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by Robin W. Smith <br />A New Trend Toward Funding Environmental Studies at UNC-CH -- The legislature directed (and in <br />most cases funded) the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to study or convene stakeholder groups <br />on environmental and natural resource policies rather than assigning those projects to the Department of <br />Environmental Quality (DEQ) or to a legislative study committee: <br />* A I rIC-led stakeholder group will study efforts to "ecologically restore and achieve economic <br />sustainability" the state's shellfish aquaculture industry. The budget provision directs the UNC-Chapel Hill <br />Chief Sustainability Officer (Brad Ives, former Assistant Secretary in DEQ) to lead the stakeholder group. <br />The legislature did not appropriate funds for the effort. <br />Earmarked Funds for Water and Wastewater Infrastructure. Most new funding for DEQ's Water <br />Infrastructure Division to support local government water and wastewater projects has been earmarked for <br />specific projects. Of the approximately $18.8 million in water/wastewater funding added to DEQ's 2016- <br />2017 budget, the legislature directed approximately $16.6 million to the following projects: <br />