Senior attorney, Geoff Gisler from SELC and Pamlico-Tar Riverkeeper, Forrest English speak to Blounts Creek community members after the NC Court of Appeal hearing in Raleigh.

Over twenty community members from Blounts Creek traveled to Raleigh on Wednesday, May 22nd to hear oral arguments on the long standing case of Sound Rivers vs. NC Department of Environmental Quality and Martin Marietta Materials.

In late December 2017, a state court vacated a permit that would have allowed a proposed Martin Marietta Materials limestone mine to discharge millions of gallons of wastewater a day into Blounts Creek, a popular fishing creek in eastern North Carolina. In January, 2018, Martin Marietta Materials appealed the Superior Court decision to the NC Court of Appeals.

Yesterday’s hearing included  an hour of questioning by the three judge panel and oral arguments from attorneys representing the state and company and Sound Rivers’ attorneys from the Southern Environmental Law Center, also representing the NC Coastal Federation.  An decision from the court will likely take up to several months.