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♦ Division of Coastal Management (DCM): 20 percent reduction in staff. DCM issues <br />permits for major coastal development projects, reviews federal coastal projects, <br />supports public beach access, and manages the state's coastal reserve sites for research <br />and education. <br />♦ Division of Water Resources (DWR): Reductions of at least 18 percent in water quality <br />and water resources program staff. The cuts resulted in a 41 percent reduction in water <br />quality staff in DEQ regional offices. Staff in the regional offices do initial site visits for <br />permit applications, provide technical assistance, and inspect facilities to ensure they <br />comply with permits. <br />♦ Sedimentation Program: 45 percent reduction in sedimentation staff since 2008. Staff <br />levels fell from 65 in 2008 -2009 to 36.9 in 2015 -2016. The sedimentation program <br />implements state law requiring erosion control measures on active construction sites to <br />prevent sediment from reaching rivers, lakes and streams. <br />Potential Impact of Anticipated Cuts to EPA on N.C. Environmental Programs <br />These cuts, if adopted, would slash budgets for enforcement, environmental protection <br />programs and university research, as explained below. <br />1. PROPOSED CUTS TO EPA AND U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE: ENVIRONMENTAL <br />ENFORCEMENT <br />According to published reports, the Trump administration has discussed cuts of as much <br />as 30 percent to environmental enforcement programs in EPA and in the Department of Justice. <br />Although N.C. DEQ does routine enforcement for the programs that have been delegated to the <br />state, EPA in coordination with Department of Justice attorneys bring specialized and high <br />priority enforcement cases. Examples of joint EPA and DOJ enforcement in N.C. include the <br />following: <br />♦ 2016 partial settlement with Volkswagen for violations of the Clean Air Act caused by <br />deliberately bypassing pollution control devices on vehicles the company manufactured <br />and sold in the U.S. <br />♦ 2016 settlement requiring a $5.5 million cleanup of PCBs in the area surrounding the <br />Ward Transformer site in Wake County. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyl, is a chlorine <br />compound that was widely used in manufacturing until environmental toxicity was <br />proven and it was banned in the U.S. in 1979. Although banned, it may remain in some <br />products like electrical transformers. <br />Page 2 of 7 <br />