According to the North Carolina Division of Water Quality, EPA will not require permits for the aerial application of pesticides until January 31, 2012 at the earliest. In the interim, the agency will focus on technical assistance and public outreach. The Division has posted its general permit, but emphasized that application for the permit is not required prior to January 31, 2012 and that any aerial spraying done in the interim will be “deemed permitted.”

NPDES Permits/Forest Roads Update - Federal legislation to correct the Appeals Court decision that water discharge from logging roads is a point source discharge did not pass.  That effort will begin again this year.  However, the coalition was successful in getting language into the final federal appropriations bill that blocks EPA from requiring such permits through September 30, 2012. Click here to read a recent research report on the potential economic impact of requiring NPDES permits for logging roads in the South.

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture has launched a new "Verified Green" program to assist North Carolina forest products companies...Click here for more information.

The U.S. Forest Service has updated its Tax Tips as related to Income Tax Deduction for Timber Casualty Loss from the recent storms...Click here for more information.

The NCFA's Forest Education & Conservation Foundation developed a DVD on Working Forest Conservation Easements through a grant from the North Carolina Agriculture Development and Farmland Preservation Trust Fund. Click here to watch the video....A guide summarizing the topic is also available by clicking here.

The North Carolina Department of Agriculture has declared a quarantine of black walnut logs, untreated lumber and all hardwood firewood originating from Tennessee...Click here for more information.

The NCFA developed a position statement on the biomass issue in 2008 and updated it again in 2009 in response to this emerging issue...Click here for a copy of that position statement.

The World Resources Institute has developed a new website to explore Southern Forests...Click here to explore.

North Carolina's Division of Water Quality has developed a new general stormwater permit for the forest products industry...Members can find public information on all permits by clicking here or can go directly to the page for permit renewals by clicking here. The permit that is probably the most related to NCFA Members is the Timber Products General Permit which is NCG210000.

In what was a collaborative effort with several groups, the NCFA has produced a landowner's guide to forestry that can be mailed to a landowner free of charge by calling the NCFA office or by clicking here for a PDF version.

First in Forestry License Plate Available Through DFR...click here.

The Sustainable Forestry Teachers' Academy educate teachers from North Carolina in Asheville and New Bern ...To learn more about the Tours, click here.