Press Releases

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) invites communities to apply through the end of May for Phases 3 and 4 of the N.C. Resilient Coastal Communities Program (RCCP). Phase 3 of the RCCP funds the engineering and design of a prioritized resilience project, and Phase 4 funds the implementation of a shovel-ready resilience project.

The State Water Infrastructure Authority will meet Tuesday, April 16 and Wednesday, April 17 at the Surry County Service Center in Dobson. The public may attend in-person or listen to the meeting online or by phone.

The North Carolina Mining Commission meeting planned for April. 16, 2024, has been cancelled.

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

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality is now accepting public comments on a draft Title V air quality permit for CTI of North Carolina, Inc. - Wilmington Terminal, an existing gasoline and fuel oil terminal at 1312 S. Front St., Wilmington in New Hanover County. This new permit, which does not include any operational changes but does increase the permit class for the facility, is required due to an ownership change.Public comments will be accepted until April 14.

Fishermen purchasing or renewing fishing licenses or vessel registrations at Division of Marine Fisheries offices can now use their credit cards for payment.

The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission’s Water Quality Committee will hold a special meeting at 1 p.m. on April 9 in the Ground Floor Hearing Room of the Archdale Building in Raleigh.

The Secretaries’ Science Advisory Board will meet on Wednesday, April 3 at 10:00 am.  The public is invited to attend the meeting in person or online.

Eighty readopted marine fisheries rules become effective today, though these rules should have minimal impact on fishing practices. The rules pertain to standards for commercial shellfish sanitation and processing procedures, and most of the amendments simply codify existing practices or regulations already implemented via proclamation.

Three advisory committees of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet in April to discuss a proposal to protect Submerged Aquatic Vegetation through shrimp trawl area closures. The meetings will be held in person and livestreamed on YouTube.