The public is currently invited to comment on two projects that are important to Hatteras and Ocracoke islands.
One project involves the National Park Service?s Environmental Assessment of its proposals to facilitate additional public beach access. This public comment period is open until 5 p.m. on Aug. 2.
The other involves the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers? call for public comments on the North Carolina Department of Transportation?s request that the Corps authorize the state?s plan for emergency beach nourishment near the S-curves in northern Rodanthe to protect Highway 12 from overwash and damage in storms.
You can submit comments whether you are a resident, non-resident property owner, or a visitor.
Here is a brief summary of each project with information on commenting.
NPS ADDITIONAL PUBLIC BEACH ACCESS
The National Park Service released its Environmental Assessment (EA) on its proposal to facilitate additional public beach access at the Cape Hatteras Seashore in late June.
The additional public access improvements are called for in the Park Service?s off-road vehicle management plan and final rule, which became effective in February of 2012.
The EA evaluates the impacts of projects at 29 development locations that include 15 parking areas, one paved access road, two unpaved roads, five ORV ramps, five foot paths, and 11 handicapped accessible boardwalks.
The projects have not been prioritized. The Park Service is waiting until after the public comment period do that.
Also, ORV permit fees will be used to pay for many, but perhaps not all, of the improvements.
The Park Service hosted three public informational meetings this week at Nags Head, Avon, and Ocracoke.
Cyndy Holda, public affairs specialist for the Outer Banks Group, said that 118 people signed into the meetings ? 32 at Nags Head, 58 at Avon, and 28 at Ocracoke.
At the meeting at the Avon Volunteer Fire Department, large photos depicting the location of the improvements were propped up on chairs around the room and Park Service staff members, including Superintendent Barclay Trimble and Deputy Superintendent Darrell Echols, were chatting with folks and answering their questions.
Comments were also being accepted.
The most frequently heard criticism of the plan has been that despite the fact that ORV permit fees will fund it, most of the projects would benefit pedestrians and not ORV users. Some also object to ORV permit fees being used to improve pedestrian access.
?The majority have nothing to do with off-road access,? said Dennis Gray of Dayton, Ohio, whose family owns a beach house in Frisco. Gray added that he thought some of the projects to make the beach more accessible to the handicapped are a good idea.
?There?s nothing I am dead set against,? said Frank Folb, owner of Frank and Fran?s tackle shop in Avon, ?but they shouldn?t be funded with ORV money.?
Trimble said all of the projects might not be funded with ORV permit money, but that the Park Service would explore getting grants for some of them.
You can click here to see The Proposal to Facilitate Additional Public Beach Access Environmental Assessment.
You can comment online at the NPS Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website: http://parkplanning.nps.gov/beach_access.
Public read-only copies of this document are available at the NPS Visitor Centers at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Bodie Island Lighthouse, Ocracoke, Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, and Wright Brothers National Memorial; the Dare County Libraries in Hatteras village, Manteo, and Kill Devil Hills, and the Ocracoke Library.
Written comments may be mailed to: Proposal to Facilitate Additional Public Beach Access, c/o Superintendent, Outer Banks Group, 1401 National Park Drive, Manteo, NC 27954.
Comments must be received by 5 p.m. on August 2, 2013.
If you want, you can share your comments with IFP readers by posting them in the comments section at the end of this blog.
ARMY CORPS PUBLIC COMMENT ON BEACH NOURISHMENT
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is also seeking comment from the public.
The Corps wants comment on DOT?s request for a permit for emergency beach nourishment at the S-curves in northern Rodanthe.
The project will pump sand onto 2.13 miles of beach from just north of the S-curves to just north of the Rodanthe Pier. It?s designed as a short-term solution to protecting Highway 12 until DOT can bridge the overwash-prone area.
The nourishment will be funded by Hurricane Sandy FEMA money.
To read the entire public notice, including project description and charts and maps, go to
http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/Portals/59/docs/regulatory/publicnotices/2013/SAW-2013-01129-PN.pdf
Currently, the area is protected by sandbags with little or no beach on the other side, depending on wind and tide conditions. This project will widen the beach enough to provide additional protection for the highway during storms.
Highway 12 has been ripped up at the S-curves in storms for the past two years ? first by Hurricane Irene in 2011 and then by Hurricane Sandy and several northeasters last fall.
This nourishment project is important to keep the transportation corridor open until DOT either builds a two-mile bridge out into the sound to bypass the area or constructs a bridge directly over the trouble spot.
The Army Corps wants the comments from individuals in writing and sent by mail. Yes, that means you must mail your comments to the agency through the U.S. Postal Service.
Comments should be addressed to Bill Biddlecome, Washington Regulatory Field Office, 2407 West Fifth Street, Washington, North Carolina 27889.
Comments are due Tuesday, July 30, by 5 p.m., so get them in the mail soon.
If the comments are being submitted on behalf of an agency, municipality, or other organization, they may be submitted on letterhead. Electronic submission of a scanned copy of a signed letter is allowed. It should be e-mailed to william.j.biddlecome@usace.army.mil
A WORD ABOUT BEACH NOURISHMENT PROJECTS
Some folks do not understand that there are several beach nourishment projects under consideration for Hatteras Island.
One is the emergency nourishment that DOT wants for the S-curves in northern Rodanthe. This is a short-term measure.
Dare County is interested in more long-term nourishment of the Rodanthe beach and the beach in north Buxton, which is also prone to ocean overwash.
The county has hired Coastal Science and Engineering of Columbia, S.C., at a cost of $144,500 to study the cost and feasibility of nourishment at both sites. This is the same engineering firm that handled the Nags Head beach nourishment project two years ago.
County Manager Bobby Outten said the engineers have been gathering multiple core samples of sand off Rodanthe and Buxton and are now analyzing those samples.
?We need to know if we can afford it and if it?s technically doable,? Outten said this week.
He said the engineering firm is expected to report back to the Board of Commissioners in September and that there may be a preliminary report in August.
At its meeting this month, the board approved an additional one percent increase in the county?s occupancy tax ? bringing it to 6 percent, effective Jan. 1.
This money could help fund nourishment on Hatteras Island and in the northern Dare beach towns of Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, and Duck.
After the commissioners hear the report from the engineering firm, they will decide whether to move ahead with nourishing Hatteras beaches.
