Corps of Engineers officials told Hatteras Island residents this week that work is ongoing and a formal advisory board on cleanup at the petroleum-contaminated National Park Service beach could help information flow, but some here wonder, why did it take so long?
pollution
Groups partner to organize Wilmington watershed cleanup
Cape Fear River Watch is partnering with Keep New Hanover Beautiful for its Second Saturday Cleanup, which will take place from 9-11 a.m. Nov. 9 in the Smith Creek Watershed at the intersection of Princess Place Drive and Evans Street in Wilmington.
Corps sets Nov. 4 presentation on Buxton petroleum cleanup
The presentation set for 7-9 p.m. Nov. 4 at the Fessenden Center will include information regarding a restoration advisory board related to the cleanup at the former defense site.
Groups who joined to take on marine debris assess progress
Five years into a coastwide plan to address marine debris in North Carolina waters, those behind the plan met last week to judge their effort and consider the message going forward.
‘Total mess’ after third Rodanthe house in four days falls
“I would say the debris field was so dense and thick, for the first quarter-mile south of the house collapse site that it was difficult to actually walk,” Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent Dave Hallac said.
Van der Vaart: Likely carcinogen does not equal carcinogen
Chief Administrative Law Judge and Director of the Office of Administrative Hearings Dr. Donald van der Vaart revoked permit limits of 1,4-dioxane for municipal wastewater treatment plants that discharge a compound the EPA calls a likely human carcinogen into the drinking water sources of tens of thousands.
Work gets underway to pinpoint Buxton pollution source
Corps of Engineers contractors are to start work Friday near Old Lighthouse Beach in an intensified effort to find the source of intermittent fuel odors and oily soil first exposed more than a year ago by storm erosion.
‘Strong petroleum smells’ lead to expanded beach closure
The odors Thursday prompted Cape Hatteras National Seashore staff to temporarily broaden the closed area of Buxton Beach near a former military and Coast Guard site.
Brunswick County reports treated wastewater release
Brunswick County officials said more than 11,000 gallons of treated chlorinated wastewater was unintentionally released in a construction mishap Thursday, with about 1,000 gallons reaching a nearby stream.
Ocracoke visitors share their success in dimming the lights
Kaye and Rick Kohler, longtime Ocracoke vacationers, shared during their recent stay how artificial light harms people and wildlife and how they helped their community park back home in Virginia get certified as a Dark Skies Park.
Permeable pavement project underway at UNCW
Partners say that by replacing conventional asphalt with permeable pavement on the UNCW campus, they will help improve water quality in the nearby Bradley Hewletts Creek Watersheds.
Corps outlines geophysical, sampling plan for Buxton Beach
The Corps of Engineers is to begin work as soon as this month, and a contractor will do comprehensive sampling for petroleum later this year at the former Naval facility site on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Superintendent vows ‘complete remediation’ of Buxton site
Superintendent David Hallac told attendees at a public meeting on the pollution and debris on Buxton Beach that Cape Hatteras National Seashore officials are working with the Corps and Navy on cleanup and funding options amid the bureaucratic logjam.
Hog waste spill prompts advisory for part of Swift Creek
The Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources staff were alerted Tuesday to animal waste in ditches from an unknown source later identified as St. John Farm in Grifton.
Corps says it will remove pipe, test soil at Buxton for fuel
The Corps of Engineers announced Monday that the Savanah District Formerly Used Defense Site, or FUDS, program will remove a pipe and sample soil from Buxton Beach to determine if it is the potential source of petroleum fumes and sheens.
EPA puts enforceable limits on PFAS in public water systems
The Environmental Protection Agency set nationwide maximum contaminant levels in public drinking water utilities for nearly a half-dozen per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.
