Each year the NCBA Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Section Council hosts an essay contest for high school students across the state. The essays center on the theme of sustainability, and this year’s contest focused on drinking water safety in North Carolina.

Specifically, invitations were sent to all high schools inviting their students to respond to the following prompt:

How safe is our drinking water in North Carolina?
Is it safer to drink well water?
Bottled water?
City/County municipal water?
What are the pros and cons of each?
How might we address some of the challenges you have identified?

Students were encouraged to respond in an essay of 2,000 words or fewer, citing all materials (laws, studies, websites, news articles, etc.) that they rely upon in their analysis.

The winners of the contest receive the chance to have their essays published on NCBarBlog, and the top three entries receive cash prizes. This year’s winners, with hyperlinks to their essays, are:

First Place ($500 prize): Justice Merchant
(Junior, West Harnett High School, Harnett County)

Second Place ($250 prize): Felicity Ream
(Junior, D.H. Conley High School, Pitt County)

Third place ($100 prize): Nyla Simone Watlington
(Freshman, Hillside High School, Durham)

Honorable Mention: Breanna Hebron
(Senior, Topsail High School, Pender County)

Maria Savasta-Kennedy serves as Clinical Professor of Law at the UNC School of Law and as the NCBA Environment, Energy & Natural Resources Section Sustainability Chair.

August 15, 2023/by EnvironmentalLaw