North Carolina Coastal Federation

1. Ted Wilgis – Cape Fear Coastkeeper North Carolina Coastal Federation Citizens Working Together for a Healthy Coastal Environment

2. Education • Students and Teachers • Field trips, • Classroom curriculum, • Teacher training, • Wetland nursery program • Oyster restoration activities • Public • Workshops • Publications • Stewardship activities

3. Restoration & Preservation

4. North River Farm - Wetland Restoration

5. Advocacy & Enforcement: Coastkeeper Program Cape Fear, Cape Lookout and Cape Hatteras Coastkeepers Work w/ other NC Keepers Cape Fear River, New River, Neuse Advocacy – environmental enforcement and compliance Education and empowerment Monitoring Restoration

6. North Carolina’s Coast • Miles of ocean beaches: 320 • Miles of estuarine shoreline: over 4,000 • Acres of sounds, creeks and marshes: 2 million-plus • # of river basins draining to the coast: 8 • # of NC counties & sq. miles that drain to the coast: 70 & 32,311 sq. miles • % of East Coast commercial fishery species that depend on NC’s estuaries: 50-70%

8. What Is CAMA? • The Coastal Area Management Act, or CAMA, is the state law that balances development with environmental protection along North Carolina’s coast. • CAMA established Areas of Environmental Concern, areas that are subject to natural hazards or have environmental, social, economic or aesthetic significance.

9. CAMA Timeline • 1972: Federal Coastal Zone Management Act • 1974 – State Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA) • 1978 – Feds approve state program

10. CAMA Workings • Affects 20 coastal counties • Rules developed by Coastal Resources Commission (CRC) • Administered by Division of Coastal Management (DCM)

11. Coastal Resources Commission The 15-member CRC, appointed by the Governor, establishes policies for the N.C. Coastal Management Program and adopts implementing rules for both CAMA and the N.C. Dredge and Fill Act. The commission designates areas of environmental concern (AECs), sets policies and adopts rules for coastal development within AECs, certifies local land-use plans, and hears permit variance requests and appeals.

12. NC Division of Coastal Management action items: • Permitting and Enforcement • Federal Consistency • Land Use Planning • North Carolina Coastal Reserve • Waterfront Access Sites

14. “Development” “Any activity … . . involving, requiring or consisting of construction or enlargement of a structure; excavation; dredging; filling; dumping; mining; bulk heading; driving pilings; clearing or alteration of land as an adjunct of construction; alteration or removal of sand dunes; alteration of the shore, bank or bottom of the Atlantic Ocean or any sound, by, river, creek, stream, lake or canal.”

15. Areas of Environmental Concern (AEC) • Estuarine waters and public trust areas • Estuarine shoreline: 30 ft. or 75 ft. from mean high water, 575 ft. from ORW • Coastal wetlands • Ocean hazard areas: ocean beaches, areas near inlets, behind the dunes • Public water supplies • Natural and cultural resource areas

17. Coastal Shoreline RulesBasic Standards • Less than 30% impervious coverage along Coastal Shoreline AECs, innovative stormwater systems acceptable (75’ AEC) • Less than 25% impervious coverage along ORW coastal shoreline AECs, stormwater systems not allowed (575’ AEC)

18. Permit Types • Major Permits: 10 state and four federal agencies must review • General Permits: Projects that usually pose little or no threat to the environment • Minor Permits: Projects that don't require major permits or general permits

19. Major Permits • Another state or federal permit, license or authorization • Excavation or drilling of natural resources • Construction of one or more buildings that cover more than 60,000 sq. ft. on a single parcel • Alteration of more than 20 acres of land or water

20. Beach Fill – Nourishment & Inlet Alteration

21. “Piecemealing” • Breaking major projects in smaller pieces to avoid major CAMA review • Cumulative environmental effects of a projects are minimized • Example The Peninsula of Surf City

22. Reviewing Permits • Public process, public documents • Required notice in local newspaper • 30-day comment period • Getting there before the ‘dozers

23. Buffers • CRC passed rule in 2000 • 30 feet from normal high water • Affects only new construction • Only “water-dependent structures” – docks, boat ramps • Vegetation can be trimmed, cut

24. Utilize and protect natural vegetative buffers – The Good

25. …the Bad and the Ugly

26. Marinas • Can alter shoreline, pollute water • Must accommodate at least 10 boats • Rules encourage upland sites • Open water sites should avoid dredging and can’t close shellfish waters • Example: McGinnis Point

27. Marina Development New marinas located within public trust waters will require initial review through the NC State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA) process. The outcomes of the Environmental Assessment would be either a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).

28. Land-Use Plans • One of CAMA main requirements • Collection of policies that serve as a community’s blueprint for growth • Updated every 5 years • Public participation required, critical • No CAMA permits if inconsistent with plan • Can be useful enforcement tool: Cape Lookout Marina, Gallants Channel bridge

29. Coastal Wetlands • Any project involving land disturbance or construction adjacent to or within any type of wetlands should be reviewed by a DCM or USACOE representative. • Remember that the EMC’s 50 ft. buffer in the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico River Basins is measured from the landward edge of coastal marsh.

30. Typical Problems

33. Routine aerial surveillance flight revealed spoil behind the house in what appears to be coastal wetlands.

34. Division of Coastal Management Website http://www.nccoastalmanagement.net

35. Issues Facing NC’s Coast • Explosive Population Growth • Development & Infrastructure Pressures • Loss of Coastal Habitats and their Buffering Capacities • Stormwater Control and Run-off

36. Loss of Coastal Habitats • Over 50% of coastal plain wetlands in NC have been lost • 12,000 acres of wetlands ditched & drained under the Tulloch exemption in 1998 • Approximately 30 miles of estuarine shoreline habitat is lost each year due to hardening (bulkheads, rip-rap)

37. Amount of Pavement = Health of Receiving Waters From UNCW – Mallin et al

38. Effects from Stormwater Runoff • Closed shellfishing areas • Swimming advisories • Algal blooms • Fish kills • Flooding & property damage

39. One local story - Howe Creek 1984 2000

40. Opportunity Lost ? South Brunswick Water & Sewer Authority

41. Point Source Pollution - NPDES Chronic Violators Aging Infrastructure

42. Beach Nourishment and Inlet Manipulation