Press Releases

Today, North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Secretary Reid Wilson celebrated Earth Day and the work DEQ does every day to protect North Carolina’s air, land and water.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 29, 2025, on proposed shellfish leases in Hyde County. The hearing will be held in person at the Hyde County Courthouse, 40 Oyster Creek Road, Swan Quarter, N.C. 27885, and virtually via Webex.

The N.C. Coastal Resources Commission (CRC) will meet April 30 and May 1 at the Dare County Government Center, 954 Marshall C. Collins Drive, Manteo. The regular business meeting of the CRC will be called to order at 1 p.m. on April 30 and will resume at 9 a.m. on May 1. A public input and comment period is scheduled for 9:15 a.m. on May 1. At the chair’s discretion, comments may be limited to 3 minutes per person. The public may attend the CRC meeting in-person or join online.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Flood Resiliency Blueprint (Blueprint) is working with North Carolina Emergency Management (NCEM) to implement infrastructure projects to reduce flooding and associated damaged. DEQ is providing over $3.9 million for three NCEM projects that will target flooding in Greenville, Fayetteville and Sanford. 

The N.C. Coastal Reserve and National Estuarine Research Reserve will hold Spring local advisory committee meetings April 22-23 for the following reserve sites. All meetings are in-person only and open to the public.  

The State Water Infrastructure Authority will meet in person in Edenton and by teleconference, via Webex, on Wednesday, April 16 and Thursday, April 17. The public may attend in person or listen to the meeting online or by phone.

The North Carolina Oil and Gas Commission Rules Committee will meet online via Microsoft Teams at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) State Energy Office will hold a public hearing on April 17 and accept public comments on the Weatherization Assistance Program’s Annual State Plan. Members of the public are invited to attend in person or online.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will hold a public hearing at 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, 2025, on proposed shellfish leases in Onslow County. The hearing will be held both in person at the Holly Ridge Community Center, 404 Sound Road, Holly Ridge, N.C. 28445 and virtually via Webex.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries will begin renewing commercial fishing, seafood dealer and for-hire licenses and permits on April 15, and the Division is asking fishermen go ahead and get this business done in April or May.