NC Utilities Commission reaches partial settlement with Duke Energy over rate...
The public staff of the NC Utilities Commission went behind closed doors with Duke Energy Progress today to hammer out a partial settlement agreement regarding the utility’s request for a 16.7 percent...
View ArticleHere’s something to be thankful for: better air through renewable energy,...
Utilities’ energy efficiency and renewable energy programs reduced levels of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants on the southeastern grid by 3.3 million tons last year. That’s roughly...
View ArticleNatural gas leak at Robeson County compressor station adds to anxiety over...
A compressor station in the town of Prospect in Robeson County leaked natural gas for more than an hour early yesterday morning, before repair crews could stop it. That accident, although minor,...
View ArticleNorth Carolina is getting $92 million in free money; the line to get a piece...
Ninety-two million dollars sounds like an enormous amount of money, but it will only begin to wean the state’s major diesel users from that polluting fuel. And disbursing those funds to worthy...
View ArticleSecret Chemours spill causes spike in GenX levels at water treatment plant
Levels of GenX at the Bladen Bluffs water treatment plant in Brunswick County were nearly double the state’s provisional health goal after an unreported chemical spill occurred upstream at the Chemours...
View ArticleThe natural gas compressor station that leaked? It operates without a permit...
Three-quarters of a ton of natural gas leaked into the air from a Robeson County compressor station, a state investigation has found. And the compressor station, owned by Piedmont Natural Gas, has...
View ArticleFormer DEQ chief Donald van der Vaart resigns less than a month after suspension
Donald van der Vaart, the former Secretary of the Environment who demoted himself within the agency to save his job, has now resigned from that post. WBTV first reported the story this evening. Van der...
View ArticleWater quality permit for Atlantic Coast Pipeline still in limbo; DEQ makes...
The water quality permit application filed by Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC, still lacks key information, including an analysis of certain claims regarding economic development and the purported demand...
View ArticleIt’s even been found in honey: Mysteries deepen about extent, risks of GenX...
Earlier this summer, it appeared that GenX contamination, while a crisis, could at least be contained. And once the pollutant was contained, state environmental officials believed, they could then...
View ArticleNC DEQ delays decision on Atlantic Coast Pipeline air permit, requests more...
Benzene, a known carcinogen, would be emitted from the Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s compressor station, prompting state environmental officials to delay its decision on its air permit. NC Department of...
View ArticleNone of NC’s 39 Superfund sites apparently need “immediate, intense...
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced on Friday 21 Superfund sites that need “immediate, intense attention” — and none of them is in North Carolina. These targeted sites, scattered throughout the...
View ArticleWhen life gives you coal ash, make coal ash art
Caroline Armijo was feeling relaxed, her mind open, during a guided meditation class when she was visited by a creative muse: Why not take coal ash, the source of misery for so many people in her...
View ArticleThe Great Recession was a “wonderful blessing” and other bizarre takes from...
Except for the people who benefit from others’ misery — Wall Street short-sellers, pyramid schemers and prosperity gospel profiteers — the Great Recession was difficult, painful, even life-altering....
View ArticleGenX contamination in private wells never seems to end; 115 well owners now...
Thirty more households near the Chemours Fayetteville Works plant are receiving bottled water because their private drinking water wells tested above the state’s provisional health goal of 140 parts...
View ArticleIn settlement with environmental groups, DEQ changes complaint process about...
The NC Department of Environmental Quality says it will be more transparent about how it handles citizens complaints against industrialized livestock farms, including those that have been cited for...
View ArticleChemical cousins to PFAs, PFOAs, found in Jordan Lake, Town of Cary drinking...
This is a developing story; it will be updated as more information becomes available. Chemical compounds in the same family as GenX have been found in Jordan Lake and the Town of Cary’s drinking water,...
View ArticleProposed GenX legislation unveiled for January special session contains more...
The workload on two state agencies to tackle the issue of emerging contaminants would increase under proposed legislation, but without more money to do that work. The Department of Environmental...
View ArticleConcerned about harm to sea life, DEQ temporarily blocks energy companies...
New science about the hazards of seismic air gun testing could waylay plans of four international companies that had planned to explore and drill for oil and gas off the North Carolina coast. As part...
View ArticleTwo days remain to comment on how DEQ should spend $92 million to clean up...
Tell the Division of Air Quality what projects you think the state should fund using the $92 million settlement money to reduce diesel pollution. Submit comments by 5 p.m. on Dec. 31 to this email...
View Article“There is no choice”: Teens petition Environmental Management Commission to...
Although the eastern half of the United States is gripped by a record-setting cold snap, the frigid weather — contrary to Tweets from @realdonaldtrump — doesn’t indicate that climate change is...
View Article