After two months, DEQ still hasn’t produced public records on $1.3 million...
After more than two months, the NC Department of Environmental Quality still has not provided contracts and proposals regarding an Indiana-based company’s $1.3 million plan to chemically treat Jordan...
View ArticleIn signing wind moratorium and executive order promoting wind energy, Gov....
House Bill 589, a promising renewable energy bill until it was saddled with a last-minute wind farm moratorium, is now law. Gov. Roy Cooper signed the bill today. From the governor’s press release: A...
View ArticleWith public comment period, EPA takes first step in striking the key Waters...
Some wetlands, intermittent streams and other small but important bodies of water could be polluted with impunity if the EPA fully rescinds the Waters of the US rule. The agency and the US Army Corps...
View ArticleWeek 4 of GenX sampling shows further decreases of chemical in drinking water
The NC Department of Environmental Quality yesterday released the results of the most recent sampling of drinking water contaminated with GenX. Those results show that “finished water” — essentially...
View ArticleClean Air Carolina, SELC sue Trump administration over rollback of pollution...
Four environmental groups, including two from North Carolina, are suing the Federal Highway Administration over its sudden suspension of key greenhouse gas rules. Those rules would have required states...
View ArticleAt the beach? Put down the umbrella drink and head to a public meeting about...
North Carolina’s coast, which has so far eluded capture by the energy companies, is again in the crosshairs for offshore oil and gas exploration. And this time, the rigs could be just three miles from...
View ArticleThe mind reels: Civitas, foe of EPA and government regulation, demands EPA...
Ultra-conservative think tank the Civitas Institute, which has never met an environmental regulation it didn’t want to obliterate, is now invoking the Clean Water Act to keep GenX and other chemicals...
View ArticleChemours’s troubles deepen as US Attorney’s Office subpoenas documents from...
This post has been updated with a comment from DEQ. The Star-News in Wilmington is reporting that the US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of NC has issued a criminal subpoena to the NC...
View ArticleEnvironmental bills annotated, Part 1: Problematic SB 16 weakens landfill and...
What was supposed to be the legislative equivalent of fast food — a quick in-and-out special session — turned into an elaborate eight-course meal — a full-day rife with backdoor discussions, testy...
View ArticleThe quarterback sneak of House Bill 162: Measure would stymie DEQ’s ability...
House Bill 162 began its life last February as a wonky aggregation of technical corrections. But by summer, the measure hasdmorphed into yet another attempt by lawmakers to curb the authority of the NC...
View ArticleDEQ hosts more public listening sessions on Atlantic Coast Pipeline; new FERC...
If you missed the recent public hearings on the controversial Atlantic Coast Pipeline, you have three more chances to speak your mind before state environmental officials. The NC Department of...
View ArticleDEQ, DHHS reveal their $2.5 million emergency budget request to address GenX,...
Two top state officials have asked lawmakers to appropriate $2.5 million in emergency funds to help their respective agencies address unregulated, emerging contaminants, such as GenX, in drinking...
View ArticleNC Senate caucus insinuates Cooper’s $2.5 million request to address GenX is...
State Senate Republicans, in part responsible for enacting deep budget cuts for environmental programs, seem reluctant to grant Gov. Roy Cooper’s emergency funding request to deal with the chemical...
View ArticleThe Gospel according to Sen. Andy Wells: DEQ is like an ungrateful servant,...
Andy Wells: state senator, real estate broker and now, Sunday school teacher. Today Sen. Wells posted on his personal blog a story based on the “parable of talents” from the Book of Matthew and, using...
View ArticleScore in Manteo: OBX 34, offshore drilling 0
Sun-kissed and sandal-clad, the people who assembled at the Dare County Government Center in Manteo Thursday night wore the calm demeanor of those who fall asleep to the murmur of the sea and wake up...
View ArticleGov. Cooper vetoes SB 16 over dangerous rollbacks to water quality protection
The governor’s veto last night of Senate Bill 16 has temporarily halted several environmental laws, including one that gives eminent domain power to Dominion Energy for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline....
View ArticleDEQ had GenX info under Secretary Donald van der Vaart; under Michael Regan,...
Donald van der Vaart, former Department of Environmental Quality secretary, was in charge when state officials first learned last fall there could be a problem with GenX in the Lower Cape Fear River....
View ArticleDespite the moratorium, Duke Energy moving ahead on wind energy plans
Although Sen. Harry Brown put an 18-month kibosh on new wind farms in North Carolina, Duke Energy Carolinas announced it’s looking to buy 500 megawatts of wind energy by the end of 2022. The utility...
View ArticleWhat ‘Schoolhouse Rock’ didn’t tell you: How House Bill 589, the renewable...
R ep. John Szoka, who lives in Fayetteville, but is originally from Ohio, was present during a pivotal moment in modern environmental history. “I remember when the Cuyahoga River burned” in 1969,...
View ArticleComment period ends Aug. 19 on state’s water permit for Atlantic Coast...
The NC Department of Environmental Quality is accepting public comment until Aug. 19 at 5 p.m. on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s application for a water quality certification and buffer authorization....
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