THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 12, 1995 TAG: 9502120079
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NAGS HEAD LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr., R-3rd, said Saturday he plans to forge ahead in his efforts to pass legislation authorizing construction of rock jetties on Oregon Inlet, despite the Clinton administration's proposed cuts in the agency that would build the controversial structures.
Jones has introduced a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that would transfer 100 acres of land owned by the Department of the Interior to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for construction of the jetties. North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., is expected to introduce similar legislation in the Senate.
Earlier this week, the president unveiled a plan to streamline the Corps. The administration estimates that if passed, the proposal will save $925 million by the year 2000. Under the plan, the Corps would withdraw from its traditional role in local flood, erosion, wetlands and dredging projects, thus endangering the Oregon Inlet project.
``We just got the president's budget on Thursday, so I haven't really had a chance to study it,'' Jones said. ``It's too premature for me to say what's going to happen. We're going to continue to seek authorization of the project. But if the money's not there, it's not there.''
The jetties proposal for Oregon Inlet has been delayed in Congress for 25 years. Approved by Congress in 1970, the project has suffered numerous delays. Supporters of the project say it will control shoaling in one of the key passageways to the Atlantic for commercial and recreational fishermen. Opponents argue that the jetties will not work, and that they will endanger environmentally sensitive areas on the Outer Banks.
Turning to other issues, Jones said Congress will begin a review of federal laws governing wetlands, as well as the Endangered Species Act. The Endangered Species law is up for re-authorization this year.
``We have a philosophy,'' Jones said of the new GOP-controlled Congress. ``Many of the regulations that are in place have gone too far. We need to see more balance (between environmental and business concerns) in the interpretations of these laws.''
Jones also reiterated his opposition to offshore oil and gas exploration off the North Carolina coast. Earlier this month, Jones wrote Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, asking that the state be excluded from the next five-year plan for exploration.
``The coast of California has been excluded by the department, and North Carolina should receive the same protection,'' he said. ``If that's not done, we will seek legislation.''
Jones, a first-term Republican, told a gathering of Outer Banks municipal officials that they could expect a more pro-business stance in the 104th Congress.
``This Congress is more business-minded than any I've seen in a long time,'' he said. ``You'll see a Congress more in tune with local elected officials and with the people.''
Jones was scheduled to tour a Kitty Hawk department store to meet constituents later in the day, and to speak at a Lincoln Day dinner in Kill Devil Hills on Saturday night. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
DREW C. WILSON/Staff
Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr., R-3rd, talks with Nags Head Commissioner
Doll Gray during a gathering on Saturday.
by CNB