r/Hillsborough

DEAR NORTH CAROLINA there are 6 important hearings for our drinking water this month.

I went to Raleigh and captured some of the comments on camera to share with everyone.

We need people to show up and reject these rules proposed by the Environmental Management Commission. If the EMC passes these rules unchallenged, it only supports polluters making our water more dangerous. Please, come out and make your voice heard. This is unacceptable.

FINAL hearings

-------------

Wilmington (PFAS)
When: 6 p.m., April 23, 2026  | Sign-in at 5
Where: Wilmington City Hall at Skyline Center, 1st Floor Conference Center, 929 North Front St., Wilmington, 28401 

Jamestown (Dioxane)
When: 6 p.m., May 12, 2026 | Sign-in at 5
Where: Percy H. Sears Applied Technologies Building Auditorium, Guilford Technical Community College, 1201 Bonner Dr., Jamestown, N.C., 27282

They did something super weird which is they made half of these hearings about PFAS and half about 1,4-Dioxane. The Southern Environmental Law Center encourages starting your statement with the following language: “I request that this comment be included in the public record for both the 1,4-dioxane and the PFAS monitoring and minimization rules.”, then they should accept your comments on both.

YOU CAN ALSO send comments via email through June 15th!

Southern Blue Flag Iris, Iris virginica, is starting to bloom in the nursery. These native Iris can be found all along the coast of NC and inward west into the Piedmont as far as where I'm located here in Orange County. Many don't consider iris to be much of a host plant, but it does support quite a few insect species including many butterflies and moths. https://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/plant\_insects/plants/iris\_spp.html It's purple blooms emerge starting mid April and will typically bloom for about 3 weeks. It grows best in moist soils in full sun, but will tolerate some shade.

Another native Iris that I have available is Dwarf Iris, Iris verna v. Smalliana. Similar to the Dwarf Crested Iris, but with more slender leaves and smoother petal. Dwarf Iris prefers part sun with rich, moist soils, but is a bit more tolerant of drought than most Iris. These are mostly found in the Mountains of NC. Flowers emerge late winter/early spring before the leaves.

You can find both of these for sale on Saturdays 9-4 through the end of May at 5911 Mount Hermon Church Rd in Durham. You can view the entire inventory and/or order in advance through my website. https://www.knottybynaturetrees.com/category/all-products