Press Releases

RALEIGH – After a thorough review and public participation process, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has approved the closure plans detailing the excavation of coal ash impoundments at the following Duke facilities: Belews Creek Steam Station, Roxboro Steam Electric Plant, Buck Combined Cycle Station, Cape Fear Power Station, H.F. Lee Energy Complex and Weatherspoon Power Plant.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality seeks public comment on the Addendum to the Consent Order, which requires significant additional actions by Chemours to prevent PFAS pollution from entering the Cape Fear River via contaminated groundwater from the Fayetteville Works Site. Comments will be accepted through September 17.

The Division of Marine Fisheries will issue North Carolina Saltwater Fishing Tournament citations for flounder catches that weigh 5 pounds or more during the recreational flounder season, which begins Sunday.

State recreational water quality officials today lifted a water quality swimming advisory for a sound-side swimming area in Pamlico County.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality is ordering significant additional actions by Chemours to prevent PFAS pollution from entering the Cape Fear River as the next phase of the ongoing cleanup of the contamination at the Fayetteville Works Site.  These actions address more than 90% of the PFAS entering the Cape Fear River through groundwater from the residual contamination on the site.

The state Secretaries’ Science Advisory Board will meet on Monday, August 31, via WebEx to discuss public comments on hexavalent chromium and new mammalian toxicology studies for standard setting on GenX. 

An advisory against swimming was posted today at a sound-side site in Pamlico County, where state officials found bacteria levels in the water that exceed the state’s and Environmental Protection Agency’s recreational water quality standards.

State officials today lifted a precautionary advisory against swimming for all ocean and sound-side waters in Brunswick County that were affected by Hurricane Isaias.

Due to uncertainty surrounding the completion of the MVP Mainline project, the Division has determined that work on the Southgate extension could lead to unnecessary water quality impacts and disturbance of the environment in North Carolina.

From Secretary Michael S. Regan:  “Today’s decision to deny the MVP Southgate certification protects North Carolina’s water quality, our natural resources and our communities.  DEQ has questioned the need for the MVP Southgate project since our initial comments to FERC. This has always been an unnecessary project that poses unnecessary risks to our environment and given the uncertain future of the MVP Mainline, North Carolinians should not be exposed to the risk of another incomplete pipeline project.