People with erosion-threatened homes and property in North Topsail Beach made it clear in a public hearing Tuesday that they want a 2,021-foot-long terminal groin built at New River Inlet, pivot the channel in the inlet and a carry out a long-term plan for berm and beach fill to remedy the town’s receding shoreline.
Coastal Policy
Coastal commission tables proposed septic rule amendments
The Coastal Resources Commission, poised last week to consider two rule amendments regarding septic systems on the beach, instead tabled the discussion until October.
CRC seawall science skeptics attempt ‘political stand’: Cahoon
The Coastal Resources Commission Science Panel’s recently presented analysis and recommendations regarding proposed fixes for the Outer Banks’ severe beach erosion were not the messages that commissioners opposed to the state ban on breakwaters and other hard structures on the oceanfront wanted to hear, nor was the chair’s sharp rebuke.
Fisheries ruling sets up likely yearslong state response
Now that a judge has ruled that the state has failed to rebuild and maintain healthy fish stocks and protect key habitats as required by law, fisheries officials must turn to the remedy phase, which is unclear at best.
‘150 years of negative impacts’ to New Jersey coast: Corbett
The longstanding state law banning permanent erosion control structures in an ocean shoreline was based on extensive studies and data documenting their detrimental effects and temporary protection, Dr. Reide Corbett said during a recent talk at Harkers Island.
Surf City celebrates federal beach project with event, music
A ceremony Monday on the beach by the Surf City Ocean Pier marked the start of a federal coastal storm risk management project that the town has sought for more than two decades, and it has inspired a … “song.”
DEQ chief announces resilience grants during coastal visit
Department of Environmental Quality Secretary Reid Wilson visited Harkers Island Monday to announce $300,000 in grants awarded for eight projects to bolster resilience to natural disasters.
DEQ staff ready update to fisheries habitat protection plan
North Carolina’s Coastal Habitat Protection Plan, a long-term strategy for supporting coastal fisheries, is due for its five-year update, and the three state commissions that adopt rules for air and water quality, state fisheries, and coastal development, respectively, are set to soon send draft changes out for public comment.
Report on effects of hardened shorelines offers no easy fix
As bills to undo 40 years of coastal policy loom in Raleigh, the Coastal Resources Commission Science Panel last week presented its draft report on erosion-control structures and advised careful consideration of any new projects.
Committee advances bills upending 40-year coastal policy
Bills advanced in the legislature Wednesday that would not only repeal the state’s 40-year ban on breakwaters, bulkheads, seawalls, jetties, revetments, and terminal groins, but also provide taxpayer dollars to build and maintain terminal groins.
Brinson touts bills to ax ocean erosion-control structure ban
Sen. Bob Brinson discussed the bills last week in committee, measures that would undo four decades of coastal policy, just as the science advisory panel to the Coastal Resources Commission readies a report on these structures’ effects and effectiveness.
Emerald Isle officials consider tenfold increase of dune fines
It remains unclear why it was done, but the large-scale flattening of protective primary frontal dune at a newly built 12-bedroom, $6 million house in Emerald Isle has town officials eyeing stiffer penalties.
Commission moves forward with inlet hazard area updates
The Coastal Resources Commission is in the rulemaking process to update boundaries and maps for high-hazard inlet and oceanfront shorelines.
Topsail Islanders amp up calls for hold on new shellfish leases
Densely allocated shellfish leases and the resulting conflicts and complaints have prompted a yearslong pause on new leases in New Hanover County and other nearby waters, and Topsail Island officials say a temporary moratorium on new leases is also needed in Stump Sound in Onslow and Pender counties.
Corps says initiative will streamline infrastructure permitting
An Army Corps of Engineers initiative announced earlier this year is geared to speed up and improve the permitting process for civil works projects, eliminating “bureaucratic delays” with new technology and tools, but when it comes to dredging and beach nourishment, nothing is as simple as that may sound.
Ocean Isle seeks to modify permit, nourish beach at east inlet
Officials in Ocean Isle Beach seek federal approval to have up to 70,000 cubic yards of sand placed east of the Brunswick County town’s terminal groin where erosion gnaws at the shoreline in front of a luxury neighborhood.
