Press Releases

State officials urge people to avoid contact with potentially harmful algal blooms that have developed in the Edenton Bay in Chowan County due to recent hot weather. The Division of Water Resources’ Washington Regional Office staff has been monitoring small blooms in the area since late June. The bloom has now concentrated in Edenton Bay.  Algal blooms are often driven by wave and wind action which concentrates them into coves and along shorelines.

The state’s marine fisheries division has postponed two meetings scheduled for next week to explain new flounder permit and reporting requirements for pound net fishermen and fish dealers. The Division of Marine Fisheries has put the meetings on hold to allow for more internal review of the permit. The meetings had been scheduled for Tuesday in Morehead City and Wednesday in Manteo. New dates for the meetings have not yet been set.

The state’s marine fisheries division is reminding fishermen that license offices in Elizabeth City and Washington may experience unplanned, short-term closures due to a temporary shortage of personnel. These offices will additionally close daily for lunch until further notice.

The state marine fisheries division will hold a public hearing on a proposed water column lease for shellfish aquaculture in Carteret County. Adam Tyler has filed an application to lease approximately 2.6 acres of water column on his existing bottom lease in Jarrett Bay. The hearing will be held at 6 p.m. on Aug. 3 at the Division of Marine Fisheries’ Central District Office, 5285 Highway 70 West, Morehead City. Also, written comments may be submitted to the Division of Marine Fisheries, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, N.C. 28557 until 5 p.m. on Aug. 2.

Federal officials are praising a program in the McCrory administration’s environmental agency for its success at helping small businesses save money and protect the environment. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded the Waste Reduction Partners a $99,825 grant that enabled the program to complete 53 energy audits of rural North Carolina businesses over the past few years. During its audits, Waste Reduction Partners identified $776,000 in annual utility costs savings for the small businesses. The average annual savings equaled $14,600 per business.

Governor McCrory has signed into law a bill that requires Duke Energy to provide well owners with water connections, repair dams around coal ash ponds, and protect public health and the environment from the decades-old threat of coal ash.

The state’s marine fisheries division will hold two meetings this month to explain new flounder permit and reporting requirements for pound net fishermen and fish dealers. The meetings will be held as follows:

The state environmental department commends Governor Pat McCrory for signing a law that sets enforceable deadlines for Duke Energy to provide alternate water supplies to well owners near coal ash ponds. The law also requires the company to repair dams around the ponds and process coal ash for reuse in concrete manufacturing.  

The state environmental agency will host a public information session in Eden on July 27 to inform residents of Duke Energy’s plans to construct and operate a new lined landfill to safely store coal ash at its Dan River Steam Station in Rockingham County. Duke Energy has applied with the state agency for a solid waste permit for the proposed landfill, which would be constructed with a protective liner and would store coal ash currently contained in an unlined basin on the same Dan River facility property.

The North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission will meet July 12-13 at the NOAA/NERR Administration Building Auditorium, 101 Pivers Island in Beaufort. The meeting will begin at 1:15 p.m. on July 12 and 9 a.m. on July 13. The meeting is open to the public. Items on the commission’s agenda include: