A drone shot shows unpermitted mining along Nolichucky River in Mitchell County. NCDEQ has denied the mining permit application from Horizon 30 LLC. (Drone shots courtesy of Leo Sharp)
North Carolina has cut its state environmental agency more deeply than any other state in the country, according to a report released Wednesday by the Environmental Integrity Project, a nonprofit advocacy group.
The report, titled “State of Decline: Cuts to State Environmental Agencies Compound Damage from the Dismantling of EPA,” examines impacts of the Trump administration’s planned downsizing of the Environmental Protection Agency.
With cuts to the EPA, the federal government plans to shift certain tasks to the state level. But states may not have the capacity to shoulder additional responsibility for environmental oversight, the EIP found in its report.
Almost two thirds of states – 31 – cut jobs at their environmental agencies from 2010 through 2024, leading to the elimination of 3,725 positions, according to the document.
North Carolina is one of the fastest growing states in the country and home to a large and expanding manufacturing and farming sector, Jen Duggan, executive director of the EIP, said.
Despite this, North Carolina’s Department of Environmental Quality has lost nearly a third of its staff since 2010, the steepest decline of any state in the country at 32%. This translates to 394 eliminated jobs in pollution control and other environmental programs, according to the EIP.
Connecticut (26%), Arizona (25%), and Louisiana (24%) are next on the list in terms of percentage cuts.
“The effectiveness of our nation’s environmental laws relies on a well-resourced EPA working in partnership with capable state agencies,” Duggan said. “When states have the necessary authority, expertise and commitment, the EPA can delegate many responsibilities to them, but this shared system only works when both levels of government are adequately supported.”
The cuts are harmful to the state, said Drew Ball, Southeast campaigns director for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Reduced staffing leads to weaker enforcement, which in turn results in dangerous conditions for North Carolinians.
Ball described stories of a family in eastern North Carolina noticing their tap water turning cloudy after a heavy rain and a neighborhood near Wilmington smelling ammonia from a poultry operation. Because of the decrease in staff, state inspectors could not immediately investigate, leading to public health concerns.
“The very agency responsible for protecting these families is facing a growing burden,” Ball said. “That’s a recipe for disaster in states like ours, where the state agency is already stretched thin.”
In addition to federal cuts that have already occurred, there could be more in the upcoming months. Congress is expected to vote on the EPA’s budget for fiscal year 2026 in January.
Earlier this year, the White House said President Donald Trump wants the EPA to cut 65% of its spending, POLITICO previously reported.
The agency put out a statement in response saying the president and EPA administrator Zeldin are working towards creating a more efficient and effective federal government.
“Compared to 2024, the total amount spent year over year at EPA will deliver significant efficiencies to American taxpayers by cutting wasteful grants, reassessing the agency’s real estate footprint, and delivering organizational improvements to the personnel structure,” the statement read.
Ball compared the situation to dismantling the fire department when a house is already burning.
“North Carolina cannot keep its people safe if the agencies meant to protect them are left to wither, and the federal government cannot expect states to do more while it simultaneously knocks their legs out from under them,” he said.
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