For Immediate Release: Friday, November 12, 2021

Contact: Nazneen Ahmed (919) 716-0060

(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein today announced a $162,000 grant to the Albemarle Resources Conservation and Development Council through the Environmental Enhancement Grant (EEG) program. Across the state, Attorney General Stein is awarding nearly $3 million to 27 grantees.

The Albemarle Resources Conservation and Development Council will receive this grant to determine the causes of algae blooms in the Chowan and Albemarle Sounds. The grant will also help the council identify nutrient hotspots, find solutions to target the nutrients that cause these blooms, and create educational materials to help reduce these nutrients.

“Healthy water means healthy lives,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “This grant will help ensure that families living in northeastern North Carolina have access to the clean water they deserve.”

“The Albemarle Resource Conservation and Development Council is thrilled to be awarded an Environment Enhancement Grant for a planning and education program as well as data collection and analysis to help determine the causes of, and potential solutions to, the harmful algal (cyanobacterial) blooms (HABs),” said Brian Lannon, chairman of the Albemarle Resource Conservation and Development Council. “These HABs have occurred in Chowan River-Albemarle Sound (CR-AS) waters each summer since 2015. The HABs are a major water quality and public health problem, negatively impacting local fishing, recreation, tourism, and potentially local tax revenues. This grant will be especially helpful with data collection and analysis expenses as we partner with local environmental groups, Soil & Water Conservation Districts, local government, and the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences.”

The project will span Northampton, Hertford, Bertie, Gates, Chowan, Perquimans, Pasquotank, Camden, Currituck, Washington, Tyrrell, and Hyde counties.

About the Environmental Enhancement Grant Program

The Environmental Enhancement Grant program began after an agreement between the Attorney General’s Office and Smithfield Foods in 2000. Under that agreement, Smithfield provides $2 million to the state every year to be distributed among environmental projects across North Carolina. Including the 2021 grants, the Attorney General Office’s has awarded nearly $37 million to more than 190 projects in the state.

In 2021, Attorney General Stein has announced the following EEG grant in addition to the above:

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