State announces pause to Wilmington Harbor Federal Consistency review
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) announced today that the Army Corps of Engineers, in coordination with the non-federal project sponsor (the North Carolina State Ports Authority), has asked DCM to pause its review of the Corps’ Consistency Determination for the proposed Wilmington Harbor Federal Channel Deepening Project. The Division of Coastal Management has granted the request to pause its review.
The decision to pause allows time for the Corps to review and consider issues raised by DCM and the public before DCM completes its review. A timeline has not been established for when the pause may be lifted.
According to the Corps’ Draft Environmental Impact Statement, the project would deepen and widen portions of the Wilmington Harbor navigation channel in Brunswick and New Hanover counties to improve efficiency and accommodate larger vessels.
In October 2025, the Corps notified DCM that it had found the project to be consistent with North Carolina’s coastal management program laws, regulations, and policies. The Corps requested DCM’s concurrence, as is required by the federal Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA).
In November 2025, DCM hosted a public hearing in Wilmington with strong public engagement and accepted public comments until December 2025.
DCM has been reviewing the Corps’ Consistency Determination for the project, pursuant to the CZMA. A federal consistency determination is the Corps’ finding that a proposed project meets the enforceable policies of a state’s coastal management program to the maximum extent practicable. A state must then either concur with or object to the Corps’ finding.
Once the review process resumes, DCM will decide whether to concur or object to the Corps’ determination for the proposed project. If DCM objects, it can offer alternatives or conditions that, if agreed to by the Corps, would allow the project to proceed.
The public can access project information, including the request to pause the project through DCM’s website.
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