The public comment period on more than a dozen proposed temporary rules that guide state coastal matters has been extended through February.
Written comments on 16 rules the Coastal Resources Commission late last year reinstated as emergency rules will be accepted until 5 p.m. Feb. 22, which is also the date in which the commission is scheduled to hold its first meeting of the year.
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“All comments received via email and mail will then be considered during review of the proposed rules,” North Carolina Division of Coastal Management Public Information Officer Christy Simmons stated in an email.
Related: Emergency coastal rules draw little notice during hearings
The commission voted at a specially called meeting in December to adopt the rules, which division officials say are critical to day-to-day operations, as “emergency” as a way to get them back into the administrative code.
Their vote overrode the decision of the state Codifier of Rules Ashley Berger Snyder to remove 30 of the coastal commission’s longstanding rules after those rules were objected to by the Rules Review Commission in October.
Last month, Division of Coastal Management staff hosted three public hearings to receive comment on the proposed temporary rules. Fewer than 20 people turned out for the hearings, which were held in Dare, Carteret and Onslow counties.
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Written comments may be submitted by email to Angela.Willis@deq.nc.gov or by post to: Tancred Miller, Director, Division of Coastal Management, 400 Commerce Ave., Morehead City, NC 28557. List “Temporary Rules” in the subject line.
The Coastal Resources Commission is set to meet Feb. 21-22 at Aloft Wilmington at Coastline Center, 501 Nutt St., Wilmington. An agenda for that meeting was not available when this report was published.
