A proposed state law that would ensure protections for Jockey’s Ridge passed unanimously in the Senate on Thursday.
The 42-0 vote moves House Bill 426 moves it a step closer to circumventing a now months-long dispute between the Coastal Resources Commission and Rules Review Commission that began last fall after the latter rejected 30 longstanding coastal rules.
Sponsor Spotlight
Those rules, which included protections for Jockey’s Ridge in place since 1977, were swiped from the North Carolina Administrative Code, a move that prompted the Coastal Resources Commission to sue the Rules Review Commission.
Earlier this year, the Coastal Resources Commission readopted temporarily about half of the 30 rules North Carolina Division of Coastal Management officials said were crucial to day-to-day operations. The unanimous vote keeps the temporary rules on the books while the commissions continue to hash out the matter.
Sen. Bobby Hanig, the Powells Point Republican who represents Bertie, Camden, Currituck, Gates, Halifax, Hertford, Martin, Northampton, Tyrrell and Warren counties, introduced the provision pertaining to the iconic sand dunes in Dare County last week in an effort to keep the land designated as an area of environmental concern.
The proposed law also dictates any sand that spills over from Jockey’s Ridge onto adjacent private properties be returned to the dune system and limits the type of development on neighboring properties.
The bill now heads back to the House.
Sponsor Spotlight
