Update NC’s Pollution Spill Notification System to Keep People and Waterways Safe

North Carolina's notification system for pollution spills hasn't caught up to modern times. The only public notice required for polluting our waterways is an outdated law that calls for polluters to send a press release and post an ad in a newspaper.

The public has the right to know about major pollution spills that impact our waterways as soon as possible, and through the technology the public uses today.   

Sign the petition below to tell the NC Department of Environmental Quality: Update your spill notification system for the 21st century to keep North Carolina's people and waterways safe. 

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"WNC has a huge recreation and fishing industry that depends heavily on safe, clean waters. To fulfill its mission of protecting people and the environment in modern times, the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) should update its notification system to include alerts to the public through email, social media posts and text messages following large pollution and sewage spills. NC residents could then sign up to get these crucial updates as soon as possible, and when they need them: before they get out on the river.

Many people no longer get their news from print newspapers, and in many NC counties papers only run once or twice a week. Yet here's the current state law: When a polluter spills over 1,000 gallons of sewage into a waterway, the polluter is required to notify DEQ and to send out a press release to local news media within 24 hours. If a sewage spill is over 15,000 gallons, it must also be published in the newspapers of affected counties in the form of an advertisement within 10 days. Other types of pollution spills also have reporting requirements to DEQ, but very little notice to the general public.

This means residents can be exposed to polluted waterways for days before learning about a spill in a newspaper. And because newspapers aren't even required to publish these press releases about spills, there's no guarantee that people will get the information they need to swim, fish, and boat safely even then. 

I call on DEQ to update its spill notification system for the 21st century to keep NC's people and waterways safe."