With the November election over, the North Carolina General Assembly returned to Raleigh after Thanksgiving for one, last lame duck session before the new legislature is seated in January. Among other legislation, the General Assembly approved a new round of Hurricane Florence disaster recovery appropriations. Included in this legislation was $250,000 for the NC Department…
CHARLESTON, S.C. – Leading environmental groups sued the federal government today to prevent seismic airgun blasting in the Atlantic Ocean. This extremely loud and dangerous process, which is used to search for oil and gas deposits deep below the ocean’s surface, is the first step toward offshore drilling. If allowed, seismic airgun blasting would harm marine life,…
Since news broke in June 2017 that GenX had been detected in the drinking water system of the Cape Fear Public Utility Authority and the Cape Fear River, the North Carolina Coastal Federation has worked to provide leadership to affected communities and decision-makers. GenX is an industrial compound associated with adverse human health and ecological…
On Oct. 8, the North Carolina General Assembly took less than a day to earmark close to $400 million in Hurricane Florence disaster recovery funding. Lawmakers also shifted another $450 million into a disaster recovery fund with a promise to use it in the near future for additional Florence recovery efforts. The North Carolina Coastal…
Oct. 16 marked the fifth public meeting in a series designed to secure input and feedback from the public in the development of the Lake Mattamuskeet Watershed Restoration Plan. The lake is considered unhealthy and is listed on the state 303(d) list for impaired waters. This means that actions must be taken to improve water…
With North Carolina slowly beginning the process of recovering from Hurricane Florence, the North Carolina General Assembly is scheduled to meet Oct. 15 to approve a multimillion-dollar package of aid to farmers, flooded out homeowners, small businesses and disaster-stricken communities. On Oct. 10, Gov. Roy Cooper released his Hurricane Florence recovery plan, which includes substantial…
Hundreds of people attended the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) PFAS Community Engagement Event on Tuesday, Aug. 14, in Fayetteville. PFAS are a group of man-made industrial chemicals – perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances – that include GenX. Although research on the potential effects of these emerging compounds is limited, scientific evidence associates these compounds with adverse human…
A federal judge sided with the North Carolina Coastal Federation and other conservation groups Thursday when he issued an injunction that blocked the federal administration’s attempt to suspend the Clean Water Rule. The Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) represented the federation, the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, Charleston Waterkeeper, American Rivers, Chattachoochee Riverkeeper, Clean Water…
The North Carolina Coastal Federation recently signed on to a comment letter written by the Southern Environmental Law Center in opposition to the proposed Well Control Rule changes. The Well Control Rule (WCR) was put into place after the biggest oil spill in U.S. history, Deepwater Horizon. The rule was created to make offshore drilling…