Environment
State Rep. Larry Hall wants SBI to pursue Gov. McCrory, put staff under oath
This post has been updated. A leading House Democrat has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to look into the actions of Pat McCrory, and may pursue other legal avenues to learn what the governor knew about drinking water advisories and coal ash. At a news conference Monday, House Democratic leader Larry Hall of Durham called for […]
Waterkeepers investigate after coal pile spill at Duke Energy’s Cliffside Plant
This post was updated at 2:45 p.m. to add comments from Duke Energy. Nearly a week after Duke Energy announced that 15,000 to 50,000 gallons of stormwater had spilled from a pile of unburned coal into the Broad River, it is still unknown if there is any contamination from the discharge. Now two riverkeeper groups are […]
North State Journal, staffed by former DEQ and McCrory employees, joins governor in attacking Ken Rudo
This post was updated at 6:15 p.m. As reader Greg Flynn commented below, the writer of the North State Journal article is Jeff Moore, who worked for the McCrory administration and for the state Department of Commerce. More on his résumé, which includes organizing a parade, farther down in the story. Conservative attacks on state […]
Get your hip waders: New EPA report says Wilmington No. 1 in coastal cities for flooding
Since 2010, for an average of 49 days each year — the equivalent of seven weeks — Wilmington has flooded. That figure distinguishes the city as first in the number of coastal flood days in the U.S., a phenomenon spurred by climate change. A series of reports, “Climate Change Indicators,” released Tuesday by the Environmental Protection Agency, portends more flooding trouble along the […]
State toxicologist assailed by Gov. McCrory has lengthy record of research and public service
He’s testified against Dow Chemical. He’s faced down ExxonMobil. His testimony helped two farmworkers whose baby was born without arms or legs reach a settlement with Ag-Mart over pesticide exposure.
At a weird meeting, Gov. McCrory warns ag board about “environmental extremists”
This week’s agriculture board should have been a snooze. Instead, it was a doozy. On the agenda were two ceremonial items: Governor Pat McCrory would sign the farm bill and Associate Supreme Court Justice Paul Newby would swear in new board members. And then, the board would delve into a mind-numbing discussion of ag rules, including those on pen-raised […]
Two years after Dan River disaster Duke Energy plans for massive coal ash landfill
At 12 stories, the proposed coal ash landfill at Duke Energy’s Dan River Steam Plant in Eden would loom taller than any building in this small town.
At 23 acres, the landfill would consume the same amount of space as 17 Morehead High School football fields.
Leading coastal scientist resigns from key state panel in protest
It wasn’t just the political controversy over sea-level rise. Or the Coastal Resources Commission’s defense of a sea-level rise report.
Or state environmental officials, who are allowing 21 eight-bedroom houses to be built on ecologically sensitive and flood-prone land on Sunset Beach.
Hands off bee-harming pesticides: N.C. board to consider restrictions
When a honeybee gets dosed with a neonic, a common pesticide used on millions of acres of farmland and on home lawns, it may not get sick right away. Instead the bee’s immune system can take a hit, making this important insect vulnerable to mites and diseases. It’s similar to what happens how elderly people can succumb to the smallest infraction: Weakened […]
Edenton Bay afflicted with hazardous algae — again
The water is as green as a sheet of nori in Edenton Bay, as potentially toxic algae is blooming in the waterway near the Albemarle Sound in Eastern North Carolina, according to state environmental scientists. The state Division of Water Resources received a report of green water on July 19 from a Chowan County environmental group. DWR staff […]
Dissecting the McCrory administration’s defense of the new state coal ash law
A detailed look at what DEQ officials claim and what they leave out in their new video
The state’s coal ash crisis is under control.
That’s what the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality wants viewers to believe, in a recently released a five-and-a-half minute video on the agency’s website and YouTube channel.
Civitas Institute hires pro-fracking professor to write anti-renewables report
University of Wyoming professor Timothy Considine, the “energy expert” commissioned by the conservative Civitas Institute to assail North Carolina’s renewables strategy, has at least one glaring problem: He regularly receives money from fracking advocates and the natural gas industry to write reports that advance their agenda. Considine’s latest work, for Civitas, “North Carolina’s Renewable Portfolio Standard: Examining the Economic […]