Some of us will be sweating this summer — and not just because of the weather.
There are decisions or actions due on any number of issues that will have profound effects on the future of not just Hatteras but also Ocracoke.
There are two court opinions we’re waiting for, a decision on the long-term solution for bridging the S-curves and north Rodanthe, and maybe finally some word on the “emergency” beach nourishment in that area.
Here a quick look at all of these issues.
CHAPA LAWSUIT AGAINST DOI AND NPS
The Cape Hatteras Preservation Alliance sued the Department of Interior and the National Park Service in February of 2012 to stop the Park Service’s off-road vehicle plan and final rule for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
Defenders of Wildlife and the National Parks Conservation Association, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, were allowed as defendant-intervenors on the side of the federal government.
The lawsuit was filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C., but was handed back to District Court Judge Terrence Boyle in the Eastern District of North Carolina, who handled the original lawsuit, filed in 2007, against the Park Service for its lack of an ORV plan. That lawsuit was settled by a consent decree in 2008.
Boyle has earned himself a reputation as no friend of those who advocate for more reasonable ORV access and a good friend of SELC.
He summoned the parties in the lawsuit to Elizabeth City in late March for oral arguments. Jim Lea, who has covered almost all of Boyle’s status conferences on the consent decree and the ORV issue wrote about the arguments for Island Free Press.
Now CHAPA has obtained a transcript of the arguments, so we can read each and every word. The transcript is posted on the Outer Banks Preservation Association website.
It’s interesting reading, as always, when Boyle gets to talking about the seashore and ORVs.
It’s been two months since the arguments and no word yet from the judge. But his opinion could come over the summer.
THE BONNER BRIDGE LAWSUIT
Many of the same environmental players are involved in a lawsuit to stop the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s plan to replace the Bonner Bridge with a short bridge option and a phased approach to the “hotspots” on Highway 12.
Defenders of Wildlife was joined by the National Wildlife Refuge Association and again represented by SELC in this case against both DOT and the Federal Highway Association The Cape Hatteras Electric Cooperative is a defendant-intervenor because rates for electricity would skyrocket if lines have to be run under a 17-mile bridge.
The case was decided last September in favor of DOT by federal District Court Judge Louise Flanagan of the Eastern District of North Carolina.
The plaintiffs appealed, and the case is now in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va.
SELC asked the court to grant oral arguments because of the “complicated” nature of the case.
A three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit heard oral arguments on May 13.
Catherine Kozak wrote an article for Island Free Press on the arguments, but now you can listen to an audio of the presentations and the questions by the judges.
Click here to go to the Fourth Circuit’s “listen to oral arguments” page. Scroll down to 5/13/2014. The first case listed on that date, Case No. 13-2215, is the one you want to click on.
The arguments last only about 30 minutes, but the hearing is quite lively and the questions from the judges are interesting.
It’s hard to guess from listening to the questions which way the opinion will go, but we hope that the judges understand that time is of the essence and the safety of the traveling public could be at risk and that their opinion will come quickly.
BRIDGING THE S-CURVES
The Department of Transportation had a public meetings and took public comments in January on two options to bridge the troublesome S-curves and north Rodanthe area.
The two alternatives studied in detail are a 2.5-mile bridge that would be built in the existing Highway 12 easement and a 3-mile bridge that would extend out into the Pamlico Sound from Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge and northern Rodanthe.
The bridge within the existing easement is the department?s chosen alternative because, DOT officials say, it is the choice that will require no new easements and will have the least environmental impact on the Pamlico Sound. In other words, it is the one that can be built the most quickly and easily.
However, as I wrote in a blog in January, each option comes with its own set of problems.
You can go back and read the blog for a more detailed explanation of each option and its drawbacks, but here’s a brief rundown.
If a bridge is built in the existing right of way, it would be a pretty ugly entry to Rodanthe, folks on the third floor of Mirlo Beach houses would be looking out their windows at cars going by, and service roads would be needed to get to businesses and houses.
If the bridge is built out into the Pamlico Sound, many folks feel that it would ruin the scenic views, especially at sunset. However, many folks seem to prefer this alternative.
DOT says it will announce its final choice this summer with a contract awarded in the fall or early winter.
That last part is really important. It’s really important to get the contract awarded this year when the money is in the Transportation Improvement Plan. Next year, it will be much more difficult to get it put back in because of the way the state is now awarding funds for transportation projects.
‘EMERGENCY’ NOURISHMENT
In March 2013, newly elected Gov. Pat McCrory came to the Outer Banks to look at, among other things, the damage to Highway 12 at S-Curves and north Rodanthe caused by two hurricanes and a bunch of northeasters.
At the time, and even today, a tall, sturdy stack of sandbags is all that protects the highway from the encroaching ocean.
A week after his visit, the governor announced a “state of emergency” to speed up nourishment of the beach in the area to protect the highway.
At the time, DOT officials said the emergency declaration would speed up the permitting and procuring process and that nourishment could be underway by summer.
Well, 15 months later, the beach still has not been nourished.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ first attempt to put the project out for bids earlier this year was a bust with only one bid that did not meet the project requirements.
Last month, the Corps put the project out for bids again, hoping that more time for completion and fewer hoops to jump through will increase competition, bringing in more and lower bids.
Bids on the contract are due by June 19 with work expected to begin later this summer.
We can only hope that nourishment really does get underway later this summer, though that makes it unlikely that it will help us in the 2014 hurricane season.
Maybe, though, it will be finished before next winter’s northeasters.
