Change is afoot with the coming turnover in administration in Washington, D.C. As with any time a new president takes office, the agenda is based on coming through on campaign promises that will send the nation on a new course.

As president-elect Donald Trump floats potential cabinet members, one thing to which North Carolinians should pay attention is his top pick for head of the Environmental Protection Agency. There’s a reason for that.

For several years, the North Carolina General Assembly has been passing, or attempting to pass, legislation that limits protections for the environment to only what is required by the EPA. What that means is North Carolina is not able to pass legislation that provides more protections or legislation specific to its unique geography. The state has some very fragile habitats including the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuary. This estuary was designated long ago as a nursery for saltwater species, which in turn feeds the commercial and recreational fishing industry — the recreational fishing industry alone is worth more than $1 billion a year. The Pamlico River and its tributaries are part of this estuary.

One concern with the proposed new head of the EPA, Myron Ebell, is that he is not convinced of man-made climate change. Some people aren’t convinced by the science, including legislators in the General Assembly who don’t believe in climate change, though they have sponsored legislation that accounts for sea-level rise. But Ebell also is not convinced of the harm pesticides and fertilizers can do to environment, especially the waterways.

Eastern North Carolinians know the harm that can be done. Nutrients, mainly phosphorous and nitrogen, swept into creeks and rivers by a hard rain can do a lot of damage: promoting algal blooms, setting up the circumstances for oxygen depletion, leading to juvenile species at risk to illness and death. Eastern North Carolinians know fish kills.

As the new administration takes office and those posts are filled, North Carolinians should be paying attention, not only to what’s happening in Washington, D.C., but also what’s happening in Raleigh. Legislation in the coming years could be a perfect storm of destruction.

Removing unnecessary or redundant legislation to promote business interests is one thing; doing it at the expense of the state’s waterways and the people who depend on them is another.