Episode Details

North Carolina just poured $48 million into fighting PFAS pollution — but with a twist that’s sparking controversy. The state’s new budget allocates $45 million to the Department of Environmental Quality for water system upgrades and $3 million for operations, while UNC’s NC Collaboratory gets $22 million to study PFAS in water and clean up fire stations. Yet here’s the catch: research from the Collaboratory is now confidential unless lawmakers choose to release it, and staff are now classified as legislative employees, shielding them from public records requests. Critics fear this secrecy undermines accountability, especially as PFAS contamination remains a decades-old crisis — most notably tied to the Cape Fear River pollution scandal. With federal standards still being met by some systems, environmental advocates question whether this funding is truly proactive or just political theater designed to mask delays in stopping pollution at its source.

Listen in comfort:
Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn.

Advertise on DNN:
advertise@thednn.ai

This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.
Report issues to feedback@thednn.ai.

View sources & latest updates:
https://sources.thednn.ai/71aad246ac33e72e