Press Releases

On Sept. 16, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service submitted in federal court a proposed consent decree and accompanying draft restoration plan to address damages to the Roanoke River caused by the Weyerhaeuser Plymouth Mill.

Effective Sept. 14, Michael Pjetraj has been named the director of the NC Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Division of Water Resources (DWR). He replaces Richard Rogers, who retired Aug. 31.

The NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR) will hold a hearing on Oct. 20 as part of a public comment period on a draft National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit for a new water treatment plant in Emerald Isle. The permit regulates pollutants discharged in the facility’s treated wastewater.

Below-average rainfall, coupled with unseasonably warm temperatures, worsened North Carolina’s year-long drought in some parts of the state, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor report released Thursday.

A statewide program that has certified more than 1,600 environmental educators is finding a new home at Catawba College. The North Carolina Environmental Education Certification Program will move from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to Catawba’s Center for the Environment on October 1. The transition will preserve the certification program, its staff, and all the programs and resources that connect educators across the state, including its listserv and calendar.

NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Secretary Reid Wilson traveled to Turner Shoals Dam in Polk County today to announce the Department’s second round of Dam Safety grants totaling more than $3.4 million to address at-risk dams that were damaged by Hurricane Helene. DEQ’s Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources (DEMLR) awarded $6.6 million earlier this year to address six high-hazard dams that were also damaged during Hurricane Helene.

NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Secretary Reid Wilson joined partnership agencies today at the Town of Hot Springs Helene Recovery Celebration, featuring a ribbon cutting for the Town's wastewater treatment plant. The event celebrated the new, functioning plant funded with $4 million through the NC Collaboratory.  

The NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) is accepting public review and comment on a request for review of a federal consistency submission for a proposed update to training activities and operations within the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point Range Complex.

The NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) has launched a new webpage for The Topsail Nature Preserve, providing residents and visitors with a central online resource for information about the Preserve, public access, responsible recreation and DCM’s management and stewardship efforts.

The Division of Air Quality will hold a public hearing on Oct. 13 to receive public comments on a draft air quality permit for Carolina Lithium in Gaston County.