Press Releases

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has secured the excavation of nearly 80 million tons of coal ash at six facilities in North Carolina. Under a settlement agreement with community and environmental groups and Duke Energy that ends the appeal litigation, Duke Energy will move forward with excavation plans at the Allen, Belews Creek, Cliffside, Marshall, Mayo and Roxboro sites, moving coal ash into on-site lined landfills.  

The N.C. Environmental Management Commission (EMC) will meet January 8 and 9 at the Archdale Building, 512 N. Salisbury Street in Raleigh. Committees of the commission will meet Wednesday, January 8, with the full commission meeting Thursday, January 9. All of the meetings will be held in the Ground Floor Hearing Room.

This year, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) took key actions to protect the environment and health of all North Carolinians and to address the impacts of climate change.

The state Division of Coastal Management has awarded more than $1 million to eight local governments to improve public access to coastal beaches and waters for the 2019-20 fiscal year.

The North Carolina Division of Air Quality is accepting public comment through January 30, 2020 on the draft of the air monitoring study in Duplin County. 

North Carolina has received a $300,000 competitive award from the U.S. Department of Energy for a joint project by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), UNC Charlotte’s Energy Production Infrastructure Center (EPIC), and the NC Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) at NC State University.   “We are partnering on a project that will examine storm-related impacts and the costs and benefits of investments in grid resiliency as recommended in the NC Clean Energy Plan,” said Sushma Masemore, State Energy Director.

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Water Resources is holding a public hearing to invite community feedback on the proposed amendment to the source water protection requirements codified in 15A NCAC 18C .1305.  This amendment is designed to eliminate the duplicative regulatory requirements that currently exist for certain public water systems that are subject to the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018.   

The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is seeking public comment on draft special orders by consent for Duke Energy’s Cape Fear Plant in Moncure and Weatherspoon Plant in Lumberton. The public comment period will be open until January 9, 2020 for both orders. The draft special orders by consent and related documents are available on DEQ’s website.

The State Water Infratructure Authority will meet via conference call at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 11. The public may listen to the call at the Archdale Building in downtown Raleigh.

The N.C. Division of Waste Management will host a public information meeting on December 9 concerning redevelopment plans for the Davidson Depot Street brownfields property in Davidson.