EPA
More NC utilities are detecting PFAS in drinking water, but some aren’t telling their customers
Nearly a dozen public water systems in North Carolina, including four that had never previously reported PFAS in their drinking water, have detected levels of the toxic compound above the EPA’s proposed maximum contaminant level. And there is no state or federal requirement that these public water systems inform their customers of the results, leaving […]
For the second time in two months, Burlington discharged toxic 1,4-Dioxane into Haw River, Pittsboro’s drinking water supply
Update at 12:20 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26.: The Town of Pittsboro released the first sampling results for 1,4-Dioxane: Raw Grab from Intake – 6.77 parts per billion Finished Water Grab – 5.26 bppb Chatham Park Tank – 3.23 ppb Chatham Forest Standpipe – 3.07 ppb Million Gallon Tank – 2.60 ppb Horton Tank – 1.74 […]
New federal water pollution rule draws mixed reaction
A federal rule limiting agencies’ power to regulate water pollution will severely restrict protections for waters and wetlands throughout the country, but could also be subject to challenges from conservative groups that maintain the new rule exerts more federal jurisdiction than the U.S. Supreme Court intended in a May decision. With the rule published Tuesday […]
Durham fire dept burned Duke heiress’s house for training. Lead paint blew into the neighborhood.
For 83 years, Les Terrasses, a 5,000-square-foot mansion once owned by the tobacco heiress Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans, sat perched above Bivins Street in Durham, guarded by an ornate white iron gate and adorned with shutters the color of a Queen Elizabeth rose. On July 14, the Durham Fire Department burned the house to […]
Burlington releases slug of 1,4-Dioxane into Haw River, enters Pittsboro drinking water
The City of Burlington’s south wastewater treatment plant released toxic 1,4-Dioxane into the Haw River, test results show, and the contamination reached Pittsboro’s drinking water supply. The Town of Pittsboro issued a press release at 9:30 Thursday night, reporting that on Monday the chemical was detected in treated drinking water at 11.9 parts per billion. […]
EPA announces $58 million investment in eradicating lead in drinking water
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Monday that it would distribute $58 million in grant funding toward the goal of protecting children from lead in drinking water in U.S. schools and childcare facilities. “During his first year in office, President Biden announced a bold plan to replace every lead pipe in America. Today’s announcement is another […]
DEQ plans to set state limits on toxic PFAS in groundwater, rivers, lakes
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality will pursue legally enforceable limits for several types of PFAS in groundwater and surface water, the agency announced yesterday. Although many public water systems tap into rivers and reservoirs for drinking water, about a third of North Carolinians (3.3 million) rely on groundwater. DEQ Assistant Secretary Sushma Masemore told […]
U.S. House Dems want data on impact of Supreme Court ruling on wetlands protection
Top Democrats on the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee asked federal agencies Monday to track possible negative effects from a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that limited federal authority to regulate clean water. Washington’s Rick Larsen, the ranking Democrat on the committee, and Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee ranking member Grace Napolitano of California, […]
House, Senate override governor’s veto of Farm Act, jeopardizing 2.5 million acres of NC wetlands
This story was originally posted June 23; it was updated June 27 at 2:45 p.m., after the House overrode the governor’s veto. The House overrode Gov. Cooper’s veto of the Farm Act today, stripping 2.5 million acres of wetlands — an area one and half times larger than the state of Delaware — of environmental […]
NC DEQ says Fort Liberty’s plans for addressing nearby water contamination are inadequate
State environmental regulators criticized Fort Liberty’s plan to test off-base drinking water for toxic PFAS, saying it fails to account for all of the potential contamination, according to correspondence dated June 6. In addition, the NC Department of Environmental Quality told base officials that letters they sent to nearby landowners about well testing were misleading. […]