Correction: The Sept. 21 meeting was specially called solely to a permit variance and hold public hearings for other rules currently in development. Members will not be discussing or addressing any Rules Review Committee objections to CRC proposed rules, including those related to marine aquaculture, although information relevant to the committee’s objections were included in a draft agenda for the meeting at the time of publication.
Coastal Resources Commission members, during their in-person meeting Sept. 21, are expected to hear a permit variance and hold public hearings for other rules currently in development.
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The specially called meeting is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in the Riverfront Convention Center, 203 S. Front St., New Bern. The draft agenda is available on the Division of Coastal Management’s website.
The next regularly scheduled meeting is set for Nov. 8-9 in Beaufort.
The state Rules Review Commission has objected to rule changes made late last year that allow for a floating upweller system to be permitted as a platform at a private docking facility or permitted marina.
Floating upweller systems, or FLUPSYs, are structures used in mariculture to grow shellfish until large enough to survive in a shellfish lease.
The amendments will not appear in the state code unless resolved, according to agenda documents. Most of the objections relate to unclear or ambiguous language in sections pertaining to “significant adverse impacts.”
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The review board’s objections to the recently adopted rules pertaining to floating upweller systems, or FLUPSYs, were not only that the language was unclear or ambiguous, but also that the Coastal Resources Commission lacks authority to regulate such structures.
According to meeting documents available at the time of publication, there are other, “upcoming amendments that will likely receive objections for similar reasons.” The note references proposed amendments on the agenda for the Sept. 21 meeting.
A public hearing is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. on amendments to rules on minimum growing season for vegetation, general permit time period extension, exception for lots platted post-1979, and permit fee increases.
The commission is also expected to consider oceanfront setback variances for two properties in Carolina Beach, one owned by the Riso Trust and the other by North Pier Holdings LLC, a Wilmington-based company formed last year by Caleb Kratsa.
The division, under the North Carolina Division of Environmental Quality, implements the commission’s rules and issues Coastal Area Management Act permits.
