For the first time in more than a decade, the National Park Service hopes to unclog two channels that passenger ferries and private boaters use to access Cape Lookout National Seashore, and place the material that is dredged onto the soundside beach in front of the lighthouse compound.
Beach & Inlet Management
Topsail Beach holds hearing on inlet property rezoning
The request to rezone “The Point” from conservation to conditional use would allow Raleigh tech CEO Todd Olson to pursue plans to build a family compound.
Solutions are few for imperiled oceanfront homes: Panel
Officials at the first public meeting of an interagency work group said that while prevention could be far less costly than cleanup, limited programs or funding options are available to deal with erosion-threatened oceanfront homes before they collapse.
Ocean Isle Beach may test hay, pine straw bales to trap sand
The Brunswick County town has been granted a variance to use hay and pine straw bales as an alternative to sand fencing at six areas on the eastern end of the island.
Topsail Island panel to lobby for terminal groin funding
North Carolina law bars state money for terminal groins, but the Topsail Island Shoreline Protection Commission has made it a goal this year to change that law.
Rodanthe sand project unlikely, but new study to begin
Beachfront property owners in Rodanthe want beach nourishment to protect their erosion-threatened houses, but the questions of how much sand and how to pay for it are unanswered.
Process of updating inlet hazard area rules to be continued
A rule approved in September deleted an exception that would allow homes of up to 2,000 square feet to be built in areas where the new erosion rate-based setbacks would prevent construction of new houses.
Submerged power lines further delay ferry channel realignment
Underwater power lines crossing Hatteras Inlet’s Connector Channel have created another delay in finalizing the realignment of the Hatteras ferry channel.
Corps policy has caused nonfederal dredging costs to soar
The Army Corps of Engineers says its five-year-old rule blocking local governments, marinas and private entities from using its dredged material disposal sites will remain.
Division pulls new inlet hazard area development rules
Changes to other coastal management rules had removed a key provision while the recently approved shoreline development rules were still being considered.
Coastal management staff to draft revised septic setbacks
The Coastal Resources Commission Thursday directed Division of Coastal Management staff to craft proposed amendments to address issues associated with houses on the public beach as a result of erosion.
Imperiled beach houses a problem fraught with legal perils
Lawsuits over property rights, buyer’s responsibility and risk, public trust and public health issues — frustrations mount over how to address the problem of houses teetering at the ocean’s edge.
Murphy introduces bill to study plan for Oregon Inlet jetties
Rep. Greg Murphy’s measure calls on the Corps to take another look at the feasibility of building two jetties to keep Oregon Inlet free from shoaling, an idea dismissed two decades ago as environmentally risky with dubious benefit.
Tiresome issue won’t stop Wrightsville Beach sand project
Other New Hanover County towns’ beach nourishment work was slowed when the dredge encountered tires from old artificial reefs but the known offshore debris field isn’t halting Wrightsville Beach’s plans to pump sand from its new borrow site.
Officials unsurprised as 2 more Rodanthe homes collapse
After a nearby house fell earlier this year, Cape Hatteras National Seashore superintendent had advised owners of the two beach houses that were destroyed by a coastal storm Tuesday to remove the homes or take other proactive measures.
Some N. Topsail Beach owners want Surf City annexation
A group of property owners in the Phase 5 area of North Topsail Beach’s beach nourishment plan says it wants out and to be annexed by neighboring Surf City.
