The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality has approved a public hearing to learn more about what people think about a mining company’s application to renew a wastewater permit that was issued a decade ago.
The Save Blounts Creek grassroots movement began in 2011, when Martin Marietta Materials was initially granted a permit for a limestone mine in Vanceboro.
That permit allowed the mine to discharge up to 12 million gallons of fresh water per day into the creek, and the conservation nonprofit Sound Rivers said the change in pH caused by the wastewater could permanently alter its ability to support aquatic species.
The case bounced around in court for years, and last year the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled last year that NCDEQ was correct to issue the permit, even though the creek might suffer.
The DEQ opened a public comment period on the proposed permit renewal in August, and more than 400 comments about the mine and its potential impacts have been submitted so far. The Division of Water Resources has granted the request for a public hearing, which will be scheduled for November.
The public comment period for the permit renewal application was initially scheduled to end on Sept. 23 but has now been extended until the public hearing.
Use this link to send a message to DEQ: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/save-blounts-creek-round-2
