With $6.6 million in state funds, restoration recently began on rapidly eroding Sugarloaf Island, a storm barrier that has long protected the Morehead City waterfront.
North Carolina General Assembly
New state funding may ease DEQ staff vacancies challenges
The recently approved budget includes new raises for North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality staff as well as fee increases for agency permits.
Dare towns challenge affordable housing budget provision
The housing measure, for which no one has yet acknowledged responsibility, restricts the towns’ ability to regulate affordable housing projects funded by $35 million in state money awarded to the county for that purpose.
Budget strips certain powers from local governments
Environmental groups and Dare County officials object to provisions in the $30 billion spending plan that take away towns’ and counties’ rule-making authority, including for regulating plastics use and affordable housing.
Analysis: Farm Act axes motive to protect shoreline trees
Water quality advocates worry that the reduced civil penalty in this year’s Farm Act for removing trees in riparian buffers may result in tree loss in protected shorelines.
Analysis: Farm Act strips wetland safeguards, mitigation
Special report: The governor’s veto not withstanding, this legislative session’s farm bill is now law, and with it, state offsets and water quality protections for eastern North Carolina’s wetland environments may have evaporated.
Legislature overrides veto of bill cutting wetland regulation
The General Assembly has voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of the Farm Act, a measure that opponents say eliminates state protections of 2.5 million acres of state wetlands.
Cooper vetoes bill curtailing state protection of wetlands
Language in Senate Bill 582 would repeal state protections for an estimated 2.5 million acres of wetlands, Cooper said.
House bill’s possible effects on water quality sparks concern
Critics warn that House Bill 600 threatens to chip away at some protections provided by the Clean Water Act.
No ESGs, ETJs: Bills nix green investments, planning tool
House Bill 750 ratified this week bars state hiring and investment policies that consider environmental or socioeconomic factors, while Senate Bill 675 eliminates municipal extraterritorial jurisdictions.
Bill limiting NC wetland protections sent to Gov. Cooper
The measure removes the state’s regulatory authority that now protects federally nonjurisdictional wetlands.
Cooper signs bill to OK removal of abandoned vessels
The bill granting local governments authority to get rid of derelict vessels in navigable waters in their jurisdiction has been signed by Gov. Roy Cooper.
NC farm bill would restrict how state defines wetlands
Environmentalists say the bill would strip the state’s ability to fill in regulatory gaps to protect federally nonjurisdictional waters, including isolated wetlands.
Coastal legislators named to House, Senate committees
House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate Leader Phil Berger have announced committee appointments, including numerous legislators representing coastal districts.
Groups join case challenging NC Rules Review Commission
Gov. Roy Cooper’s lawsuit contends that the legislature-appointed commission that reviews and approves — or rejects — rules adopted by state agencies is unconstitutional.
Rules Review Commission meets Sept. 15
The meeting is in Raleigh with limited capacity, but the public can attend online or listen by phone.
