Number: 2001-11
WHEREAS, the proposed Oregon Inlet Jetties [Manteo (Shallowbag) Bay] Project which has a stated purpose “to provide a safe, reliable, navigable channel” would be comprised of a north jetty, including a 1,000 feet “mean tide height” weir to create a sand transfer basin, for a total length of 10,020 feet, and a south jetty extending 3,450 feet beyond the existing terminal groin for a total length of 6,575 feet; and
WHEREAS, it has been widely recognized by the scientific and engineering community, for decades, that such hardened structures substantially alter the natural flow of tidal sands, and in that location would result in shoreline buildup north of the inlet and erosion south of the inlet sufficient to require substantial transfer of sand from the inlet onto the south shoreline, and though the United States Army Corps of Engineers rejected the use of a weir from 1977-1995 because of problems inherent in the use of weirs, they proposed in 1999, citing the same studies previously available and rejected, a sand bypassing system including a weir, declaring that “without sand bypassing, erosion impacts on adjacent beaches would be severe. Such erosion could ultimately lead to the loss of dune fields, breaching of Highway 12, damage to waterfowl impoundments on Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, and an increase in the potential for new inlet formation elsewhere as the barrier island narrows”, while ignoring the suggestions of fisheries scientists that the jetties would impede the movement of fish into and from the sound, and that a weir would actually obstruct the passage of larval fish through the inlet rather than facilitating said passage; and
WHEREAS, while both ends of the inlet are bounded by federally protected land, the south side is most subject to alteration by the project, and comprises the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, so that said alteration would degrade and endanger the habitat of a variety of marine and terrestrial creatures and plants; and
WHEREAS, the jetties portion of the proposed project requires the transfer of ownership of some 126 acres of land by the United States Department of Interior-Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge (33 acres) and Cape Hatteras National Seashore (93 acres) to the United States Department of Defense-United States Army Corps of Engineers thereby setting a precedent which would subject all federally protected land to greater risk of permanent alteration to its intended purpose; and
WHEREAS, while proponents of the project cite the issue of navigation safety, a review of United States Coast Guard reports indicates that twenty of the twenty-one historic fatalities at Oregon Inlet occurred before 1983 when dredging was increased and hopper dredging began, and though “Station Oregon Inlet” reports over 200 “calls for assistance” annually, their “Area of Responsibility” is for the area from the Virginia-North Carolina border south over 80 nautical miles (the area known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic”) to halfway between Avon and Rodanthe extending 50 nautical miles out to sea as well as the Pamlico and Croatan Sounds; and
WHEREAS, the United States Army Corps of Engineers states that if the jetties are built; “during the commercial fishing season of October through March, these [fishing] vessels could not safely navigate the channel 21 to 25 percent of the time”, projecting little, if any, improvement to current navigability percentages; and
WHEREAS, because of factors, including the 1999 inclusion of the weir section, increased dredging and sand transfer operations, the 1997 projection of $108,000,000 does not reflect the likely construction, or total long term, cost to the United States and to North Carolina resulting from the project, which casts additional doubt on the likelihood of the project being cost effective in relation to the projected benefit to the users of the inlet, and was ranked as the fifth worst United States Army Corps of Engineers proposed project in the NWF’s Troubled Waters report;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation at its Annual Meeting assembled April 4-6, 2001 in Washington, DC, declares opposition to the construction of, and related transfer of land for, the Oregon Inlet [Manteo (Shallowbag) Bay] Project; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation urges the United States Congress to deauthorize the Oregon Inlet [Manteo (Shallowbag) Bay] Project in order to protect the coastal wildlife habitat of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, and the Cape Hatteras National Seashore thereby avoiding unjustified expense and retaining the integrity of purpose of public land allocations.