THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, November 2, 1994 TAG: 9411020414
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY LANE DeGREGORY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: OREGON INLET LENGTH: Medium: 100 lines
No one knows why Carl Miller didn't get the money.
For the last four years, congressmen have made sure the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers researcher received federal funds to study the Outer Banks inlet linking the Atlantic to the sounds.
But this year, Miller came up empty-handed.
Bureaucrats and politicians from Atlanta to Washington are struggling to find $150,000 to finance his on-going project.
They say the information Miller is collecting could be invaluable for bridge builders, dredge operators and engineers designing the $97 million rock jetties to stabilize the inlet.
Time is running out, Miller said this week.
If he doesn't get the money by next month, he won't be able to continue monitoring waves, beach erosion, off-shore sandbars and other constantly changing coastal processes.
``It's frustrating to me,'' said Miller, who has worked at the Army Engineers' Duck research pier since 1979.
``I have about $15,000 in 1994 funds which I can carry over. I'll be able to get at least two more months of data that way. But by mid-December, I'll need to do another survey. If I can't find the funds by then, I'll just have to wrap the whole thing up and write a brief report.
``If we cut this thing off now,'' Miller added, ``we'll only be able to guess about what's happening at Oregon Inlet.''
One of the most volatile and changeable inlets along the East Coast, Oregon Inlet is the primary passageway for hundreds of watermen who travel between North Carolina's barrier islands and the Atlantic fishing grounds.
The Herbert C. Bonner Bridge spans the inlet and connects Nags Head to Hatteras Island. A rock groin at the south side of the inlet helps protect bridge pilings from erosion. Miller is studying the effects that groin has had on Pea Island and other surrounding beach areas.
``Really, it's a golden opportunity to study the effects a major hardened structure is having on coastal areas,'' said Bill Dennis, an engineer with the Army Engineers' branch in Wilmington, N.C.
``From Mr. Miller's data, we will be able to learn a lot of modeling aspects for the much larger proposed jetties project for that inlet,'' Dennis said. ``His work has been going on for so long now, it would be a shame to have to stop it at this point.''
During fiscal years 1990 through 1994, North Carolina congressman Walter Jones Sr. and his successor, Martin Lancaster, secured special appropriations for Miller's project.
Dare County officials, specifically those with the Oregon Inlet Waterways Commission, helped lobby for those funds.
This year, Lancaster's aides said the Democratic 3rd District congressman has been working with the Army Engineers' Washington office to find money for Miller.
Dare County Commissioner Robert Williams, who also chairs the Oregon Inlet Waterways Commission, said he has sent letters to the congressmen and the Army Engineers.
Army Engineers' officials along the East Coast said they have noidea why the funds weren't earmarked for Miller's research to continue.
``The Corps did not seek that appropriation as part of their federal budget. But we hope we can get the funds for Mr. Miller,'' said Ed Welch, administrative assistant to Lancaster in the congressman's Washington office. ``It's not a certainty. There's a lot of pressure on that budget right now. But we're hoping by the end of November that we can get word to continue that work.
``The research project,'' Welch said, ``provides information that would help manage Oregon Inlet down the road.''
``We're going to make sure that the right people are aware of this situation,'' Williams said. ``I'm sure if that project is prioritized properly, that money will be there. When you're not sure where the money is coming from, it can pop up at any time.''
This week, officials in the Army Engineers' Washington office said they are trying to find money for Miller at the Wilmington branch level. More than $5.6 million in federal funds was set aside for operation and maintenance of Oregon Inlet. But most of that money is needed to continue dredging the channel.
``Most likely, we'll have to take some funds that have been programmed for the Wilmington branch's operations budget,'' said Barry Holliday, chief of the Army Engineers' Navigation and Dredging Branch in Washington. ``We're going to pursue what we can to keep this project going.''
During the four years Miller has been studying Oregon Inlet, the researcher has observed several shifts in the way sand moves. Traditionally, more sand moves from the northern beach areas to the south. But at the inlet, Miller has seen about twice as much sand move north than south. That could mean natural wave processes - not the hardened groin - are causing the severe erosion at Pea Island and Rodanthe.
``I don't believe the groin caused erosion. I think it was more of a natural occurrence caused by wave directions during recent storms,'' Miller said. ``But if we miss even a year's data, we won't be able to tell where the sand is coming from. We won't be able to predict the erosion rate for Rodanthe as easily. And we might not be able to provide information to the N.C. Department of Transportation which they could use to design a solution to the ocean overwash problem along Highway 12.
``We need to determine the fate of sand dredged from the inlet and placed back on shore,'' said Miller, who shares his findings with everyone from the National Park Service to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to the University of Virginia. ``If you stop monitoring offshore, there's no way to do that.'' by CNB