While solar industry changes and a wind project moratorium passed, bills with coastal stormwater changes, the creation of a new fund to pay for beach re-nourishment, new dredging plans and repeal of the plastic bag ban on the Outer Banks remain on the table.
New Hanover County’s Rep. Deb Butler pointed to concern about the GenX compound in the Wilmington area’s drinking water supply and DEQ permitting backlogs in a plea to spare the agency from cuts in the budget passed Thursday.
The House and Senate must reconcile policy choices and a $15 million difference in funding for the Department of Environmental Quality as work on a final budget deal begins.
The Senate has amended a bill that would now, among other things, repeal a longstanding ban on single-use plastic bags on the Outer Banks and address Topsail Beach’s dune-protection efforts.
The Senate’s 2017-19 spending plan approved Thursday would eliminate 45 Department of Environmental Quality positions and impose a three-year moratorium on wind-energy projects.
Amid a hectic rush this week to advance dozens of bills by a critical deadline, state lawmakers solidified support for a wind energy bill and regulatory changes.
The move is on in the North Carolina General Assembly to advance bills ahead of an important deadline later this week, including measures to repeal the Outer Banks’ ban on plastic bags.
A plan to address water quality problems in the lower Cape Fear River includes reclassifying the part of the river that flows by Wilmington and the state port as “swamp water.”
State legislators’ efforts to repeal a longstanding ban on single-use plastic bags on the Outer Banks have sparked anger among residents and business owners.
The Senate and House are finalizing a set of regulatory bills that include provisions to loosen coastal environmental regulations.
After years of continually shrinking budgets, Gov. Roy Cooper’s spending plan breathes new life into key programs for water quality and parks.
State lawmakers are considering ideas for ways to pay for beach re-nourishment and proposing relaxed standards for offshore sources of sand and the placement of sandbag walls.
Winner of 14 North Carolina Press Association awards in 2016
