Congressman Murphy proposes jetty feasibility study for Oregon Inlet

On the day that Dare County welcomed the arrival of the dredge Miss Katie, District 3 U.S. Congressman Greg Murphy announced that he had filed legislation to authorize a feasibility study on constructing a dual jetty system to address chronic shoaling problems at the Oregon Inlet.

In his Aug. 19 remarks at the Dare County Administration Building, a briefing attended by a number of Dare County Commissioners, Murphy cited statistics about the economic impact of the inlet and asserted that “This is such a large economic input that we have a navigable and safe inlet.”

Notably, he added that “it is time we actually do something that is more than just a dredge.”

Speaking at the outset of the briefing, Dare County Commissioners Chair Bob Woodard, citing both the arrival of Miss Katie and Murphy’s proposed legislation, called it “an historic day” for the county. He noted that “Miss Katie arrived in Dare County just this morning…and she will soon begin working on local inlets on a regular basis.”

But he also acknowledged that the dredge “is not a permanent solution.”

In introducing Murphy, Dare County Commissioner Jim Tobin, who also chairs the Oregon Inlet Task Force, described efforts to deal with shoaling at the inlet as consuming “years and years of dredging and millions and millions of dollars.”

Murphy’s legislation, officially called the Oregon Inlet Jetty Feasibility Study Act, would authorize the Secretary of the Army to conduct the study. He noted that there are a total of 23 federal agencies that have some level of jurisdiction over the waterway and acknowledged that the study would be one element of what will be, by necessity, a long process to solve an old problem.

“This is the most studied inlet in the county,” Murphy said. “But we have to start over.”