Press Releases

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. 

The state marine fisheries division is accepting public comment on a proposed bottom and water column lease for shellfish aquaculture in Pamlico County. Steven Quidley, of New Bern, has filed an application to lease approximately 4.73 acres in Broad Creek, east northeast of Dowdy Point in Green Creek. Comments may be made orally at a public hearing scheduled for 6 p.m. on Oct. 5 at the Pamlico County Courthouse; 202 Main Street, Bayboro.

Residents of a Durham County community now have a permanent source of clean drinking water, thanks to the work of state, federal and local officials. Officials announced at an event Thursday the successful completion of a $2.6 million community well system for about 40 homes in Rougemont. The community has relied on alternate water supplied by the state since 1992 after contamination from leaking fuel tanks was discovered in private wells. 

State officials today are urging citizens in North Carolina’s northeast counties to exercise caution with all water-based activities due to the heavy rainfall from recent storms that may have led to excessive bacteria in the water or introduced other substances into the water at potentially unsafe levels. “Waters impacted by these heavy rainfalls can become unsafe for swimming and recreational activities,” said J.D. Potts, manager of the N.C. Recreational Water Quality Program. “Floodwaters and stormwater runoff may contain pollutants and should be avoided.”

State officials are postponing a grants workshop scheduled for Sept. 27 in Plymouth due to the travel restrictions imposed on state employees following a fuel leak in Alabama. The purpose of the workshop was to share information with local governments about grant opportunities in order to acquire land and make improvements to beach and waterfront access, parks, and boating facilities.

The Marine Fisheries Commission Standard Commercial Fishing License Criteria Committee will meet at 10 a.m. Sept. 30 at the Crystal Coast Civic Center, 3505 Arendell St., Morehead City. The commission voted in February to convene a committee, made up of a sub-group of commission members, to discuss issues pertaining to the requirements for receiving a standard commercial fishing license in North Carolina. 

State officials will participate in a federal public meeting on Sept. 21 in Nags Head to accept comments from the public and answer questions about a proposed wind energy lease sale along the coast. The meeting will be held from on Sept. 21 from 5 to 8 p.m. at Jennette’s Pier, 7223 South Virginia Dare Trail in Nags Head. The U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is hosting the meeting.

North Carolina has been honored for a state program supported by Governor McCrory that helps local governments, state agencies, schools and universities save money on utility projects. Staff with the North Carolina Utility Savings Initiative received the 2016 Energy Stewardship Champion Award on Aug. 24 from the National Energy Services Coalition. North Carolina is one of only six states recognized this year.

The state environmental department has sent an environmental justice analysis for a proposed coal ash landfill at Duke Energy’s Dan River facility to the federal EPA’s Office of Civil Rights and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights.  The state previously submitted an environmental justice review of the Sutton coal ash facility in Wilmington. The federal civil rights offices would not provide comments up front on the Sutton review, saying it preferred instead to investigate any complaints that may be filed after the fact.