THERE'S A 

 BEAUTIFUL HOME 



on the Pasquotank River 

 — a long, low ranch half- 

 hidden by trees. Walls of 

 windows blink from the 

 cool shade. A green lawn 

 punctuated by exclamation 

 points of pampas grass 

 slopes to the water, where 

 the wakes of passing boats 

 lap against a wooden 

 bulkhead. 



Homesites like this 

 one were less common 20 

 years ago, when few 

 people lived near the 

 estuaries. But in the last 

 two decades, the shores of North 

 Carolina's estuaries have seen a popula- 

 tion and building boom that has sprinkled 

 the shorelines with homes, businesses and 

 docks. 



This rapid development has state 

 regulators reconsidering the policies that 

 shape construction along our estuaries. 

 With more people living, farming and 

 building on North Carolina's 4,000 miles 

 of estuarine shoreline, water quality and 

 environmental conservation in the 

 estuaries have become a pressing concern 

 for the N.C. Coastal Resources Commis- 

 sion and the Division of Coastal Manage- 

 ment. 



PROTECTING 

 WATERFRONT 

 PROPERTY 



a the estuaries, erosion is a 

 constant problem. Wind, waves and boat 

 wakes eat away at exposed shorelines, 

 aided by the slow rise of sea level. To 

 protect their land, property owners often 

 apply for permits to build shoreline 

 stabilization structures at the water's edge. 



In North Carolina vertical wooden 

 bulkheads traditionally have been the 

 most popular way to protect valuable 

 waterfront property. Riprap revetments, 



Fairfield Harbor, built before the Coastal Area Management Act, 

 demonstrates how bulkheads can profoundly change 

 the estuarine environment. 



which use large boulders to stabilize a 

 graded bank, are another option. Even for 

 those without erosion concerns, hardened 

 shorelines can provide level ground to 

 anchor a pier or establish flat lawns. 



Under current regulations, property 

 owners can get general permits for 

 bulkheads and other erosion-control 

 structures along estuaries as long as the 

 Division of Coastal Management approves 

 the structure's location. General permits 

 incorporate certain restrictions: Bulkheads 

 must be landward of coastal wetlands or 

 submerged aquatic vegetation, and property 

 owners usually can extend bulkheads no 

 more than two feet past the mean high 

 water line. Special exceptions allow 

 property owners to extend bulkheads farther 

 to reclaim any land they have lost in the past 

 year, which can be a significant amount 

 after hurricanes like Fran or Bonnie. 



Since a bulkhead requires only a 

 general permit, property owners can often 

 set up a site inspection with a division field 

 representative and get a permit the same 

 day. Those who don't have erosion 

 problems can still build because of an 

 exemption allowing bulkheads above the 

 mean high water line. Since 1978, when it 

 began issuing Coastal Area Management 

 Act (CAMA) permits, the Division of 

 Coastal Management reports that it has 



issued permits for more 

 than 200 miles of 

 bulkhead — enough to 

 stretch from Raleigh to 

 Manteo. 



Other erosion-control 

 options, such as certain 

 riprap revetments and 

 marsh grading and 

 planting projects, have 

 been harder to obtain. 

 While general permit 

 applications for bulkheads 

 cost $50 and are often 

 granted in a day, the major 

 permit applications for 

 revetments and other 

 alternatives cost $250 and 

 take anywhere from 75 to 150 days to 

 process. 



The general permit is an "expedited 

 form of the major permit" says Alison 

 Davis, public information officer for the 

 Division of Coastal Management. "They 

 apply to cases where the environmental 

 effects of construction are already known 

 and considered to be minor." 



Major permits, like those for revet- 

 ments below the mean high water line, take 

 longer to process because they must 

 circulate through 10 state and four federal 

 agencies for comment. 'Those agencies 

 might have concerns about the project that 

 the division isn't aware of," says Davis. 



REVISING THE 

 REGULATIONS 



Growing public concern about 

 estuarine water quality and habitat loss has 

 now prompted the Coastal Resources 

 Commission to review the regulations 

 governing construction on the estuaries. 

 The review process is lengthy and open to 

 the public through hearings in each of the 

 20 CAMA counties; any revised regulations 

 would not go into effect until the year 2000. 



The proposed changes would increase 

 the setbacks for building along the estuaries. 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 25 



