Camden’s 30-Month Moratorium Nears End. DEQ Is Still Waiting on the Wastewater Model

CAMDEN, N.C. — Camden County's 30-month moratorium on new subdivisions and multifamily development expires December 25 2026. With four months left, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality says no permit application exists for the county's proposed new wastewater discharge, and the agency is still waiting for the completed water-quality model.

DEQ also says it cannot project a decision date because Camden's consultant is still developing material that the state needs to review.

The clearwell addition at the county's water-treatment plant is on a separate track. DEQ expects plans and specifications by November 1, and the project has not been submitted to the agency's Public Water Supply Section.

Commissioners imposed the moratorium June 25, 2024, saying the county needed time for engineering, permitting, land acquisition, financing, and construction before more development added demand to its water and sewer systems.

$10 million was committed before the moratorium

Session Law 2023-134 directed $10 million to Camden County in 2023 for water and wastewater infrastructure. Camden's entry did not name a specific project.

DEQ's later records list $3.94 million for the county's clearwell addition and $5.91 million for the Burnt Mills wastewater project. The two total $9.85 million after the state's 1.5% administrative allowance.

The grants work through reimbursement. Local governments submit eligible project costs to DEQ for payment.

How much Camden has received or spent on either project has not yet been established. Invoice and reimbursement records remain outstanding.

The 30-month clock

When the moratorium began, county records described wastewater plans as 65% complete and moved the project from the capital plan's unfunded category to the funded category.

The county said 30 months were reasonably necessary for land acquisition, engineering, financing, permitting, and construction.

Camden submitted a Pasquotank River water-quality modeling plan to DEQ in January 2025. DEQ approved it that May.

In July 2025, Camden asked for more time on a separate clearwell deadline. DEQ moved the plans-and-specifications deadline from December 1, 2025, to November 1, 2026.

Public Works Manager Charles "Chas" Sawyer reported a clearwell kickoff meeting in December 2025 and site surveying two days later.

By May 2026, Sawyer told commissioners clearwell engineering and design were complete. He projected bidding for June or July.

On June 1, the county said the clearwell should go to bid within the month. The same update said wastewater-model results should reach DEQ within the month.

That June record also said DEQ recommends allowing two and a half years for wastewater permitting. It said the state was short-staffed and the process was taking longer than expected.

The chairman pointed to public updates

In an August 5 email exchange about the moratorium and infrastructure timeline, Board Chairman Jason Banks was asked whether commissioners had received a written project schedule showing permit dates, state review milestones, expected bidding dates, and construction deadlines.

Banks pointed to the county's regular public moratorium updates.

Asked which milestones were complete and which remained, he again referred to those updates. In a follow-up, Banks said the county was still awaiting a Timmons Group study.

On board oversight, Banks wrote, "I believe the premise of your question is incorrect."

Asked what part he disputed, he responded: "What delay are you citing?"

Banks also wrote that he believed Sawyer had said delays were possible because of state staffing shortages, adding that "State staffing shortages have been noted since COVID."

Asked what would happen if the work was not complete before the moratorium ended, Banks said the board would face a decision on whether to use "moratorium avenues" after the current one expires.

During the same exchange, Banks asked about the publisher's journalism background and whether AI was being used for analysis and publication. He also described some regulatory correspondence as "mundane" and likely of little interest to the general public, while noting that it remained available by request.

County officials cited state staffing

Sawyer told commissioners August 3 that pending state approvals "have taken a lot longer due to staffing issues."

The county's June 1 meeting record made a similar point, saying the state was short-staffed and the process was taking longer than expected.

DEQ received follow-up questions on August 5 and August 21 asking whether staffing shortages affected Camden's projects and whether agency employees had given Camden or Timmons that explanation.

Deputy Communications Director Josh Kastrinsky wrote Aug. 26 that the department had "attempted to address" the questions.

His response detailed the status of both projects but did not directly address whether staffing shortages caused or contributed to Camden's delays.

DEQ was still waiting August 26

For wastewater, Timmons Group presented sampling and modeling results to state regulators in July.

DEQ said on August 26 that the completed report and underlying model files still had not been submitted.

"The county does not have a full project submission under review and has not requested an extension."

— N.C. Department of Environmental Quality

DEQ must review and confirm the modeling before it can set proposed discharge limits. Camden would submit an NPDES permit application after those steps.

No application currently exists.

The clearwell follows a different process. DEQ expects plans and specifications by November 1, 2026 under the extended deadline.

As of August 26, the clearwell had not been submitted to DEQ's Public Water Supply Section.

Funding records, project milestones, extension correspondence, and reimbursement records remain outstanding.

The moratorium expires December 25, 2026.

Reporting note: DEQ provided written project-status responses on August 7 and August 26 through Deputy Communications Director Josh Kastrinsky. County meeting records, the August 3 Board of Commissioners meeting, and written responses from Chairman Jason Banks document the county's statements and project timeline. Additional funding, correspondence, milestone, and reimbursement records remain pending.