s Millpond Conservation Project which represents a unique community conservation partnership to protect a site with significant wildlife, historic, water quality, and recreational resources,” said Janice Allen, director of land protection, adding that the trust’s primary partner, Windsor, is one step closer to having a new nature, historic park for all to enjoy.

“Public parks make our communities stronger and happier,” Stein said. “I’m pleased to distribute these funds to help the town of Windsor create a new public park that the community can enjoy for decades to come.”

Ducks Unlimited

Ducks Unlimited is getting $75,000 to restore wetlands within the Goose Creek Game Lands in Pamlico County, a project to increase water exchanges between Smith Creek and its estuary.

“The Environmental Enhancement Grant award serves as a critical funding source in support of our project to enhance 25 acres of tidally-influenced managed wetlands,” said Ducks Unlimited Regional biologist Ethan Massey.

“The grant funds will be leveraged with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) and Ducks Unlimited matching support to complete the project. Wetland restoration projects like these are important to maintain and improve wetland function and water quality in North Carolina,” Massey said, adding that the project will also allow the commission to manage the area more effectively to provide high quality wildlife habitat and public outdoor recreational opportunities.

“Wetlands protect our communities from flooding and enhance water quality,” said Stein. “I’m proud to partner with Ducks Unlimited to preserve this area for more people to enjoy in the future.”

Bertie County Hive House

Bertie County Hive House is receiving $74,350 to improve a 4-acre greenspace in Lewiston Woodville through cleaning, stormwater remediation and planting. The greenspace provides recreational and educational opportunities for the underserved community.

“Public green areas are vital to our community health,” Stein said. “This grant will help create a community space people can visit and enjoy.”

Other EEG awards in eastern North Carolina:

Pollocksville will receive $114,000 to construct publicly accessible wetlands in Riverfront Park to help protect flood-prone properties.

Kinston Cares, a nonprofit organization run by the Center for Community Self-Help, is receiving $95,000 to rehabilitate Federal Emergency Management Agency flood buyout property in east Kinston through research, community planning and environmental education.

East Carolina University will receive $149,241 to identify and evaluate stormwater control measures throughout Greenville. The project will help the city determine which locations are at a higher risk for flooding and poor water quality and take steps to reduce the environmental damage caused by stormwater runoff, especially in underserved communities.

JACKSONVILLE — A wave of alternative energy will eventually hit the United States, and coastal North Carolina would seem one good place for it to break, with generous amounts of sunshine to power solar panels and enough wind, especially offshore, to keep turbine blades spinning most days.

But when that wave does come, will there be technicians and managers trained to install, operate and maintain the solar panels, wind farms and other types of green energy systems?

There still isn’t a great demand in North Carolina for solar panels, but installers will be needed as the market develops. Photo: Jetson Green.

The answer, from a survey of community colleges along the coast, appears to be yes. A variety of programs are in place – offering both two-year associate’s degrees and more rapidly obtainable certificates – and some colleges are already producing graduates who are working in the field. But the programs are relatively new, some of the classes aren’t filling up and they aren’t offered everywhere. For example, there’s nothing  offered right now at Carteret Community College in Morehead City or at Craven Community College in New Bern.

And, some in the education field conceded, there are still some significant obstacles to job growth, both practical and philosophical.

For example, Steve Forney, director of the skills and training section in the continuing education department at Coastal Carolina Community College in Jacksonville, said recently that he’s been somewhat disappointed in the numbers of students who have signed up for classes in weatherization and home energy reduction, introduction to renewable energy and one on “green building,” which teaches students to “develop skills to produce and utilize renewable energy sources” and discuss future infrastructure from a local perspective.

“There is interest, and we have students, but it has not been quite what I’d like,” he said. “But these are fairly new courses, and it takes time. We’re not going anywhere. We’re going to keep offering them.”

Forney is a believer in alternative energy – an ex-Marine, he’s seen the technology used – and he annually attends conferences and training to stay in tune with th e latest advances. He feels the school’s solar technology training is excellent. He has great equipment, including panels and a converter, and said he’s been trying, unsuccessfully, for some time to get a wind turbine in his budget. But, he said, with a downturn in the housing market, power companies have not been quick enough to create the infrastructure to make if feasible for homeowners and home builders to use new energy technology.

Most of the homes in the a area, he said, are still not built for solar energy use, and the power companies “have not yet made it easy enough for individual homeowners or businesses” who want to retrofit or build new solar-capable structures to tie into the electrical power grid with meters that will put electricity into the grid and give owners a credit when panels produce an excess. The result, according to Forney, is that most who use solar panels to produce electricity have to use bulky and expensive batteries to store any excess energy produced. It’s also still difficult and complicated to convert the energy for household use.

Finally, he said, “solar panels are great, but there are studies out there that indicate they often need to be replaced about the time they break even on the investment.”

All of those things dampen demand for products, and without high demand, some of the potential for jobs is muted, so the demand for the training is dampened, too.

But farther south, at Brunswick Community College in Bolivia, a similar, relatively new but very specific program is humming along nicely.

According to Marilyn Graham, Green Information and Training Center coordinator, the school’s solar installer course uses a rigorous curriculum that is turning out ready-to-work employees. Some have found jobs already, she said.

Brunswick, in partnership with Cape Fear Solar Systems LLC, a local leader in solar system design and installation, this summer completed the second semester of solar installer classes. Of the eight of the 12 students last semester signed up to take the exam to be certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners; five passed.

But the Brunswick course, Graham said, prepares the students well and qualifies them to get those entry level jobs, which can be stepping stones to bigger and better things.“It’s a very difficult test,” she said.  “One person who took it, who was already an electrician/contractor, said it was about as difficult as the exam to become an inspector.”

The current class has eight students, Graham said, and it’s obvious to her there is continuing interest.

“We’re very excited about this,” she said. “It is a new program, but I think it’s clear that we are giving the students who take it a competitive advantage (in the job market). That’s what it’s all about: Providing the training so people in our area can go out and get jobs.”

In addition to classroom work, students train on a “mock” roof on the college campus, where they install, re-install and troubleshoot various solar systems. They also go on field trips to solar systems installed by Cape Fear Solar.

John Donoghue, president of Cape Fear Solar Systems, is the instructor. The company offers a wide range of solar panels for solar thermal (solar water heating), photovoltaic (solar electric) and solar pool heating systems.

“I’m pleased to see young professionals taking solar power seriously and obtaining education and training to become qualified within this growing field,” he said recently. “The NABCEP entry level exam should be the starting point for every installer having long term professional objectives in the solar industry with the aim of providing quality workmanship.”

Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington is aiming higher. The school offers the expected certificate courses, such as one that enables students to become a solar installer quickly, but it’s betting bigger, offering a “Sustainable Technologies Program” that awards students an associate’s degree in applied technology.

Lead instructor John Wojciechowski said the three-year-old program has had one graduating class and currently has about 25 to 35 students enrolled either full- or part-time in “green” programs, either seeking the associate’s degree or certificates.

The degree curriculum is designed to prepare individuals for jobs in environmental, construction, alternative energy, manufacturing or related industries in which emphasis is placed on energy production and waste reduction along with sustainable technologies.

Course work includes alternative energy, environmental engineering technology, sustainable manufacturing and green building technology. Additional topics may include sustainability, energy management, waste reduction, renewable energy, site assessment and environmental responsibility. The school has its own alternative energy lab.

Some graduates are working for solar firms, a couple are in jobs related to energy efficiency or building energy audits and some are in construction-related jobs, such as Energy Star compliance.

Students are primarily from the New Hanover-Pender County area, but some are out of state, as far away as Massachusetts, Wojciechowski said. He is optimistic about the future of the program and the job market.

“Barring the complete breakdown of tax credits (for alternative energy), which I don’t foresee – I think they will be gradually phased out – I think the future is good,” he said. “Alternative energy costs are coming down, and I don’t see that stopping.”

It is possible, Wojciechowski said, that programs could produce too many students with degrees or certificates for the local or regional market right now, but as in most fields in the current economy, graduates who are willing to move to another area should have a good shot at a job. That’s especially true, he said, if the graduates have the flexibility gained from training in the “sustainability” program, which does not restrict them to one particular job, as a certificate might.

“I really think there are jobs out there now, in our area, for anyone who wants to be a solar ‘jockey,’ to climb up on roofs and install systems,” he said. “And there are green jobs elsewhere in the state, and in Georgia and South Carolina.”

Wojciechowski noted that there are similar sustainable technology degree programs at Lenoir Community College in Kinston and Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro. He doesn’t mind that those are relatively nearby, and said it helps students who may move for family reasons or may be taking the courses while working and are transferred. One of his students, he said, needed one more class to earn his degree at Central Carolina, but it was not offered when he could take it, so he took it and passed it in Wilmington.

“That works for me,” he said. “That’s one of the great things about community colleges and the community college system. And it’s good, low-cost education.”

JACKSONVILLE – As appearances go, little has changed at the old wastewater treatment plant in Jacksonville.

Concrete structures where tens of thousands of gallons of raw sewage were once sifted and churned still jut from the grounds overlooking the end of Wilson Bay on the New River.

The buildings are a significant part of the story of Riverworks at Sturgeon City, a memorial to how one community pulled together to reverse the devastation caused by years of dumping sewage into the bay.

J.P. McCann

Like the changes that have taken place beneath Wilson Bay’s rippling surface, what’s happening on the land is giving the old sewer plant a new life of its own.

Visitors to Sturgeon City can look forward to what’s ahead for the environmental teaching ground and aquatic research center.

“We have real world examples of science at work and we want to be able to use that,” said J.P. McCann, Riverworks’ executive director. “We are reusing the infrastructure.”

Today, visitors can see a majority of the original structures – a square, two-story bio tower; four large round holding tanks; and a series of drying beds leading from the administration building to the water’s edge.

Sturgeon City’s visionaries wanted to reuse as much of the former plant as they could. Here, recycling is part of an education process designed to inspire the hundreds of people who visit here each year.

Guests of the site can enjoy its sprawling 26 acres. Half of the land, once a landfill, has been turned into a park with picnic tables, a playground and walkways leading to the bay.

The other 13 acres, separated by a chain link fence, is where the old sewage treatment plant rests. This is where the facility’s visitors are introduced to the Wilson Bay initiative, a project begun in the 1990s between the city and N.C. State University to restore aquatic life to the bay after treated sewage had been dumped into it for more than 40 years.

After closing the plant, city leaders intended to raze its structures and possibly sell the land. Dr. Jay Levine, a scientist working on the bay initiative, came up with the idea to use the plant’s large tanks to raise Atlantic sturgeon, bottom feeders that once thrived in the bay.

Raising and releasing the fish into the wild isn’t permitted so employees and volunteers here continued to focus on cleaning the bay. The initiative has paid off.

“We now have confirmed sightings of sturgeon in the river,” McCann said. “The rate, I think, has surprised most of the researchers. In the last fourteen years we have restored a healthy bottom out there.”

The lesson of how people can help retain and restore he environment is applied in a series of after school, weekend and summer programs for high school students at Sturgeon City.

These programs are designed to enhance their knowledge about science, aquaculture, math, and forensics and encourage them to volunteer.

There’s also a major aquaculture research component at the facility. Through a partnership with N.C. State University and the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and funded by N.C. Marine Biotech, research is currently being conducted on southern flounder in an effort to determine the most inexpensive and quickest ways to raise the fish.

Flounder raised in 5,000-gallon tanks lined within the facility’s only new building are sold to Asian markets in New York City and Raleigh. Fish are also sold to farmers at the local farmer’s market on weekends.

“We always want to be a working facility,” McCann said.

The tedious process of removing thousands of black, plastic media from the bio tank, which will be turned into an exhibit hall, has begun. Visitors can climb stairs to the top of the tank now, giving them a 360-degree view of the grounds.

Sturgeon City will eventually have regular visiting hours. For now, anyone interested in visiting the site must call and make an appointment.

“We’ll do a program for two people,” McCann said. “We like to say that our doors are always open.”

Two of the facility’s old buildings have been torn down, making way for what will be a new, 12,000-square-foot gateway building complete with restrooms and a bookstore. Construction on the welcome center is expected to begin late this year.

Some of decades-old buildings behind the welcome center will be converted into exhibit halls and plans are to turn one of the holding tanks into an aquarium.

Fresh coats of paint will be applied to the old structures. Walkways will wind around the facility. Trees and shrubs will be added to make the landscape more aesthetically pleasing.

Yes, there are many more changes to come at Riverworks at Sturgeon City.

“We have the commitment of funds,” McCann said. “We’re ready.”

• Watch a video on the beginning of Riverworks