Press Releases

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) Coastal Reserve today announced the reopening of the Currituck Banks Reserve parking lot, boardwalk and trail. The Reserve was temporarily closed in Oct. 2022 for repairs.

State recreational water quality officials today lifted a water quality swimming advisory for an ocean-side swimming area in Dare County.

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

El Departamento de Calidad Medioambiental (DEQ, por sus siglas en ingles) de Carolina del Norte celebrará una sesión pública el 9 de mayo de 2023 para recibir comentarios y opiniones de las partes interesadas, como parte del proceso de renovación de seis permisos generales para operaciones de alimentación de animales. Los comentarios y opiniones recibidas en el evento, así como durante el período de comentarios de 60 días (hasta el 5 de junio), se tendrán en cuenta en la elaboración de los proyectos de permisos, que entrarán en vigor en el 2024.

The State Water Infrastructure Authority will meet Tuesday, April 18, at 2:00 p.m. and Wednesday, April 19 at 9:00 a.m. at the New Hanover County Library Main Branch in Wilmington. The public may listen to the meeting online or by phone.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will hold a public stakeholder input session May 9, 2023, as part of the renewal process for six Animal Feeding Operations General Permits. Input from the event, as well as input received during the 60-day comment period through June 5, will be considered in the development of the draft permits which will become effective in 2024.

The five advisory committees to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission are scheduled to meet in April to discuss various fisheries topics. The meetings will be held in person and live-streamed on YouTube.

The N.C. Division of Coastal Management (DCM) is accepting applications for approximately $3 million in available funding to help local governments improve public access to coastal beaches and waters for the 2023-24 fiscal year. The Public Beach and Coastal Waterfront Access program provides matching funds to local governments in 20 coastal counties to construct low-cost public access facilities. The pre-application period for fiscal year 2023-24 grants closes on April 28 at 5 p.m.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) is awarding grants to 15 coastal communities for technical assistance in risk assessment and resilience planning work through the Resilient Coastal Communities Program (RCCP). A total of $1.1 million will be provided for completion of Phases 1 and 2 of the RCCP. DCM will contract with nine third-party service providers for direct technical assistance services to the localities.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries will hold three outreach meetings in the coming weeks to talk with charter/for-hire fishing owners and operators.