Press Releases

NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Secretary Reid Wilson joined coastal communities, resilience partners and consultants in New Bern today to celebrate five years of the Resilient Coastal Communities Program (RCCP) and look ahead to the next phase of helping communities turn resilience priorities into action.

MOREHEAD CITY – State recreational water quality officials today advise the public to avoid swimming in ocean and sound-side waters in Dare County affected by hazardous weather conditions.

The NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) is accepting public review and comment on a request for review of a federal consistency submission for a proposed update to training activities and operations within the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point Range Complex.

Effective Sept. 14, Michael Pjetraj has been named the director of the NC Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Division of Water Resources (DWR). He replaces Richard Rogers, who retired Aug. 31.

Recordatorio: La División de Recursos Hídricos (DWR) del Departamento de Calidad Ambiental de Carolina del Norte celebrará una audiencia pública el 28 de septiembre de 2026, para recopilar comentarios del público sobre la solicitud de certificación de calidad del agua 401, en virtud de la Ley de Agua Limpia, correspondiente al centro de datos de Stamey Farm Road/Compass Data Center, en el condado de Iredell.

A statewide program that has certified more than 1,600 environmental educators is finding a new home at Catawba College. The North Carolina Environmental Education Certification Program will move from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to Catawba’s Center for the Environment on October 1. The transition will preserve the certification program, its staff, and all the programs and resources that connect educators across the state, including its listserv and calendar.

NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Secretary Reid Wilson traveled to Turner Shoals Dam in Polk County today to announce the Department’s second round of Dam Safety grants totaling more than $3.4 million to address at-risk dams that were damaged by Hurricane Helene. DEQ’s Division of Energy, Mineral, and Land Resources (DEMLR) awarded $6.6 million earlier this year to address six high-hazard dams that were also damaged during Hurricane Helene.

The NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) is accepting public review and comment on a request for review of a federal consistency submission for a proposed update to training activities and operations within the Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point Range Complex.

The NC Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) has launched a new webpage for The Topsail Nature Preserve, providing residents and visitors with a central online resource for information about the Preserve, public access, responsible recreation and DCM’s management and stewardship efforts.

Attorney General Jeff Jackson and North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson today announced a $590 million deal between the state of North Carolina, 11 local governments, and DuPont and Chemours over PFAS contamination in North Carolina, the largest total environmental damages recov