Environment
Protecting our Environment
Protecting our state’s natural environment is critical for our families and our economy. Under Governor Cooper’s leadership, North Carolina is moving into a clean energy future that will create jobs, reduce harmful emissions, and protect our environment. For additional information on Governor Cooper’s climate and clean energy work and environmental justice work, please see those websites.
Conservation
Governor Cooper’s Executive Order 305 sets statewide conservation goals to protect North Carolina forests and wetlands. Public and private partners are directed to collectively and permanently conserve 1 million new acres of natural land with a focus on wetlands, restore 1 million new acres of wetlands, and plant 1 million new trees in urban areas by 2040. The Executive Order is also designed to address knowledge gaps and better inform the creation of environmental and resiliency policies. Executive Order 305 mandates that the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) develop a methodology to update existing wetland mapping data. DEQ will also deliver a report to the Governor detailing the social, economic, and environmental value of conserving, protecting, or losing wetlands. The Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) will identify the area of natural lands by category, then develop and publish ecosystem vulnerability analyses that analyze the impact of climate change on biodiversity and water quality in North Carolina. DEQ and DNCR will then collaborate to identify the geographic boundaries of natural lands, with an emphasis on wetlands.
Executive Order 305 also establishes a Native Plant Policy for North Carolina State Government, expanding the policy implemented by DNCR. The Executive Order directs other state agencies to minimize projects that would adversely affect vulnerable wetlands while encouraging agencies to promote new and ongoing conservation and restoration, and climate resiliency efforts in tribal communities. State agencies are also directed to seek federal funding to protect and restore wetlands.
The goals set forth by Executive Order 305 will allow North Carolina to further its mission of protecting, restoring, and enhancing natural lands. In doing so, these lands can facilitate carbon sequestration, strengthen ecosystem and community resilience, support biodiversity, provide vital ecosystem functions and services such as clean water and flood protection, support military training operations, facilitate tourism and enhance the State’s economy, and provide opportunities for recreational activities.
Executive Order 305 was signed in the wake of the May 2023 United States Supreme Court decision, Sackett v. EPA, which dramatically reduced federal protections for isolated wetlands. Additionally, in June of 2023, the North Carolina General Assembly overrode Governor Cooper’s vote to enact the North Carolina Farm Act of 2023, which rolled back state protections for wetlands without first studying the environmental consequences that may be faced by the people, environment, economy, and flood resiliency of the state of North Carolina.
Water Quality and PFAS
GenX is a Chemours trademark name for a synthetic chemical compound. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) began investigating the presence of GenX in the Cape Fear River in June 2017. The Chemours facility in Fayetteville was identified as the company that produces the GenX chemical for industrial processes. The state’s investigation focused on protection of public health and drinking water. Through actions by DEQ and the Consent Order, Chemours was required to stop the discharge of process wastewater, drastically reduce emissions and provide alternate water for thousand of household whose drinking water wells have been contaminated. For more information about the GenX investigation, visit the Department of Environmental Quality’s GenX Investigation website: https://www.deq.nc.gov/news/key-issues/genx-investigation
Emerging compounds are relatively unknown compounds that are increasingly being detected in soil, groundwater and surface water. As science advances, laboratories are able to detect these compounds and researchers are discovering new details about their impacts. The emerging compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS is of concern both nationally and in North Carolina. This is a group of man-made chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS and GenX, and are found in a wide range of commercial and consumer products such as food packaging, water- and stain-repellent fabrics, nonstick products and firefighting foams. They are also commonly used in industrial processes and manufacturing. Because of their widespread use, these compounds are present in household and industrial waste, air emissions and discharges. PFAS are often called “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment and can build up, or bioaccumulate, in humans and animals. For more information about PFAS and North Carolina’s action strategy, visit the Department of Environmental Quality’s Emerging Compounds website: https://www.deq.nc.gov/news/key-issues/emerging-compounds