Wilmington, N.C., N.C Coastal Federation - The N.C. Division of Air Quality has agreed to extend the comment period for Titan America's draft air permit until Nov. 20. The period for public comments had been scheduled to end Oct. 30.
 
The N.C. Coastal Federation and the Southern Environmental Law Center had made separate requests to the Keith Overcash, the division's director, to extend the original 45-day period for public comments on Titan's controversial proposal to build a cement kiln and strip mine near Wilmington. The federation had urged the state to extend the permit until Nov. 30 to allow more time for citizens to prepare comments after the public hearings on the draft permit. Those hearings are scheduled for Oct. 20 in Wilmington.

 
"The 10 days that the division had originally provided were woefully inadequate for citizens to attend the hearing and then make comments on this very complex permit and issue," said Mike Giles, our Cape Fear Coastkeeper.
           
The state issued a draft air permit on Sept. 11 for the project and has scheduled two public hearings on Tuesday, Oct. 20, in the BB&T Auditorium on the Northeast Campus of Cape Fear Community College, 4500 Blue Clay Rd., in Castle Hayne. The hearings will be 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.
           
You can review the draft air permit on the division website; at its regional office, 127 Cardinal Drive Extension, in Wilmington; or the division's Central Office in the Parker Lincoln Building, 2728 Capital Blvd., in Raleigh.
           
We'll send periodic updates and talking points as the hearings' date nears. Contact Giles at 910-790-3275 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for questions about the hearings and the draft permit.