Press Releases

State environmental officials have reopened two regional offices and kept a third regional office closed due to impacts from Hurricane Matthew. The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s offices in Washington and Raleigh were reopened to the public Tuesday. Both had been closed Monday due to flooding issues or power outages. Those issues were addressed sufficiently enough to reopen the offices, officials with the agency said.

RALEIGH – The state environmental department is onsite at two Duke Energy coal ash facilities to assess the impact of flooding from Hurricane Matthew. A creek near the Weatherspoon plant in Robeson County overflowed into a cooling pond Sunday. The cooling pond does not contain coal ash and no coal ash ponds are threatened by the flooding.

The state marine fisheries agency is asking fishermen to keep a close eye on the progress of Hurricane Matthew as it heads up the Atlantic and begin preparing accordingly. Governor Pat McCrory has declared a State of Emergency for 66 counties including the coast and is urging North Carolinians to make preparations for the storm. Fishermen should remove fishing gear from the water well before the storm’s arrival.

The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission Nominating Committee will meet at 2 p.m. on Oct. 13 at the Division of Marine Fisheries Headquarters, 3441 Arendell St., Morehead City. The committee is meeting to consider candidates for an obligatory seat for the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. A full agenda is available here.

WHAT: Public hearing on permits for the Mayo Steam Electric Generating Plant and Roxboro Steam Electric Generating Station WHEN: 6 p.m. Oct. 4 (speaker registration starts at 5 p.m.) WHERE: Person County Government Building, 304 S. Morgan St., Roxboro, N.C.

Eighteen public colleges and universities in North Carolina are being recognized for their leadership in reducing the amount of energy they use. Staff in the state environmental agency recently awarded nine community colleges and nine universities or affiliates in North Carolina with Utility Savings Initiative Achievement Awards.

Coal ash ponds are being closed, residents will get water connections Two years after the landmark coal ash management law went into effect, North Carolina has become a national leader in addressing the long-ignored threat coal ash may pose to the environment and public health.

State officials are asking the public to weigh in on a draft water quality permit that would allow a critical step toward safely closing coal ash ponds at Duke Energy’s Rogers Energy Complex.

State environmental officials are asking for public feedback on draft environmental permits that will allow safe closure of the coal ash pond at Duke Energy’s W.H. Weatherspoon Plant to begin while improving water quality protections.

The state environmental department today reached a settlement with Duke Energy that holds the utility accountable for environmental violations related to the February 2014 coal ash spill at the company’s Dan River power plant in Eden. The fine addresses violations of the federal Clean Water Act that the company committed during and after the Dan River spill.