At odds over 



Coastal 



Water 



Quality 



By Kathy Hart 



It s the heavyweight bout of the decade for 

 coastal North CaroHna. 



In one corner, harvesting 3,150,000 pounds 

 of clams and oysters, are North Carolina's 

 shellfishermen. 



In the other corner, investing millions of dol- 

 lars to build condominiums, are the state's 

 developers. 



Ref ereeing the match are resource manage- 

 ment commissions such the N.C. Environmen- 

 tal Management Commission and the N.C. 

 Coastal Resources Commission. 



The opponents are sparring about develop- 

 ment and its effects on coastal waters. 



At stake are their rights to use the water. 



Shellfishermen say their water use rights, 

 called public trust rights, are being denied. 



Like other North Carolina residents, shell- 

 fishermen have the right to use the water. They 

 want to harvest clams and oysters. 



But shellfishermen say developers deny them 

 that right. 



They maintain that development leads to 

 pollution. Pollution means closed shellfishing 

 areas and fewer clams and oysters. It all adds 

 up to loss of a livelihood and a loss of rights. 



To assert their rights to clean waters, fisher- 

 men organize, hire lawyers and lobby legisla- 

 tors and regulatory commissions. 



But developers have rights, too. At stake are 

 millions of dollars in personal investments and 

 the economic health of coastal North Carolina. 



So they fight back. They organize, hire law- 



yers and lobby legislators and regulatory com- 

 missions. 



The first round punches are thrown over 

 storm water runoff. 



"If you build an eight-story condo on a five- 

 acre piece of land, most of the area around the 

 building will be covered with a parking lot," 

 says S. Henri Johnson, an attorney for the N.C. 

 Coastal Federation, an environmental group 

 that represents shellfishermen. 



"The rain can't permeate the parking lot, so it 

 runs off into the sounds, carrying with it pollu- 

 tants," Johnson says. "Even though parking lots 

 and tennis courts seem innocuous, the prob- 

 lems they cause are severe." 



But condominiums can be built and parking 

 Continued on next page 



