THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 16, 1995 TAG: 9505160325
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 79 lines
The main channel connecting Outer Banks fishermen with the Atlantic Ocean - and the only natural valve for rising flood waters of a major storm - is closing at its quickest pace in 20 years, officials said Monday.
If something isn't done to keep Oregon Inlet open, catastrophe could strike North Carolina's northern barrier islands, members of the Dare County Board of Commissioners were told at their bi-monthly meeting.
``We've got to get past the syndrome that this only affects a few commercial fishermen,'' Oregon Inlet Waterways Commission Chairman Robert Williams said Monday.
``We're going to see one, two, three inlets open up. This is a reality,'' said Williams. ``And we're going to be in trouble if something isn't done.''
Oregon Inlet is in its worst shape since at least 1971, Williams and watermen said. The inlet, which separates Nags Head from Hatteras Island, is closing at a rate of 250 feet per year. Many deep-draw boats no longer can navigate the shoaling channel.
``We're talking about a condition that makes it a danger to every one of us, and our properties,'' Williams said. ``We're talking about an inlet that's fixing to close.''
Unless the inlet is stabilized and cleared, a major storm could cause rising tides and waters that would be beyond the inlet's capacity, Williams said. Severe flooding over Outer Banks beaches could result.
But even more dangerous, say scientists from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, is the prospect that without steps taken to open the existing channel, nature will open new inlets - possibly near populated areas.
Carl Miller, an oceanographer for the Corps' research station inDuck, said that based on data collected on the movement of sand over the past four decades, nature's next inlet could open in an area just north or south of Jockey's Ridge - or on the south side of Oregon Inlet, near Rodanthe.
Miller also said that even stabilization of Oregon Inlet will not guarantee that other inlets won't form in the near future.
The Corps of Engineers is monitoring the shoaling situation in the inlet, and working to find a solution. One possible remedy, some say, is to build rock jetties around the edges of Oregon Inlet. Jetties, proponents say, would stabilize sand movement through the channel and keep a deeper passageway open to the ocean.
Congress authorized Oregon Inlet jetties in 1970. But bureaucratic battles and environmental concerns have left the project dead in the water. Current cost estimates for construction are about $97 million.
``Right now, Oregon Inlet is located where we have infrastructure, and it's not heavily populated,'' Williams said. ``But if it closes, nature will decide where the new storm drain will be located. We have to decide if we are going to work in harmony with nature - or let nature decide where it wants to put a new inlet.''
In other business Monday, Dare County's commissioners:
Set a public hearing for 7 p.m., June 16 to get input on a proposal by three volunteer fire districts seeking tax increases.
The Chicamacomico Fire District wants to raise taxes from nine to 15 cents, the highest allowed under state law. The Manns Harbor Fire District wants taxes raised from eight to 11 cents. The Colington Fire District wants an increase from nine to 10 cents.
If approved, increases would affect only those residents served by that fire district. The hearings will be held at the firehouses for each of the three districts.
Imposed a $25 fee on local bar and liquor store owners. The money is to cover state-required inspections that are to be performed by the Dare County Building Inspector and Fire Marshal.
The new fee passed by a 4-3 vote, and affects businesses that have an on-premises liquor license. Such inspections are required under Alcoholic Beverage Commission regulations.
Commissioners Clarence Skinner, Geneva Perry, Shirley Hassell and Sammy Smith voted for the ordinance. Chairman R.V. ``Bobby'' Owens Jr. and commissioners Joseph ``Mac'' Midgett and Doug Langford voted against the fee.
Joined the Fort Raleigh American Legion Post 26 in honoring Martin Kellogg of Manteo for 50 years of continuous membership in the veterans' organization. by CNB