build?' Then they go to the minimum 

 line," Jones says. 



Spencer Rogers, coastal engineer- 

 ing specialist for North Carolina Sea 

 Grant, says that the state was at the 

 forefront of ocean-hazard management 

 by considering both long-term erosion 

 and single-storm effects. 



North Carolina pioneered a joint 

 permit process that consolidates federal 

 and state applications. "It is all one 

 house, one review process," says 

 Rogers, who serves on the advisory 

 council with Fuller. 



CAMA also provides local 

 permitting officers. Routine requests 

 that could take three months and a 

 consultant's assistance in Florida often 

 are completed in a few days here, 

 Rogers says. 



One of CAMA's best-known regu- 

 lations — a ban on seawalls and other 

 hardened structures along the oceanfront 



Scon D. Taylor 



— was added by the CRC in 1985. 



"The ban is absolutely critical. That 

 is why we have nice sandy beaches," 

 Moffitt says. 



Eugene Tomlinson, CRC chairman, 

 agrees. "I am proud that the commis- 

 sion, to this point, has held that line," he 

 says. The state only allows exceptions to 

 preserve historical structures and crucial 

 roads. 



"The ban on seawalls on the ocean- 

 front is probably the biggest positive 

 contribution of CAMA," Miller says. 



Community leaders recognize the 

 value of oceanfront regulations. But 

 nature does not always follow an 

 expected course, and communities must 

 look for solutions. 



"No one predicted the degree of 

 erosion," Kirkman says, citing current 

 problems from Pine Knoll Shores to 

 Emerald Isle on Bogue Banks, areas 

 developed after CAMA was in place. 

 "In two or three years, large structures 

 could be threatened if we don't do 

 something," he adds. 



This year, the CRC will review 

 recommendations from the Coastal 

 Hazard Science Panel, which includes 

 Rogers and other Sea Grant researchers. 

 The panel looked at historical data and 

 geological features of specific sections 

 of the coast. 



Sandbags have been permitted in 

 some areas as an emergency solution to 

 erosion problems. But CRC rules limit 

 the time bags can be exposed. 



Beach nourishment, pumping sand 

 back onto the shoreline, is expensive. 

 Questions remain as to who should pay 

 for such projects: oceanfront property 

 owners, counties that benefit from 

 property taxes and tourism the 

 beachfront properties generate, or the 

 state. "We need an overall state program 

 on nourishment." Fuller says. 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 23 



