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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT
The WHQR News Team has recapped several major stories for the year, and now, it’s your turn to let us know what events you think were most important and have had the biggest impact on our community.Then, tune in the week of December 26-30 when WHQR will be airing its 2011 Top Ten Countdown.

#3 News Story of 2011: Titan America

 

Three years after announcing its plans to operate a cement plant in Castle Hayne, Titan America is still waiting to hear a final decision regarding an air permit from the state Division of Air Quality.

WHQR’s Michelle Bliss reports that supporters and opponents of the project continued their battle this year, an ongoing story that’s #3 on WHQR’s top ten news countdown for 2011.

Last week, the DAQ completed its review of Titan America’s draft air permit. Spokesperson Tom Mather says that the 19-page review addressed the concerns and feedback brought up at two public hearings back in September.

There were more than a thousand public comments to sort through in preparing the document.

The DAQ’s Patrick Butler made several recommendations regarding public concerns that require more evaluation before the agency’s director can make a decision on the permit.

Butler suggests that the DAQ seek legal counsel to determine if it can grant an air permit before a holistic environmental study is completed under the National Environmental Protection Act.

Tune in Friday as we wrap up WHQR’s 2011 Top Ten Countdown of news stories across the Cape Fear region and state.

After growing up in Woodbridge, Virginia, Michelle attended Virginia Tech before moving to Wilmington to complete her Master in Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina in Wilmington. Her reporting and nonfiction writing have been featured on NPR’s All Things Considered, within the pages of Wrightsville Beach Magazine, and in literary journals like River Teeth and Ninth Letter. Before moving to Wilmington, Michelle served as the general manager for WUVT, a community radio station in Blacksburg, Virginia. She lives with her husband Scott and their pups, Katie, Cooper, and Mosey.