Press Releases

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s (NCDEQ) Division of Coastal Management (DCM) Coastal Reserve program and partners from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC), NC State Parks, Bald Head Island Conservancy, NC Audubon, NC Aquariums and National Park Service are recruiting volunteers to participate in the 2025 Terrapin Tally.

The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission today took a step towards adoption of draft Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 4 by approving the draft plan for public and advisory committee review. Draft Amendment 4 would move the already scheduled sector allocation shift to 50/50 (commercial/recreational) in Amendment 3 up by one year to 2025.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) State Energy Office is holding a series of public engagement opportunities in February and March to provide information and gather feedback on the Department’s initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as part of the federal Climate Pollution Reduction Grant’s (CPRG) Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP).

The open burning of trash, metal, plastic and all other man-made materials not only harms the environment and poses a public health risk, it’s against state law.During the spring burning season, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality is reminding North Carolinians: If it doesn’t grow, don’t burn it. Open burning is only allowed in limited circumstances and only for vegetative materials like leaves, limbs and yard debris.

Three advisory committees to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet this month to accept public comment, discuss, and vote on recommendations for adaptive management for the draft Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan Amendment 3 Revision.

At NC DEQ's direction, Chemours is significantly expanding sampling eligibility for PFAS contamination in private drinking water wells around the Fayetteville Works plant, now including portions of Harnett and Hoke counties.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality Division of Water Resources is now accepting proposals for projects that address flood reduction or flood resiliency in key river basins in the state. In addition, DWR is also accepting proposals statewide to address stream restoration, water-based restoration and water management.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s (NCDEQ) Division of Coastal Management (DCM) will hold a public hearing on March 18 from 5-7 p.m. at the Town of Duck’s Town Hall, 1200 Duck Road, to hear public comment on North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) and North Carolina Turnpike Authority’s (NCTA) Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) application for the proposed Mid-Currituck Bridge project.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Air Quality (DAQ) will no longer process an application submitted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) to modify its Title V air quality permit after UNC withdrew its application.UNC submitted its notification of application withdrawal on March 10.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s (NCDEQ) Division of Coastal Management (DCM) invites communities and contractors to apply to participate in Phases 1 through 4 of the N.C. Resilient Coastal Communities Program (RCCP), which aims to equip communities with additional capability to understand and enhance coastal resilience at the local level. DCM estimates that approximately $2 million will be available for Phases 1 and 2 in FY 2025-2026 and approximately $6 million will be available for Phase 3 and Phase 4 projects in FY 2025-2026. The application deadline for both community and