THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, February 24, 1996 TAG: 9602240355
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Short : 43 lines
Sandbags along a 3.5-mile strip of NC 12 on Hatteras Island can be kept in place under a court ruling Friday that granted the continuance of a temporary restraining order against their removal.
Dare County Superior Court Judge Jerry Tillett agreed with the county's argument that the 4,000 sandbags lining the seaward side of the two-lane highway should stay until another solution is found to stem ocean overwash.
The state Department of Environmental, Health, and Natural Resources and the Department of Transportation had said the sandbags must be removed after a new stretch of roadway was completed in December.
But Dare County contended the sandbags are vital to the safety of the island's 5,000 year-round residents and to the economy of the county because they help control ocean flooding. In January the county won a temporary restraining order blocking their removal.
Tillett's ruling was two-pronged: he denied the state's request to dismiss the matter on the grounds that the county had no standing and did not exhaust the administrative process, and he allowed the injunction to remain status quo subject to numerous conditions.
The U.S. Department of Interior has the authority to ultimately force the removal of the sandbags, county attorney H. Al Cole said.
Coastal Management's director Roger Schecter said state regulations are clear that sandbags are meant to be temporary, and are considered ``hard'' structures that increase erosion.
``The cost of leaving them there indefinitely is damage to public property, damage to public structures and they're costly,'' Schecter said.
The county said it was not notified properly that the state intended to take away the sandbags within 60 days after the new road was installed, but the state argued that it was ``implicit'' in the road permit.
The sandbags cost approximately $920,000 to put in place. Cole said their removal would cost about $80,000-$90,000. by CNB