Press Releases

Officials with the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality and state Attorney General’s Office announced Friday that the state has issued an emergency declaration and will move forward with plans to breach Woodlake Dam in Moore County to ensure the safety of downstream communities.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is reminding watermen they need to renew their commercial fishing licenses and permits by June 30 to continue fishing, or in some cases, keep their licenses.

State environmental officials are reopening and expanding their nationwide search for a director for the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries.

The state Division of Air Quality has awarded $180,986 in grants for projects to reduce air pollution from mobile sources.

The state Division of Air Quality has awarded $180,986 in grants for projects to reduce air pollution from mobile sources.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is reminding fishermen that its Elizabeth City office has moved.

State recreational water quality officials today are alerting the public that initial testing at a sound-side site in Carteret County showed levels of bacteria exceeding the state and Environmental Protection Agency’s recreational water quality swimming standards.

State officials today authorized Duke Energy to operate a double-lined, industrial landfill that will be used to store coal ash and other wastes at the utility’s Dan River Steam Station in Rockingham County.   

A warm autumn kept commercial fishermen catching and selling shrimp up to New Year’s Eve last year, boosting 2016 shrimp landings to the highest since the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ Trip Ticket Program began in 1994. But overall, the 60 million pounds of finfish and shellfish commercial fishermen caught and sold at the docks was a 9 percent decrease from 2015. The total estimated dockside value of $94 million was about $700,000 short of the 2015 value. 

For the first time since March 2016, all North Carolina’s 100 counties are determined to be free from drought or dry conditions.