Researchers and volunteers at Stump Sound in Onslow County. Photo: N.C. Coastal Federation
A $75,000 grant will go toward plans to improve and maintain the water quality of Stump Sound in Onslow County, known for its oysters.
The North Carolina Coastal Federation received the grant from North Carolina Land and Water Fund for the development of a plan to address water quality and reduce localized flooding.
Stump Sound is designated as Outstanding Resource Waters, open shellfish waters, and a primary nursery area by the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.
While the classifications are to protect the existing uses of the sound for shellfishing, in recent years water quality has declined. Shellfish beds are now often closed to harvest following more frequent rain events because of larger amounts of polluted stormwater runoff flowing into the sound from surrounding land uses.
The Biden administration identified environmental justice (“EJ”) as a campaign priority
1 and the Biden-Harris team has continually emphasized its commitment to environmental justice, stating that the administration would “[e]nsure that environmental justice is a key consideration in” among other things “righting wrongs in communities that bear the brunt of pollution.”
2 How the incoming administration translates its policy statements into action that directly impacts the regulated community in the enforcement context remains an open question.
There is a well-established framework for EJ programs going back several decades. EJ has grown to include a range of issues, many of which do not directly implicate enforcement. The Biden administration’s EJ focus will likely be evolutionary rather than revolutionary. The differentiators may prove to be the level of focus and resources devoted to EJ issues and the extent to which EJ practice and programs become further embedded
By Rebecca Trager2021-01-20T14:35:00+00:00
The new US president Joe Biden has named several preeminent researchers to his science team and raised the status of the presidential science adviser to a cabinet-level position. The news has thrilled science groups and research advocates across the country.
Just days before his 20 January inauguration, Biden announced key members of his White House science team, including Eric Lander, a geneticist who currently serves as the president and founding director of the Broad Institute at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, as his pick for science adviser.
If confirmed by the Senate, Lander will also become director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Biden has made the decision to promote this position to a cabinet-level one for the first time in the post’s history.
DustBoss Atom designed for precision applications
Peoria, Illinois-based BossTek says its new DustBoss Atom has been engineered to provide an unmatched level of mobility and performance, delivering effective dust and particle suppression for new and existing applications.
With a throw of 100 feet (30 meters), the Atom’s adjustable elevation angle and user-defined oscillation allow precise aiming of a powerful dust-capturing mist comprised of millions of droplets per minute in the 50-to-200-microns range, which BossTek says is “proven to be the most efficient size for most project needs.”
The company describes the DustBoss Atom as “a true innovation in mobile dust suppression: a fan-less, self-contained design that incorporates remote control and 4G LTE telematics technologies as standard equipment to deliver an unprecedented combination of suppression and monitoring.”