Climate Change Update: States Sue EPA over Fuel Economy Retreat
Climate Change Update: States Sue EPA over Fuel Economy Retreat States are fighting back against the Trump Administration’s latest big move to increase air pollution and accelerate climate change. Last week, 17 states and the District of Columbia filed suit in federal court to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision to retreat from stronger […]
Administrative Watch: DEQ Takes Environmental Justice Actions
Administrative Watch: DEQ Takes Environmental Justice Actions North Carolina has taken important steps forward on environmental justice over the past week. On Wednesday, the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) introduced the members of the new Environmental Justice and Equity Advisory Board. The board’s purpose is to “assist the Department in achieving and maintaining the fair […]
Education & Resources: Toxics in our Water
Education & Resources: Toxics in our Water A new national water contamination map shows North Carolina standing out among its neighbors for toxic chemical pollution hot spots—and more keep being found. According to Public News Service, our state has more sites on the map than any other southeastern state. The interactive map was prepared from […]
Conservation Action: Protest Weaker Coal Ash Standards Today
Conservation Action: Protest Weaker Coal Ash Standards Today The Trump Administration wants to weaken critical coal ash pollution safeguards. Today is our deadline for fighting back. In 2015, President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted the national Coal Combustion Residuals Rule (CCR) to toughen water pollution protections against the toxics leaking out of wet sludge […]
Executive Watch: Stein Challenges Coal Ash Charges
Executive Watch: Stein Challenges Coal Ash Charges North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein will fight Duke Energy’s coal ash rate hike in court. Stein has appealed to the state Supreme Court in an attempt to overturn Duke’s large electric rate hike, which was based primarily on its coal ash waste cleanup costs. In its decision […]
Judicial Watch: Jury Orders Big Hog to Pay Injured Neighbors
Judicial Watch: Jury Orders Big Hog to Pay Injured Neighbors In the first big damages case against the hog industry in our state, a North Carolina jury ordered Big Hog to pay over $50 million to neighbors injured by pollution from a Bladen County corporate hog farm. The trial wrapped up last week, and the […]
Education & Resources: Communities First
Education & Resources: Communities First The national League of Conservation Voters has released a new report called “Communities First,” which recognizes the special environmental contributions being made by Congressional caucuses representing communities of color. These leaders understand that communities of color often disproportionately feel the impacts of environmental pollution and waste treatment and disposal facilities. […]
Washington Watch: Birds Beware
Washington Watch: Birds Beware For months, we’ve been noting some of the ways in which the Trump Administration is setting environmental protections back by decades. Now the president has reinterpreted the century-old Migratory Bird Treaty Act in a way that will make it almost impossible to enforce. If you thought a century-old law protecting migratory […]
Judicial Watch: Supremes Hear Solar Appeal
Judicial Watch: Supremes Hear Solar Appeal If two small nonprofits collaborate to finance a rooftop solar electric system in an innovative way, should the state hammer them with big financial penalties for infringing on Duke Energy’s exclusive power sales territory? Last week, the North Carolina Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Duke Energy […]
Coast Watch: Holden Beach Says “No” to Terminal Groin
Coast Watch: Holden Beach Says “No” to Terminal Groin A coastal North Carolina town which once asked for a beach-killing “terminal groin” has changed its mind. Last week, the Holden Beach Town Board of Commissioners unanimously voted to withdraw the town’s permit application to build a “terminal groin” at the east end of the island. […]
