An inland legislator’s bill has the New Hanover County Commissioners worried that money to dredge shallow inlets, including New Topsail and Carolina Beach inlets, will evaporate. They hope to enlist the local legislative delegation as well as officials in other coastal counties to fight it.
House Bill 663 would eliminate money to dredge shallow-draft inlets. Its primary sponsor, Republican Rep. Mitchell Setzer, lives in Catawba County. He filed the bill Monday. Rep. Ted Davis, R-New Hanover, worked hard to get a fund set aside for inlet dragging about two years ago, said Layton Bedsole, shore protection coordinator for New Hanover County.
Commissioner Skip Watson brought up the proposed legislation at Thursday’s agenda briefing. If it passes, half the annual funding for dredging would disappear. Counties pay half the cost of dredging shallow-draft inlets; the state pays the rest from boat fees collected and a fraction of a percentage on the gas tax.
In an email to the county, Davis said the bill took him by surprise. However, he sits on the House Finance Committee, where the bill was sent, and said he would oppose it. Meanwhile, the commissioners agreed to make it clear that the bill would jeopardize the inlet program and to make sure that the rest of the delegation knows about the legislation.
The cost to dredge seven inlets from Manteo on the Outer Banks to Lockwoods Folly Inlet in Brunswick County is estimated at $4.76 million this year. Half is the state money that is in jeopardy. In future years, loss of funding also could affect periodic dredging of Mason Inlet.
Commissioner Woody White, who served briefly as a state senator, noted that the bill must cross numerous hurdles before it can become law and said there will be a chance to stop it along the way. But he also cautioned that while some bills languish, others can move swiftly.
Watkins thinks the county should act quickly, before the bill can gain momentum. “When I saw it, my sirens went off,” he said.
