Press Releases

North Carolinians with ideas about how to use $92 million from a court settlement to improve North Carolina’s air quality are encouraged to share their ideas as the State of North Carolina develops its plan.

After widespread devastation from Hurricane Matthew, North Carolina is using experts to study the Cashie, Lumber, Neuse and Tar rivers to help prevent future flooding, Governor Roy Cooper announced today.

Today, Gov. Roy Cooper announced that nearly $20 million in Clean Water Management Trust Fund grants have been awarded to help fund 50 projects that will conserve lands and protect waterways serving millions of North Carolinians. 

Governor Roy Cooper announced today that North Carolina will join 14 other states in the U.S. Climate Alliance, which is the bipartisan coalition launched in response to President Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement. The bipartisan group of states is committed to reducing their share of the U.S. greenhouse gas emission reduction targets in the Paris Agreement. 

Governor Cooper and the Department of Environmental Quality submitted formal comments yesterday to the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to convey North Carolina’s opposition to oil and gas leasing for offshore drilling on North Carolina’s coast.

In June, Governor Cooper directed the state Department of Environmental Quality along with the state Department of Health and Human Services to launch an investigation into Chemours’ discharge of the compound known as GenX. Governor Cooper and his administration were successful in getting Chemours’ to stop the release of GenX. Since then, the level of GenX in the water has been trending downward and tests are ongoing to ensure the levels continue to move in that direction.  

Governor Cooper announced today that the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality will submit formal comments opposing offshore seismic testing for oil drilling on North Carolina’s coast.

Federal officials must set limits for GenX and other emerging contaminants so that North Carolina can permanently control its discharge and ensure the safety of its drinking water, Governor Roy Cooper today told the U.S Environmental Protection Agency.

Today, Governor Cooper vetoed House Bill 576, An Act to (1) Require the Department of Environmental Quality to Approve Aerosolization of Leachate and Wastewater from a Lined Sanitary Landfill for the Disposal of Municipal Solid Waste Landfill, in Certain Circumstances...

Governor Roy Cooper released the following statement on HB 589. The bill amends energy policy laws by reforming the Public Utilities Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA), creating a bidding process for new renewable energy sources, and authorizing leasing of third-party owned solar developments.