The New Hanover County Board of Commissioners voted to oppose the town of Fuquay Varina’s interbasin transfer (IBT) certificate request and its draft environmental impact statement (DEIS), adopting a resolution that asks the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission and DEQ to extend comment deadlines and hold an additional public hearing in New Hanover County.

The resolution recounts that Fuquay Varina submitted a notice of intent in 2020 and later released a DEIS identifying a preferred alternative to transfer approximately 6,170,000 gallons per day from the Cape Fear River Basin to the Neuse River Basin (the DEIS describes an average-day transfer and a maximum-day scenario). The board said the DEIS did not account for return flows to the Cape Fear Basin and that the hearing locations (Fayetteville, Raleigh, Pittsboro) make public participation difficult for impacted Cape Fear utilities.

The board requested that the EMC/DEQ allow additional time for Cape Fear Basin utilities (including Cape Fear Public Utility Authority, Brunswick County, Pender County, and Lower Cape Fear Water and Sewer Authority) to review and comment, and urged a fourth hearing in New Hanover County during December 2025 so impacted residents and utilities can attend.

After the reading, several commissioners emphasized drought vulnerability, impacts for farmers and downstream users, and the possibility that transfers could concentrate contaminants such as PFAS downstream. The resolution was moved, seconded, and approved by voice vote.

The board characterized the action as an advocacy step to ensure adequate notice and local participation in a process that could affect regional water supplies.