Press Releases

The blue crab season closures will go into effect Jan. 1-31, 2021 in North Carolina state waters north and east of the Highway 58 bridge and March 1-15, 2021 south and west of the Highway 58 bridge. The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission approved measures to end overfishing and achieve sustainable harvest with the adoption of the Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan Amendment 3 at its February 2020 meeting.

The State Water Infrastructure Authority will meet Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 9:00 a.m., remotely, via teleconference. The public may listen to the meeting by phone.

The Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR) will remotely hold a public hearing on Wednesday, December 9, 2020 at 6 p.m.

RALEIGH – The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Waste Management, along with the Environmental Protection Agency and Town of Davidson, will co-host an online public information meeting on December 15 to discuss the results and next steps following recent expanded soil sampling for asbestos within one-quarter mile of the former Carolina Asbestos Corporation site in Davidson.

The Andrea Harris Social, Economic, Environmental, and Health Equity Task Force Wednesday released its first biannual report outlining policy recommendations to address disparities in communities of color disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.  The Environmental Justice and Inclusion Subcommittee provided recommendations to increase the consideration of environmental justice and equity concerns in state decision-making and address environmental and economic impacts in disadvantaged communities.

Recreational anglers will be required to use circle hooks when fishing for striped bass with natural bait in coastal ocean waters beginning Jan. 1, 2021. 

The state Secretaries’ Science Advisory Board will meet on Monday, December 7, via WebEx, to discuss challenges and regulations on PFAS mixtures and to continue its discussion on hexavalent chromium.

The N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve will hold local advisory committee meetings by web conference December 1-11, 2020. The public may join the meetings online or by phone.

The North Carolina Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources (DEMLR) has issued a mining permit for Alamance Aggregates LLC to operate a mine in Snow Camp, NC. Following DEMLR’s review of input from the public, the final permit includes additional control measures to safeguard public health and the environment.

The Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources (DWR) has extended the public comment period to noon on Monday, December 14, for the proposed Special Order by Consent (SOC) for the City of Greensboro’s T.Z. Osborne Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) NPDES discharge permit.