The future of federal financial assistance for New Hanover County’s beach renourishment projects is uncertain, but the members of the Wilmington-New Hanover Port, Waterway and Beach Commission plan to rally together to secure sustained state funding for the multimillion-dollar dune-building projects.
Carolina Beach Councilman Steve Shuttleworth suggested the commission begin working with county staff plus county and state elected officials to secure an agreement with the N.C. Division of Water Resources to continue to offset the cost of coastal storm damage reduction projects without a federal contribution.
Currently, the state only offers assistance to projects receiving federal financial assistance. With a clear end in sight for federal assistance for the Carolina Beach project, Shuttleworth called for a multi-pronged action plan to ensure the state government continues to offset the cost of renourishment.
Historically, federal authorization translates to significant financial assistance for the storm mitigation projects: federal contributions cover 65 percent of the project cost, leading the state to cover half of the remaining 35 percent. A portion of county room occupancy tax collections dedicated to renourishment, known as the sand fund, picks up the remaining 17.5 percent of the price tag.
Carolina Beach is not the only beach town facing lost federal support, said Wrightsville Beach Town Manager Tim Owens, even though the Wrightsville Beach project and the Kure Beach project are years away from losing authorization.
“There are a lot of little things that are creeping up. The writing’s on the wall. The federal government seems to be sliding out of the funding [agreement],” Owens said.
Efforts should start with the county manager and work up through the chain of command to secure support from county commissioners and county representatives in the N.C. General Assembly, Owens said.
Shuttleworth said he also hopes to have county shore protection coordinator Layton Bedsole work with the county manager and Division of Water Resources leadership to hash out an agreement. Bedsole confirmed the need underpinning Shuttleworth’s request.
“I think it is in the coastal community’s best interest that we initiate discussions in Raleigh in the event that North Carolina has to take care of North Carolina beaches,” Bedsole said. “I’m talking from Currituck County to Brunswick County. That situation is applicable up and down the coast.”
County beach towns could also jointly fund an economic impact analysis of the county’s renourishment projects, to be used as support for their claims to state money.
“The naysayers are quick to say it costs millions of dollars to do one of these projects. What we, as proponents of managing these coastlines, need to know is: Yes, we’re spending millions, but we’re making billions,” Bedsole said.
Owens said he has advocated for an economic impact analysis for a long time.
“Some kind of study that would give us some talking points when we go to either Washington or Raleigh would be beneficial,” Owens said.
Shuttleworth pledged to work with other commission members and beach town officials to assemble information needed to create a resolution of support and options for moving forward before the commission’s January meeting.
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