North Carolina has miles and miles of beautiful beaches, thanks in large part to our state’s strong policies protecting our coastline from the damaging effects of hardened structures like jetties, seawalls and groins.  NC's ban on hardened structures has been in place for nearly 30 years, and is the cornerstone of our coastal protection policies and a model for the nation.

Beaches are highly dynamic and changing landscapes. Beaches get sand from dunes on shore and from ocean currents which move sand along the beach. Healthy beaches allow for an ebb and flow of sand along the coastline.   Hardened structures are damaging to beaches. A terminal groin, which is like a wall that juts out from the shore into the ocean, traps sand on the updrift side, but causes erosion of sand on the downdrift side, harming other properties and public beaches.

Coastal scientists widely agree that hardened structures like groins cause negative impacts.  More than 40 prominent coastal scientists recently concurred with what science and history has taught us: “A structure placed at the terminus of a barrier island, near an inlet, will interrupt the natural sand bypass system … and cause negative impacts to adjacent islands.”

At best, jetties and groins move the need for costly beach renourishment efforts further down the beach.  At worst, they dramatically increase the volume of sand needed to protect an island. Additionally, jetties and groins beget additional jetties and groins.  Once built, houses on the downdrift beach experience accelerated erosion.  To mitigate the erosion, additional jetties, groins or sandbags must be constructed .  That’s the case on Hunting Island, S.C. where the homeowners near a groin field installed sandbags to prevent their homes from washing away due to the increased erosion.

Wealthy homeowners at the exclusive Figure 8 Island want the General Assembly to grant them permission to build a terminal groin to protect their private beach and a few multi-million dollar homes from natural erosion.   S599, Inlet Stabilization Pilot Program, sponsored by Sen. R. C. Soles (Columbus-D), would authorize the Coastal Resources Commission—the body that is responsible for protecting the coast—to grant a permit for construction of a terminal groin.  Figure 8 Island, which is pouring money into lobbying for the bill through a Political Action Committee, would undoubtedly get the first groin, but other beach communities are lined up. 

S599 would set a very dangerous precedent and punch a huge hole in our state’s most important beach protection law. S599 passed the Senate in the 2007 session and remained eligible for consideration in 2008.

Latest News

July, 2008. The House, under the leadership of Speaker Joe Hackney, adjourned the 2008 session without taking up S599 for consideration, and thus it died.  Advocates consider this a huge victory for the coast, though fully expect the issue to return in future sessions.

Links

Coastal scientists position letter. [pdf]

Point of View, “A Sound Beach Policy, Threatened Once Again,” David Godschalk, Charlotte Observer, June 9, 2008.

Point of View: “Holding the Line on Terminal Groins,” Orrin Pilkey and Andrew Coburn, Raleigh News & Observer, March 12, 2008.

Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines

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Last updated 8-8-08