State offers emergency coastal permit for beach bulldozing following weekend storms

RALEIGH – Oceanfront property owners with beach and dune erosion caused by weekend storms will be able to obtain a Coastal Area Management Act emergency general permit to allow beach bulldozing for the reconstruction of primary and frontal dune systems.

The emergency permit regulations speed up the authorization process for permit approval. The rules also waive permit fees for these projects. The permit does not eliminate the need to obtain any other required state, local or federal authorization.

Donald R. van der Vaart, secretary of the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, activated the general permit today, for use in the Ocean Hazard Areas of North Carolina’s eight oceanfront counties: Brunswick, Carteret, Dare, Hyde, New Hanover, Onslow and Pender. Work authorized under the emergency general permits must be completed within three months, or by Jan. 8, 2016.

The permit may be used only to authorize beach bulldozing for the reconstruction of primary and frontal dune systems.

If you want to apply for the emergency general permit, here’s how you can help Coastal Management review your request as quickly as possible:

• Please make your request in person at the Coastal Management office that covers your county: 1367 U.S. 17 South, Elizabeth City (Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Pasquotank and Perquimans counties); 400 Commerce Ave., Morehead City (Carteret, Craven and Pamlico counties, and the White Oak River bank in Onslow County); 943 Washington Square Mall, Washington (Beaufort, Bertie, Hertford, Hyde, Tyrrell and Washington counties); 127 Cardinal Drive Ext., Wilmington (Brunswick, New Hanover and Pender counties, Onslow County south of the New River, and Topsail Island).
• Bring with you a description of the extent of the dune reconstruction you need to do, including dimensions and shoreline length. Pre- and post-storm pictures of the project are extremely helpful.

Property owners with questions should call their local Coastal Management office: Elizabeth City, 252-264-3901; Morehead City, 252-808-2808 or 1-888-4RCOAST (1-888-472-6278); Washington, 252-946-6481; or Wilmington, 910-796-7215.