This report has been updated.
Action appears likely in the North Carolina General Assembly Wednesday on two measures that stand to dramatically rewrite coastal policy.
Supporter Spotlight
The Senate Agriculture, Energy, and the Environment Committee, when it meets at 9 a.m. Wednesday, is expected to take up Senate Bill 1009, which would repeal the state’s four-decade-old ban on ocean shoreline hardened structures and an amended Senate Bill 1001, a coastal regulatory reform bill that would clear the way for state taxpayer funding of terminal groin construction and and maintenance.
Related: Brinson touts bills to ax ocean erosion-control structure ban
The session will be livestreamed.
The original 2011 terminal groin legislation resulted from a compromise that no state funds could be used for groin projects. The policy is to prevent pressure on legislators to fund oceanfront structures that coastal advocates say have significant impacts on beaches and usually result in the need for additional engineering projects — beach nourishment — which creates a cascading effect of funding requests.
Coastal advocates say the current law barring state funding is to avoid taxpayer funding of structures that protect unwise development.
Supporter Spotlight
Another related bill, Senate Bill 1008, did not appear as of publication on Tuesday on the legislative calendar.
