Press Releases

The recreational black sea bass fishing season will open May 15 in both federal and North Carolina waters north of Cape Hatteras. During the open season north of Cape Hatteras, the minimum size limit will be 13 inches total length (tip of the snout to the tip of the tail), and the bag limit will be 15 fish per person, per day. The season will close on Dec. 11.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)’s Division of Water Resources is holding two additional public meetings in April on draft Animal Waste Management Digester System General Permits. In addition to two held this week in Sampson and Duplin counties, a third meeting will be held in-person and a fourth will be online via Webex. Members of the public are invited to attend and submit comments on the draft permits.

The State Water Infrastructure Authority will meet in Asheboro on Wednesday, April 13 and Thursday, April 14. The public may listen to the meeting online or by phone.

As part of a settlement signed today with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ), Chemours has agreed to further limit GenX emissions, conduct additional testing and pay the penalty assessed last year by DAQ.

The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting applications for the Federally Funded Fishery Disaster Relief Program for Hurricane Florence.

Forty-three readopted fisheries rules become effective today, but fishermen will see very little change.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Commercial Resource Fund Committee and the Funding Committee for the N.C. Commercial Fishing Resource Fund will begin accepting applications on April 1 for the 2022 funding cycle from the N.C. Commercial Fishing Resource Fund. The Commercial Fishing Resources Fund receives proceeds from the sale of Commercial Fishing Licenses and provides grants for projects for the development of sustainable commercial fishing in the state.

The Division of Coastal Management (DCM) invites local governments throughout the 20 Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) counties to apply for Phase 3 of the NC Resilient Coastal Communities Program (RCCP). Municipal and county governments are invited to apply for funding for the engineering and design of a prioritized project identified in their RCCP Resilience Strategy, or other existing plan that meets the RCCP’s Phases 1 and 2 planning criteria.

The Stormwater Funding Committee of the State Water Infrastructure Authority will meet Thursday, March 31 at 2:00 p.m. by teleconference. The public may listen to the meeting online or by phone.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources (DWR) is accepting public comments on a draft permit to treat PFAS-contaminated groundwater, surface water and stormwater from the Chemours Fayetteville Works site before discharge into the Cape Fear River.