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Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper Katey Zimmerman and Sound Rivers Executive Director Heather Deck will join forces with the Southern Environmental Law Center, East Carolina University’s Water Resources Center and Blounts Creek residents for a press conference next week.

The press conference will be held 5 p.m. before North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s 6 p.m. public hearing regarding a mining company’s application to renew a wastewater permit that could allow up to 12 million gallons of freshwater per day to flow into the brackish headwaters of Blounts Creek.

“We’re going to try to get as many people to the public hearing as possible to speak up and share their concerns about a permit that could potentially destroy Blounts Creek’s entire ecosystem,” Zimmerman said.

Zimmerman will lead off the press conference, followed by Deck, who will share the history of the Blounts Creek issue. SELC Senior Attorney Blakely Hildebrand will discuss how the Sound Rivers’ lawsuit challenging the permit bounced around the North Carolina court system for more than a decade before reaching its final outcome last year. 

ECU Water Resources Center Lab and Field Manager Bobby Bowser is slated to speak about the Water Corps’ role in baseline monitoring of the creek to determine environmental impact, while Bob Daw, resident of Blounts Creek and co-founder of the grassroots Save Blounts Creek movement, will wrap up the press conference.

“The public comment period actually doesn’t end until the following day, so attending the public hearing is a great opportunity to learn more about this issue and get ideas from other speakers, then follow up by writing an email to DEQ through our Action Alert,” Zimmerman said. 

In addition to the press conference before the hearing, there will be two food trucks on site: Buddy’s Girl, serving up American staples such as burgers and hotdogs, and Mama Y Papa’s Taqueria, specializing in tacos.

The hearing will be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 19, in the Boyette Conference Center in Building 10 on Beaufort County Community College’s campus in Washington. Speaker registration is required. A sign-up sheet will be available starting at 5 p.m. 

The written comment period ends the following day, Nov. 20, at 5 p.m.

Beaufort County Community College is located at 5337 U.S. Highway 264 East, Washington, NC 27889.

Founded in 1980-81, Sound Rivers is one of the oldest grassroots conservation organizations in North Carolina. Sound Rivers monitors and protects two watersheds, covering nearly a quarter of the state. With Riverkeepers on the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico rivers, Sound Rivers’ mission is to preserve the waterways’ health and the health of the people who rely on them through science-based advocacy and environmental justice. For more information, visit soundrivers.org.