The North Carolina Environmental Management Commission and the Division of Water Resources of the Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) will hold public hearings on December 4, 9, and 11 to gather feedback on the draft environmental impact statement for the city of Fuquay-Varina’s interbasin transfer certificate application.
The December 9 hearing in Raleigh will be livestreamed to increase public participation options. The livestream is view-only; those wishing to provide oral comments must attend in person and register at the event.
In addition to these hearings, the comment period has been extended until April 1, 2026. Written comments can be submitted by mail or email.
Fuquay-Varina is seeking approval for an interbasin transfer certificate to draw water from the Cape Fear River basin to meet projected future demand. Currently, the city relies on wholesale water purchases from neighboring systems: Raleigh and Johnston County (Neuse River basin), and Harnett County (Cape Fear River basin). However, projections indicate that current contracted supplies will not meet future needs, with a shortfall expected by 2030.
The city’s preferred solution is to source water from the Tri-Rivers treatment plant in Sanford, located in the Cape Fear River basin. This would require transferring up to 6.17 million gallons per day from Cape Fear to Neuse basins by 2055.
The draft environmental impact statement includes a comprehensive analysis of potential impacts on both source and receiving basins if the certificate is granted. The document is available on the DEQ website and through North Carolina’s Department of Administration Environmental Review Office.
Access to the hydrologic model used for evaluating alternatives in this study can be requested via NCDEQ’s webpage about Fuquay-Varina’s interbasin transfer application. Training sessions on using this virtual model are scheduled for December 2 and December 16; registration is required by emailing maya.holcomb@deq.nc.gov.
Public participation is encouraged at these hearings, where attendees may present oral or written comments regarding the draft environmental impact statement. Speaking time may be limited depending on attendance numbers.
Written comments can also be sent by mail addressed to Maya Holcomb at Division of Water Resources, 512 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, NC, 27604 or by email at maya.holcomb@deq.nc.gov. Comments must be postmarked or emailed before April 1, 2026.
All related materials—including Fuquay-Varina’s application and draft environmental impact statement—are available online through NCDEQ’s dedicated page for this project: Solicitud de transferencia entre cuencas de la ciudad de Fuquay-Varina.
