Tuesday, January 31, 2006

The Debate Over Outer Banks Beach Nourishment Continues

On January 1st of this year Dare County narrowly passed a 1 percent sales tax increase to fund beach nourishment projects to help preserve the county's fragile shoreline. Next week there is a referendum to determine if the county should repeal the sales tax increase and there is currently a hot debate over the subject. This debate isn't just limited to Dare County, almost every North Carolina coastal community is struggling to keep their beaches intact against ongoing erosion. The core of the arguments boil down to will beach nourishment protect and preserve the Outer Banks and who is responsible for paying the ever increasing bills? Historically many beach nourishment projects aimed at stabilizing the constantly shifting Outer Banks have not been very successful. Only 12 percent of all projects last more than five years and a whopping 26 percent don't even make it through their first year. More on this story is available here.

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