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Renourish beaches or lose them By JEFF SELINGO, Wilmington Morning Star Published: 08/28/96 Most North Carolinians probably don't realize how lucky they are to have wide public beaches. Few other states do. They have seawalls. Seawalls protect buildings but destroy beaches. An informative article and clear graphics in the Sunday Star-News reminded us of how that happens. But if you don't believe it, visit North Myrtle Beach. At high tide, it practically disappears, as the waves lap at seawalls built to protect motels and condos. That might be fine for Myrtle Beach. It's become less a beach than a sandy sprawl offering golf, show biz and shopping. But is that what most North Carolinians want along their oceanfront? It's doubtful. But they might get it unless the state can maintain its policy against seawalls and other ``hardened structures'' that destroy beaches in an attempt, ultimately futile, to protect buildings. We now understand that our barrier islands - our beaches - are constantly moving toward the mainland. That's why sand disappears in front of cottages and motels. It disappears even faster when people build seawalls. But that's what many property owners want to do, and they may get the courts to let them do it. Conservative judges might over-turn the state's seawall ban or require the state to pay owners of destroyed buildings. You'll notice these folks, who complain that the government is ``taking'' their property, don't bring up the multitude of government subsidies, direct and indirect, they've gotten over the years. Government has subsidized beach development by building roads, bridges, sewers and providing other services. It has dredged inlets and built jetties to stabilize them. It has offered flood insurance. It has provided disaster assistance after storms. It has piled sand in front of their buildings. That last favor, called ``beach renourishment,'' is the one that makes the most sense. It protects buildings that generate taxes and accommodate the tourist industry. But, unlike seawalls, it also maintains a broad, sandy beach for public use. Renourishment isn't a perfect way to deal with Mother Nature's refusal to leave our developed beaches alone, but it's by far the best we've devised. The only question is, who's going to pay for it? The federal government has always absorbed most of the cost. But now that Big Government is supposed to be an ogre, Republicans and Democrats alike are trying to phase out federal funding for beach renourishment. Coastal states should fight that, but prepare a fall-back position. New Hanover County was wise enough to establish a room tax to help pay for such projects, but foolish enough to let tourism promoters rob it repeatedly. Now there's talk of robbing it again in an attempt to protect a hotel whose doom was sealed as soon as the foundation was laid near a moving inlet. If this county, other counties and the state's leaders don't devise reliable, long-term sources of money to rebuild our beaches periodically, we'll wake up one day and find them gone. |
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