The following text is from Christine Lawson, Program Manager, Animal Feeding Operations Program, NC Dept. of Environmental Quality:
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has rescheduled the day-long stakeholder event originally planned for Oct. 4 and cancelled due to the impact of Hurricane Florence. The department will gather input on renewal of the draft Swine Waste Management System General Permit, AWG10000.
The rescheduled stakeholder event will take place Tuesday, Nov. 27 at the East Carolina Heart Institute, 115 Heart Drive, Greenville, N.C. 27834. There will be daytime and evening sessions to provide stakeholders and the public with multiple opportunities to participate. Ms. Nancy Walters, an independent non-partisan facilitator, will lead both sessions to ensure all stakeholders have a full and fair opportunity to share ideas.
The first session is planned for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will consist of smaller groups that focus on technical suggestions to improve specific sections of the permit. The groups will move from one work station to the next until everyone has had a chance to discuss all sections of the draft permit. Once this process is complete, a summary of information gained and comments received will be presented to the entire group. The second session will begin at 6 p.m. and will offer the public an opportunity to provide verbal or written comments in the context of a public meeting.
Those planning to attend are strongly urged to review the draft permit and prepare comments to bring to the event. Comments should be focused on the General Permit document, and reference specific permit conditions. A copy of the draft permit and list of the proposed modifications will be available online prior to the rescheduled meeting at: Animal Feeding Operations DEQ website. For assistance with obtaining a printed copy of this document, please call 919-707-9141.
The goal of this day-long event is to provide a meaningful opportunity for public engagement in the permit renewal process.
We truly value your input and hope you will plan to attend both the daytime and evening sessions. Please be sure to RSVP to Renee Kramer at Renee.Kramer@ncdenr.gov or 919-707-8292 by Tuesday, Nov. 20.
