State Division of Water Resources officials say more than 80,000 gallons of hog waste spilled into tributaries of the Northeast Cape Fear River over the weekend.
water quality
Carbon-removal project in Duck topic of next science talk
Dr. Jaclyn Cetiner is to present “Preliminary Results from a Carbon Removal Field Trial in Duck, NC” has been rescheduled from 6 p.m. Thursday to Feb. 27 and will still take place at the Coastal Studies Institute on the ECU Outer Banks Campus in Wanchese.
Upriver Cape Fear plant releases high levels of 1,4-dioxane
Levels of the compound believed to be a human carcinogen at the Asheboro wastewater treatment plant far exceeded national limits in late January.
State Water Infrastructure Authority to meet Feb. 19
The independent authority responsible for awarding federal and state funding for water and wastewater infrastructure projects is set to meet next week.
Corps to host informational meeting on harbor project
The U.S. Army Corps’ Wilmington District is hosting a meeting this month to update the public on the conditionally authorized harbor project at the Wilmington port.
Brunswick’s PFAS treatment system to launch this spring
Brunswick County officials say upgrades and expansion of the public utilities’ Northwest Water Treatment Plant are now 85% complete.
Former ADI manager found guilty of discharging chemicals
A former manager at a chemical processing company in Navassa has pleaded guilty to knowingly discharging tens of thousands of gallons of chemicals directly into the Cape Fear River.
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.
Commission to mull groundwater rules for 4 substances
The Environmental Management Commission will hear the Division of Water Resources director’s recommendation for standards to replace the interim maximum allowable concentrations for three herbicides and a fungicide.
Pender, Brunswick businesses now certified clean marinas
Division of Coastal Management officials announced Thursday that Sloop Point Marina in Pender County and Calabash Marina in Brunswick County have been certified as North Carolina Clean Marinas.
Proposed revised state rule aligns with federal PFAS limits
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality will accept comments through February 2025 on a proposed rule revision that would adopt federal limits of certain PFAS in drinking water provided by public utilities.
Planning association awards Duck for its shoreline project
Duck, in Dare County, recently received national recognition for its work incorporating sustainability and resilience principles in flood prevention, habitat restoration and N.C. Highway 12 improvements along Currituck Sound.
Waste discharge agreement moves toward becoming rule
The Environmental Management Commission has advanced proposed changes that would codify an existing, long-term agreement with an association of wastewater dischargers into the Tar-Pamlico River Basin.
Whales that use echolocation mistake plastic for prey: study
A Duke University doctoral candidate in a new study found that deep-diving whales that rely on sound to forage for food are mistaking plastic for prey.
Commission sets vote on Tar-Pamlico wastewater hearing
The Environmental Management Commission, when it meets this month, is to consider approving a public notice and hearing on proposed revisions to wastewater-discharge rules put in place to reduce fish kills, harmful algal blooms and other longstanding water quality problems in the Pamlico estuary.
