RALEIGH, N.C. — The Senate Agriculture, Energy and Environment Committee discussed three bills Wednesday focused on reforming the state’s regulations around coastal management in the hopes of protecting North Carolina’s oceanfront property.
The first bill up for discussion was S1008, Pilot for Shoreline Stabilization Projects, sponsored by Senators Tom Brinson (R-Beaufort), Michael Lazarra (R-Onslow) and Bobby Manig (R-Currituck). As the name suggests, the bill would establish a pilot project for shoreline stabilization on areas of the coast where oceanfront homes face imminent danger of being lost to the ocean.
The program would evaluate different shoreline conditions and management approaches including the construction of permanent hardened structures like sheet pile walls and wave attenuation systems.
The second bill, with the same primary sponsors, was S1009, Repeal Hardened Structure Ban. Sen. Brinson described it as a more urgent approach than its companion bill. It would remove the state ban on hardened structures for erosion control along the coast, allowing for the construction of measures like sea walls, jetties, bulkheads, etc. However, there would be rules and a permitting process to ensure that the measures would not cause adverse impacts to private property or public beaches.
Both S1008 and S1009 would also allocate $850,000 in funding for a study to update North Carolina’s Beach and Inlet Management plan.
When presenting the bills, Sen. Hinson explained beach erosion had become a matter of urgency, especially after 20 homes collapsed into the ocean in Buxton in just the past year. He had heard complaints from his constituents for years that they feel powerless to protect their properties and he was “ready to stop telling them what they can’t do.”
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Other members of the committee, including Sen. Julie Mayfield (D-Buncombe), expressed concern that passing new legislation should wait until the Coastal Resources Commission’s Science Panel releases its study on hardened structures so policy can follow the research.
The third bill under discussion, was S1001, Coastal Regulatory Reform, sponsored by Senators Michael Lazzara (R-Onslow) and Norman Sanderson (R-Pamlico). The bill would change the state’s coastal management law by making it easier to notify properties under the Coastal Area Management Act. It would also update certain environmental standards around project areas and allow for state funding under certain conditions for a type of hardened erosion protection structure, called a terminal groin, which is designed to trap sand.
The funding would come from the Coastal Storm Damage Mitigation fund. To qualify, the projects must be sponsored by a local government and get approval from the Department of Environmental Quality ensuring that they would be necessary for storm damage protections and would offer resiliency benefits to public lands.
The North Carolina Coastal Federation voiced opposition to the bill expressing concern that this would open up a pathway for state dollars to go to fund hardened structures on the coast, eliminating what they call an important taxpayer protection.
All three bills were up for discussion only. They will remain in committee until they receive a favorable recommendation.