A string of oceanfront properties on a private island off the southern North Carolina coast will be fortified from erosion with larger than typically allowed sandbags.
During its Feb. 25 meeting in Atlantic Beach, the Coastal Resources Commission granted the owners of 21 properties on the north end of Figure Eight Island a variance to have a sandbag revetment with a 40-foot-wide base and 12 feet high installed to fend off erosion.
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The sandbags will also stretch across two accessways owned by the Figure Eight Beach Homeowners’ Association Inc., and join existing sandbag structures at the island’s north end at Rich Inlet.
Properties at the north end of the exclusive island are subject to cyclical patterns of erosion and accretion that occur as the inlet moves, according to information provided to the N.C. Division of Coastal Management.
The north end has experienced rapid erosion since 2022 due to an unfavorable configuration of the inlet channel.
Multiple storms that hit the area last fall exacerbated the erosion, which measured at a rate of between 5.3 feet and 11.5 feet per year based on 2020 data.
The homeowners’ association has a permit to dredge Nixon Channel, a project that typically yields about 250,000 cubic yards of beach compatible material. The HOA plans to have that material placed along the north end when the channel is dredged, a project expected to occur in November.
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The homeowner’s association explored the possibility of building a terminal groin at Rich Inlet more than a decade ago, but property owners ultimately voted down a special assessment to pay for the project.
The HOA is working with the Army Corps of Engineers for a supplemental environmental impact statement for the Rich Inlet long-term management plan, including a 30-year beach nourishment permit.
