This past winter and spring Adam Gee was an East Carolina University Criminal Justice major living out a childhood dream, making the rounds and learning the ropes with the N.C. Marine Patrol.
Around the same time, Wes Rock, a former Air Force Security Forces officer, was going through Basic Law Enforcement Training at the College of Albemarle’s Currituck Campus, already knowing where he would be stationed with the Marine Patrol upon completion.
This September, DEQ Secretary Elizabeth Biser joined Governor Roy Cooper in the community of Ivanhoe in Sampson County to highlight a transformative water infrastructure grant.
Ivanhoe homes have never had connections to a public water system. For decades, Ivanhoe residents and the local government had pursued expanding the county water system with no success. The area, which DEQ identified as an underserved community, has faced substantial flooding in recent years that exacerbated the lack of clean drinking water.
DEQ has made it easier than ever for North Carolina communities to apply for the financial support they need for drinking water, wastewater and stormwater projects with a streamlined online application portal.
Marine Patrol Pilot Mark Daniels taxied the 2004 Cessna 182 to a runway at Carolina Regional Airport in New Bern.
After a short wait in line behind other plans, he is cleared for takeoff. Then he is up in the sky on a beautiful summer day, watching the Trent River disappear into the Croatan National Forest.
As beautiful as the scene is, it is not a pleasure flight. Daniels is protecting North Carolina’s vast coastal marine resource from above the water.