Press Releases

Water quality swimming advisories lifted for two sound-side sites in New Hanover County

MOREHEAD CITY – State recreational officials lifted water quality swimming advisories today at two sound-side sites in New Hanover County.

REMINDER: DEQ Accepting Comments on Revisions to State Plan that Would Remove Vehicle Emissions Inspection Program from 18 Counties

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ) is accepting public comments on draft revisions to the Inspection & Maintenance State Implementation Plan.

Public comments are accepted through Sept. 4.

Marine Fisheries Commission asks to reopen Southern Flounder Plan; Fisheries Director aligns flounder regulations with Wildlife rules in Joint Fishing Waters

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) wants to look at ways to allow more recreational access to flounder fishing in the future.

REMINDER: State coastal commission to meet in Beaufort Aug. 27-28; Coastal Resources Advisory Council to meet Aug. 27

The N.C. Coastal Resources Commission (CRC) will meet Aug. 27 and 28 at the Beaufort Hotel, 2440 Lennoxville Road, Beaufort. The regular business meeting of the CRC will be called to order at 3 p.m. on Aug. 27 and will resume at 9 a.m. on Aug. 28. An in-person public comment period is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Aug. 27. At the chair’s discretion, comments may be limited to 3 minutes per person. The public may attend the CRC meeting in-person or watch online. The Coastal Resources Advisory Council will meet in-person only Aug. 27, at 1 p.m. at the same location.

Precautionary water quality swimming advisory lifted for ocean-side areas along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Dare County

MOREHEAD CITY – State recreational water quality officials today lifted a precautionary advisory warning the public against swimming near two areas along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Rodanthe and Buxton.

Agencies release Threatened Oceanfront Structures report

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Division of Coastal Management (DCM) and the National Park Service’s Cape Hatteras National Seashore (NPS CHNS) today released the report, Managing Threatened Oceanfront Structures: Ideas from an Interagency Work Group. This report is the result of a year-long collaboration between local governments and state and federal agencies via virtual meetings and public workshops. DEQ will use the report to guide next steps, as the state works to address threatened oceanfront structures.

NCDEQ Division of Water Resources advises the public to avoid agal bloom in Chowan River

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources (DWR) advises the public to avoid contact with green or blue water in parts of the Chowan River in Chowan and Bertie counties due to an algal bloom that has lingered in the area since Aug. 16. The bloom has been observed from near the community of Rockyhock to below the U.S. 17 bridge over the Chowan River near Edenton.

Precautionary swimming advisory lifted for most sound-side sites after Tropical Storm Debby

MOREHEAD CITY – State recreational water quality officials have now lifted the precautionary against swimming issued due to Tropical Storm Debby for all but eight locations.

DAQ Issues Air Quality Permit to Terra-Mulch Products

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ) has issued a Title V air quality permit to Terra-Mulch Products, LLC in Catawba County.

REMINDER: Extended comment period for NOAA’s Proposed Rule to Amend the NARW Vessel Strike Reduction Rule ends Aug. 31

The comment period for review of a federal consistency submission from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of Protected Resources proposing amendments to the North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Strike Reduction Rule (“speed rule”) ends Aug. 31. The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management will accept written comments on the proposal until 5 p.m.