About 230 crowded into Wilmington’s Skyline Center Thursday for the Environmental Management Commission’s hearing and dozens spoke, often angrily, about proposed PFAS monitoring and minimization rules.
pollution
Move to relax federal coal ash rules ‘potentially concerning’
The proposed loosening of federal coal ash disposal regulations is not expected to affect North Carolina’s robust management rules — at least for the time being.
Environmental advocate Debbie Swick, anglers club team up
Debbie Swick, in partnership with the Outer Banks Anglers Club, has launched a monofilament recovery and recycling program using collection vessels at sites across the Outer Banks.
Proposed industrial wastewater rules ‘completely inadequate’
Nearly all who spoke Tuesday during a public hearing in Fayetteville criticized the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission’s proposed industrial discharge rules fail to protect the drinking water supply of people who live farther down the Cape Fear River.
Ocean Conservancy’s tool measures impact of litter cleanups
The organization’s new online calculator lets users see how many seabirds, sea turtles and marine mammals they’ve helped by removing plastics from the environment.
Restoration plan for lower New River geared to advance
As work on restoring the upper reaches of the exclusively Onslow County river is on track for completion next year, Coastal Carolina Riverwatch is finalizing the Lower New River Watershed Restoration Plan, which looks toward areas where saltwater creeks drain into shellfish waters.
Damaged valve leads to untreated wastewater discharge
Brunswick County Public Utilities staff repaired a damaged sewer tap gate valve after it failed on Wednesday, discharging more than 30,000 gallons of untreated wastewater that reached the Little Cawcaw Swamp.
Commission OKs advancing wastewater rules to public review
The public will soon be able to lodge their comments about proposed rules mandating that public sewer plants test their treated discharge into rivers, creeks and streams for three types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and a chemical solvent.
Opponents say river water transfer puts Cape Fear in peril
Fuquay-Varina seeks to transfer 6.17 million gallons per day from the Cape Fear River Basin to the Neuse River Basin to meet the Piedmont town’s projected water demands.
Chemours cannot keep documents sealed, federal judge rules
Chemours and its predecessor company DuPont had sought to seal records including regulatory compliance monitoring reports and internal corporate communications about chemical production.
EPA seeks reporting rollback as new study finds hidden PFAS
The EPA says the change will cut red tape, but new research suggests regulators may already be missing major sources of contamination.
Port’s Cape Fear dredge project fails taxpayers, environment
Guest commentary: Deepening the Cape Fear River will only worsen flooding around the downtown Wilmington waterfront and the North Carolina Battleship site and lead to a substantial loss of vital wetlands and floodplains.
Chemours is doubling down on its toxic history: NRDC
Chemours is not a company that can be trusted to expand its operations responsibly, and it’s an example of the national PFAS pollution crisis, writes Drew Ball of the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Vast majority of litter removed from streams is plastic: Study
A three-year study recently published in the journal Community Science finds that about 96% of litter North Carolina waterkeeper organizations and their volunteers removed from trash traps were plastics.
Critics say law will derail health, environmental rulemaking
House Bill 402, which became law this past summer despite the governor’s veto, has drawn sharp criticism from environmental and health advocates who argue it will stifle an already daunting rulemaking process and create significant obstacles to addressing pollution.
Corps awards contract for second phase of Buxton cleanup
The Army Corps of Engineers’ Savannah District has awarded a contract for the second phase of cleanup at the former Buxton Naval Facility site in Dare County.
