[0:00] All
[0:02] right. Good evening, ladies and
[0:03] gentlemen. Uh, the time is now 6 pm. Uh,
[0:06] and I call this public uh, hearing to
[0:08] order. Uh, with the Army Corps of
[0:11] Engineers, uh, public hearing regarding
[0:13] the town of North Topsel's proposed new
[0:16] river inlet master management plan. My
[0:19] name is Lieutenant Colonel Ken Porter,
[0:21] commander of the Wilmington District.
[0:23] Under federal regulation, I am the
[0:25] serving as the presiding officer tonight
[0:27] responsible for regulating the course of
[0:29] this hearing and ensuring that all
[0:31] participants have a fair and orderly
[0:33] opportunity to participate.
[0:36] On behalf of the Wilmington District and
[0:38] our participating agency partners, thank
[0:41] you for taking the time to be here this
[0:43] evening. I would also like to thank the
[0:46] town of North Topsel Beach for providing
[0:48] their town hall space for our event.
[0:50] Thank you.
[0:54] All right. Before we begin, I'd like to
[0:55] introduce the agency representatives and
[0:57] technical partners seated up front uh
[1:00] with me. Uh to my right here is Mr.
[1:02] Tommy Fennel, chief of the regulatory
[1:04] division of the Wilmington District Army
[1:06] Corps of Engineers.
[1:08] To his right down there on the end is
[1:11] Mr. Ronnie Smith. He's the chief of the
[1:12] Wilmington uh regulatory field office as
[1:16] part of the Wilmington District. Miss
[1:18] Emily Hughes to his left uh is the
[1:21] project manager uh for this project in
[1:24] the Wilmington Regulatory Field Office.
[1:26] Mr. Greg Bodner
[1:28] to my left is the major permits
[1:30] coordinator, North Carolina Division of
[1:32] Coastal Management. Mr. Cameron Luck,
[1:35] [clears throat]
[1:37] there he is. All right. Federal
[1:39] consistency coordinator, North Carolina
[1:41] Division of Coastal Management. And Mr.
[1:44] Steve Dial,
[1:47] Dial and Cordi Associates third party
[1:49] environmental contractor. Uh, thank you
[1:52] all for your presence and support
[1:54] tonight.
[1:56] At this time, I'd like to recognize the
[1:58] elected and appointed public officials
[2:00] who have joined us this evening. As I
[2:01] call your name, please stand so we may
[2:04] acknowledge you.
[2:06] Mr. Rick Grant, North Topsil Beach
[2:08] Mayor.
[2:11] Kip Malcolm, North Topsil Beach
[2:14] Alderman.
[2:16] » Also in the corner. All right. Fred
[2:18] Fontana, North Topsil Beach alderman.
[2:23] » Thanks, Fred. Mary Barefoot.
[2:26] » Mark.
[2:27] » Mark Barefoot.
[2:29] You got to work on your handwriting
[2:31] there, Mark.
[2:33] [laughter]
[2:39] All right, John Gunter, uh, North, uh,
[2:42] Topsil Beach Commissioner.
[2:44] Thanks, John.
[2:48] Are there any other elected or appointed
[2:50] officials present who did not have the
[2:51] opportunity to sign in at the front
[2:53] table?
[2:55] » If so, please [clears throat] stand and
[2:56] introduce yourself now.
[3:03] » Thank you.
[3:07] Mayor Teresa Bats.
[3:10] Glad to be here.
[3:10] » Thanks, Mayor Bats. Anyone else?
[3:16] All right. All right. Thank you for your
[3:18] attendance this evening.
[3:20] The purpose of this hearing is twofold.
[3:22] First, to inform the public of the
[3:24] release of the draft environmental
[3:26] impact statement for the New River Inlet
[3:28] Master Management Plan. and second to
[3:31] receive formal information, evidence,
[3:34] and oral comments from the public that
[3:36] will be considered in the development of
[3:38] the final environmental impact
[3:40] statement. I want to be very direct
[3:42] about the nature of this proceeding.
[3:44] Tonight's hearing is not a question and
[3:46] answer session, nor is it a town hall
[3:49] debate. We are here strictly to listen
[3:51] to your statements and record your
[3:53] comments for the formal administrative
[3:55] record. Furthermore, I must emphasize
[3:58] that the United States Army Corps of
[3:59] Engineers is completely neutral in the
[4:01] review of this proposal. The core is
[4:03] neither an advocate nor an opponent of
[4:05] the proposed project. Our role is
[4:08] strictly regulatory and evaluative.
[4:11] Following the close of the comment
[4:12] period and the completion of the final
[4:14] environmental impact statement as a a
[4:17] comprehensive record of decision will be
[4:19] prepared to document the COR's official
[4:21] determination. Your spoken comments
[4:23] tonight, as well as any written comments
[4:25] you submit during the comment period,
[4:26] carry equal weight and are an essential
[4:29] component of that evaluation process.
[4:34] To ensure that tonight's proceedings
[4:36] remain fair, efficient, and orderly for
[4:38] everyone wishing to speak, the following
[4:39] ground rules will apply throughout the
[4:41] hearing. Number one, focus on official
[4:45] testimony. As stated, this is an an
[4:47] official hearing to receive testimony,
[4:50] not a dialogue or Q&A. The panel will
[4:52] listen carefully but will not respond to
[4:54] questions from the podium tonight.
[4:57] Speaker order. I will call speakers to
[4:59] the microphone individually using the
[5:02] signup lists prepared during
[5:03] registration. In accordance with
[5:05] standard procedure, elected officials
[5:07] will be invited to speak first, followed
[5:09] by members of the general public in the
[5:12] order in which they registered.
[5:14] The time limit is three minutes. Each
[5:17] speaker will have exactly three minutes
[5:18] to deliver their remarks. Please respect
[5:21] the other speakers and the attendees and
[5:23] adhere to this limit so that everyone
[5:25] has their allotted time. Timekeeper
[5:28] signals. We have a designated
[5:29] timekeeper.
[5:31] The monitors will display a threeminut
[5:33] timer that will start once you begin
[5:34] speaking. Do we have a monitor? It's
[5:37] going to be on there.
[5:40] » All right. It'll be on the monitor.
[5:42] » And if it's not, we'll have we'll have
[5:43] someone notify you how much time you
[5:45] have left. All right. All right. When
[5:46] you have 20 seconds remaining, the
[5:47] timekeeper will raise will raise a
[5:50] yellow indicator card. When your three
[5:52] minutes have expired, uh I will ask you
[5:54] to conclude your remarks immediately.
[5:57] Clear record for the court reporter. We
[5:59] have an official court reporter
[6:00] transcribing every word spoken tonight.
[6:02] When your name is called, please step up
[6:05] directly to the podium microphone. State
[6:07] your full name, your spelling, and any
[6:09] group or organization that you
[6:11] represent. Speak clearly and at a
[6:13] measured pace into the microphone.
[6:16] and decorum. Please refrain from
[6:19] applause, cheering, booing, or vocal
[6:21] interruptions from the floor. We ask
[6:23] that everyone treat their fellow
[6:24] community members and all attendees with
[6:26] courtesy and mutual respect. I
[6:29] appreciate your cooperation and adhering
[6:31] to these standards.
[6:34] I will now invite Mr. Tommy Fennel,
[6:36] chief of the Wilmington District
[6:38] Regulatory Division, to explain the
[6:40] statutory authorities and regulatory
[6:42] framework governing this review. Over to
[6:45] you, Tommy.
[6:47] » Thank you, sir. Good evening, folks. My
[6:50] objective tonight is to provide a brief
[6:52] overview of the Department of the Army's
[6:54] regulatory authority and the framework
[6:56] governing our environmental review. Core
[6:59] of Engineers operates under three
[7:00] primary legal frameworks for actions of
[7:03] this type. The National Environmental
[7:05] Policy Act, often referred to as NEPA,
[7:08] is our nation's foundational
[7:09] environmental statute. It requires
[7:12] federal agencies to evaluate the
[7:13] environmental effects of proposed major
[7:16] major federal actions prior to making a
[7:18] decision. When a proposed action has the
[7:21] potential to significantly affect the
[7:22] quality of the human environment,
[7:24] beneficially or adversely, the agency
[7:27] must prepare an EIS or environmental
[7:29] impact statement. Second is a section 10
[7:32] of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899.
[7:35] That one's been around a while. Section
[7:37] 10 authorizes the Secretary of the Army
[7:39] acting through the core to regulate
[7:41] structures or work within navigable
[7:42] waters of the United States. And third,
[7:45] section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
[7:48] Section 404 authorizes the core to issue
[7:50] permits for the discharge of dredged or
[7:52] field material into waters of the United
[7:55] States.
[7:56] Jurisdiction in the draft EIS. A little
[7:59] explanation of what that is. During the
[8:01] initial scoping for the town of North
[8:02] Topsil's beach, their proposal waters
[8:06] and wetlands that this project would
[8:08] impact that were subject to our
[8:10] jurisdiction were identified. Because
[8:12] the proposal includes shoreline
[8:14] protection measures and a proposed
[8:15] terminal groin, the court determined
[8:17] that the project could significantly
[8:18] affect the human and natural
[8:20] environment. Consequently, we initiated
[8:22] the preparation of this draft EIS under
[8:26] NEPA and the council of environmental
[8:28] quality guidelines.
[8:30] The draft EIS objectively evaluates a
[8:32] range of reasonable and practable
[8:34] alternatives that meet the town's stated
[8:36] purpose and need. To be entirely clear,
[8:39] the core has not received a formal
[8:41] department of the Army application at
[8:43] this time. We anticipate receiving a
[8:45] permit application in the spring of 2027
[8:49] concurrent with the completion of a
[8:50] final EIS. At that time, another public
[8:54] notice will be published for review and
[8:57] comment on that specific application.
[9:00] The mission of our regulatory program is
[9:01] to balance fair and reasonable
[9:03] development while safeguard safeguarding
[9:05] our nation's aquatic resources.
[9:08] Under our regulations, any eventual
[9:11] permit decision is governed by a
[9:13] permanent public interest review. This
[9:16] requires a careful comprehensive
[9:18] balancing of all foreseeable benefits
[9:20] against all foreseeable environmental,
[9:23] economic, and community detriments.
[9:25] Every spoken comment delivered tonight
[9:27] and every written statement received by
[9:29] the deadline will become part of the
[9:31] official administrative record and will
[9:33] directly inform the final environmental
[9:36] impact statement. Thank you for your
[9:38] constructive participation in this
[9:40] process this afternoon is very important
[9:42] to what we do. I'll now turn the
[9:44] presentation over to Miss Emily Hughes
[9:47] um Wilmington Regulatory Field Office
[9:48] project manager who will review the
[9:50] current status of the document and
[9:52] outline the timeline moving forward.
[9:54] Emily,
[9:56] » Thank you, Tommy. Good evening,
[9:59] everyone. Thanks for coming out. Got a
[10:02] good crowd out here tonight. I
[10:03] appreciate you being here. Um, as say,
[10:06] my name is Emily Hughes. I'm the project
[10:09] manager for the town's master management
[10:12] plan. My information is up on the
[10:15] monitors. There's also handouts with my
[10:17] contact information. Um, I will be
[10:21] reviewing the document and sorry, I
[10:25] should probably stick to my script here.
[10:27] I'm not good at improvising.
[10:29] Um, so I'm I'm responsible for managing
[10:33] the environmental review of of the
[10:36] town's proposal. So the draft EIS that's
[10:39] out for comment right now um was
[10:42] authored by by our third party
[10:45] contractor which is D cordi Steve dial
[10:48] and Ralph Ralph Engel
[10:51] um and it's independently reviewed
[10:53] verified and adopted by the Army Corps
[10:56] of Engineers. So we the core are
[10:59] responsible for assuring that the
[11:01] content in the document and reviewed
[11:04] procedures are compliant with NEPA
[11:06] requirements.
[11:08] This document is comprehensive. So the
[11:11] main body includes the purpose and need
[11:13] for the proposed action, detailed
[11:16] analysis of five alternatives, a
[11:18] description of the affected environment
[11:20] and the environmental consequences of
[11:22] all five alternatives.
[11:25] And then there's appendices which
[11:26] include public agency comments derived
[11:29] from the initial scoping phase, the
[11:31] coastal engineering and hydrodnamic
[11:34] modeling studies. That's a good read.
[11:37] Um, and the comprehensive environmental
[11:39] and commulative impact analysis of all
[11:42] five alternatives.
[11:44] So under federal clean water act
[11:47] regulations, the core cannot issue a
[11:49] permit if there is a known less
[11:52] environmentally damaging practicable
[11:54] alternative. And in regulatory terms,
[11:57] this is known as leada, the least
[12:00] environmentally damaging practicable
[12:03] alternative.
[12:05] In the draft EIS, all action
[12:06] alternatives, including the town's
[12:08] preferred alternative, are regul
[12:11] rigorously
[12:13] evaluated against a no action
[12:15] alternative, which is the baseline.
[12:18] Among the action alternatives under
[12:20] review, two alternatives include a
[12:23] terminal groin, um, one with and one
[12:26] without inlet channel management.
[12:31] So the official p public comment period
[12:35] for the draft EIS closes Monday, October
[12:38] 19th, 2026.
[12:41] Following the close of the comment
[12:43] window, the core will review every
[12:45] substantive comment, conduct an
[12:46] additional required modeling or
[12:48] analysis, and then publish that final
[12:51] EIS.
[12:52] And as Tommy mentioned, they'll be
[12:54] available for an additional 30-day
[12:56] public review. And around that time, the
[12:59] town anticipates submitting a permit
[13:02] application for their preferred
[13:04] alternative,
[13:06] which we anticipate will be around March
[13:09] in 2027.
[13:11] So, if there are no unforeseen delays,
[13:13] the core anticipates completing our
[13:15] review and issuing a record of decision
[13:18] or rod in the summer of 2027. And the
[13:22] rod will will articulate the core's
[13:24] final decision, identify the selected
[13:27] alternative, and specify all mandatory
[13:30] environmental mitigative measures. And
[13:33] that that will conclude the EIS process.
[13:36] So, we value all your input. Uh, more
[13:39] specifically, we're looking for
[13:41] substantive comments that provide
[13:43] concrete factual information
[13:46] such as data on historic coastal
[13:48] conditions, observed natural
[13:51] occurrences,
[13:52] protected wildlife and habitat, cultural
[13:55] resources, or specific socioeconomic
[13:58] effects.
[14:00] Um,
[14:01] please note each participant need only
[14:04] submit one set of comments. Oral and
[14:06] written submissions receive equal weight
[14:09] in our decision-making record.
[14:12] And now I'd like to introduce Mr. Fran
[14:14] Wei, coastal engineer with ATM, who will
[14:17] provide an overview of the study area
[14:19] and summarize the five project
[14:22] alternatives.
[14:23] » Should I do it from here or
[14:24] » Wherever you feel more [clears throat]
[14:26] comfortable?
[14:54] I'm going to go through all five
[14:56] alternatives and that's pretty much
[14:57] Yeah. Um,
[15:03] is that enough now?
[15:10] » There it is.
[15:20] » Okay, ne next slide. Thanks, Ricky.
[15:24] Uh just a some a quick background. Uh
[15:29] the first beach nourishment inlet
[15:31] management project that the town did uh
[15:34] that environmental impact statement that
[15:36] was back in 2011 2010. They did get a
[15:41] 30-year permit to to dredge the channel,
[15:44] the new river in the channel and and you
[15:46] know place sand on the beach. Uh the
[15:50] nourishment and their phases. And I've
[15:52] got a image next to to just explain the
[15:54] phases. And then the borrow sources in
[15:58] within this document were the new river
[16:00] inlet, the outer bar channel and the
[16:02] offshore borrow site. And then the inlet
[16:04] rotation was this is the relocation of
[16:07] the outer bar channel. And the channel,
[16:10] you know, 3,500 feet long, 500 feet
[16:12] wide, 18 feet deep. And every four years
[16:16] they will repeat that. And that's the
[16:19] one thing. This is a reusable borrow
[16:20] area, so it makes it very valuable long
[16:24] term.
[16:28] Next slide, please.
[16:33] So, just really quickly, out of the EIS,
[16:36] they have the the phases. And so, you
[16:38] might hear phase one shoreline. Phase
[16:41] one shoreline is kind of where we're is
[16:43] right next to New River Inlet. That's
[16:45] like that's the the phase we're kind of
[16:47] concentrating on here. But there are
[16:49] five phases along the 11 miles of beach
[16:52] at North Topsel Beach. Uh in 2013, they
[16:56] did one of these projects where they
[17:00] uh dredge the inlet and put sand on the
[17:02] beach and it was up in the the the you
[17:04] know the project area on the north end.
[17:06] Uh a major uh the the in Yeah. Then then
[17:14] in 2013 they they started jumping around
[17:16] a little bit but we're going to stay on
[17:18] the inlet on the other side of the on
[17:20] the the central portion. And then in
[17:22] 2014 we had the you know sandbag
[17:25] revetments being uh placed
[17:28] and then 2015 there was that offshore
[17:31] bar area for phase five on the other
[17:33] side of the of North Topsel Beach. And
[17:36] you know there there were they did have
[17:38] a few rock problems back then.
[17:44] And 2017
[17:47] they had the the they modified the
[17:50] permit because that they they felt like
[17:52] that inlet channel was too close to the
[17:54] shoreline and they wanted to pivot it.
[17:57] And this is uh the consultants prior to
[17:59] me uh coastal protection engineering
[18:02] that uh then the the town switched up
[18:05] after about 2016 2017.
[18:09] So,
[18:10] uh, next slide, please. Here's just a
[18:13] project study area. We have, you know,
[18:15] North Topso Beach on the north end, New
[18:17] River Inlet, and then Enslow Beach on
[18:20] the other side where, you know, Camp
[18:21] Lune and and we've been working, you
[18:23] know, with coordinating with Camp Lun.
[18:28] Okay. Next, Ricky. Here are the
[18:30] alternatives uh that were carried
[18:33] forward for detailed analysis. We have
[18:36] the no action which is just a
[18:38] continuation of existing beach and
[18:40] inland manage management practices. We
[18:42] got alternative two abandon and retreat.
[18:46] No core authorized management activity.
[18:49] Alternative three beach nourishment
[18:52] only. Alternative four beach nourishment
[18:55] and uh terminal groin. No pivot channel.
[18:59] And then alternative five the applicants
[19:01] preferred is the beach nourishment
[19:03] terminal groin and inlet management. Uh
[19:07] next slide. So and then this is a tough
[19:10] thing and I just wanted to like
[19:12] highlight it. No action to most people
[19:15] means do nothing. The core no action
[19:18] means continuation of existing. It's it
[19:20] is a little confusing but so the no
[19:23] action alternative is just a
[19:25] continuation of what they're doing now.
[19:28] And that's the inlet management and
[19:30] beach nourishment by the town as
[19:32] currently authorized. There are some
[19:34] FEMA sponsored storm mitigation
[19:36] projects. Uh US Fish and Wildlife Cobra
[19:39] Zone can uh you know hinder some of
[19:43] that. the the core the Army Corps of
[19:46] Engineers is still and there's a project
[19:48] happening this winter where they dredge
[19:51] kind of the inter coastal waterway and
[19:52] the channels to Jacksonville and then
[19:54] place that material on the beach on the
[19:57] north end. It is averaging about 75,000
[20:00] cubic yards every two years and it
[20:02] really doesn't last long and that that
[20:05] but that is a core project and that's
[20:08] not a town project and they're they're
[20:10] going to continue doing that for pretty
[20:12] much all the alternatives and then you
[20:15] know right now no action m still
[20:17] maintaining existing uh sandbags and
[20:20] possibly you know placing new sandbags
[20:22] and I know some new sandbags have been
[20:24] placed and then you know periodic beach
[20:26] bulldozing following erosion events to
[20:29] repair dunes and BMS. Next, Ricky.
[20:33] Here's just some images from the no
[20:35] action.
[20:36] There's the beach fill. You know, we'll
[20:38] have a dune the and then this up here is
[20:41] kind of the beach burm and then we'll
[20:44] slope down into the water. Uh here's
[20:47] where the nourishment is and then here's
[20:49] where the the pivot channel is. And the
[20:51] original, it's hard to see, but in red
[20:55] that was the original channel. And so it
[20:57] it pivoted uh just just about 500 uh no
[21:01] 200 feet it pivoted and that is kind of
[21:04] the new channel where we're going to uh
[21:07] pull. And then here's just an image from
[21:09] the numerical bottling that pretty much
[21:12] shows you know it's it's a big it's a
[21:14] it's a big you know channel there. Uh
[21:17] and you can see kind of in the color
[21:19] coding the blue is dark and the yellow
[21:22] and reds are are are higher. So, yeah,
[21:25] the blue is deep. Uh, and then obviously
[21:28] we have the sandbag. Uh, it's about
[21:30] 3,600 feet of sandbags up there. Uh,
[21:33] they've been up there for, you know,
[21:35] over 10 years. Uh, they are doing a good
[21:39] job. They they made it from Matthew and
[21:41] some of the other store in Florence.
[21:43] They, uh, also held up pretty well. Uh,
[21:47] but obviously they're still ongoing
[21:50] maintenance all the time. Uh, okay. And
[21:53] then here's this image is just that
[21:55] quick with the Army Corps of Engineer
[21:57] project that they're doing this winter
[21:59] but and they're they're estimating the
[22:02] 100,000 cubic yards this winter. Okay,
[22:05] next slide, Ricky. And so this is
[22:07] alternative alternative two is the
[22:09] relocation and abandonment. Uh there's
[22:12] basically no in no inlet management or
[22:15] beach nourishment by the town there. The
[22:18] pivot channel will not be dredged.
[22:21] uh and then that you know maintenance of
[22:23] sandbags will still occur and you know
[22:25] obviously individual homeowners can do
[22:27] things to protect their property
[22:30] within KMA rules and obviously there's
[22:34] also abandonment of homes or relocation
[22:37] of homes and we can just next slide
[22:39] Ricky
[22:41] and so you know this is the north end
[22:44] the red line here
[22:47] that that's that's kind of the 30-year
[22:50] eroding erosion line, mean high water.
[22:53] Uh, and that kind of assumes that, you
[22:56] know, as soon as that sandbag reventment
[22:58] doesn't get placed, we're going to have
[23:00] the the higher mean high water shoreline
[23:03] erosion rates and it will just keep
[23:05] marching back farther and farther. And
[23:07] then there just some images of the
[23:09] sandbag structures up there and then but
[23:12] obviously the uh the Army Corps of
[23:13] Engineer inter coastal waterway dredging
[23:16] will still occur with this.
[23:19] Okay, next slide, Ricky.
[23:24] Okay, now we have alternative three,
[23:25] just beach nourishment only.
[23:29] No inlet management. Uh, and again that
[23:32] the core AIW in inter coastal waterway
[23:35] project still occurs. The available AR
[23:38] bar areas that for this plan is the
[23:41] offshore bar area, disposal area 143 and
[23:45] up sources which include the sand mines
[23:48] where the truck halls. Okay, next next
[23:50] slide.
[23:52] So again, here's just the the image of
[23:55] the beach and the disposal area 143 DA
[23:59] 143. You can see where North Topsel
[24:01] Beach is the north end and DA 143 is
[24:06] just, you know, pretty much up then
[24:08] that's Cedar Bush Creek up there. Cedar
[24:10] Bush Cut, sorry. And then the offshore
[24:13] barrier area, you know, as soon as you
[24:15] get onto the island, Highway, you know,
[24:17] 210, it's just kind of immediately south
[24:20] of that. It's it's, you know, about a
[24:21] mile offshore. It was compartmentalized
[24:25] uh by the previous consultant and uh it
[24:28] has not been used since that 2015
[24:31] nourishment.
[24:34] So this is EIS alternative 4. This is
[24:37] terminal groin and beach nourishment but
[24:40] there is no pivot channel in this and
[24:42] that will be the beach nourishment,
[24:44] terminal groin, no inlet management. Uh
[24:47] and then the available bar areas here
[24:49] are the same for alt three offshore
[24:52] disposal area 143 and upland sand mines.
[24:56] Okay, next slide Ricky. And here we have
[24:59] just a pretty much a sim very similar
[25:01] image with there's the pro here's the
[25:04] the this is the terminal groin here.
[25:07] This is the first one with the terminal
[25:08] groin. You can see it starts with a
[25:11] sheet pile stem up near the anchor and
[25:14] then out near over the water that will
[25:16] be you know large rock
[25:19] and then there's a profile of it with
[25:21] the the beach nourishment. The beach
[25:23] nourishment is going to be similar might
[25:25] it could be uh it's actually a little
[25:27] beefier because we know that terminal
[25:29] groin is there. Uh but this and then
[25:32] again there's no pivot channel here.
[25:35] Okay, next slide Ricky.
[25:38] And then this is alternative five. This
[25:40] is pretty the preferred alternative
[25:43] beach nourishment inlet management
[25:44] terminal groin. uh the term the so this
[25:48] includes the pivot you know the pivot
[25:50] channel for the bar area and as I
[25:53] mentioned before this is a reusable bar
[25:55] area where we'll fill and you know and
[25:58] basically the existing EIS has it's a
[26:01] pretty much agreed upon every four years
[26:05] this can be used again for for as a
[26:07] beach nourishment source
[26:10] okay Ricky
[26:12] next slide
[26:14] okay and this is just an image of that
[26:16] where you can see the uh the terminal
[26:18] groin's there. The beach nourishment
[26:20] because the terminal groin is there. The
[26:22] beach nourishment can be a little
[26:23] bigger. The dune can be a little bigger.
[26:26] Uh and then there you can see the the
[26:29] pivot just like alternative one with
[26:32] that pivot channel. You can see that and
[26:34] that was an image from the modeling and
[26:36] then just a few profiles of the terminal
[26:39] groin up top. And uh and I think the
[26:43] next slide Ricky I think is and then
[26:46] yeah that that was it. That's the the
[26:48] five alternatives that you know we're
[26:50] going to discuss and uh I'll just keep
[26:53] keep this everything moving forward.
[26:58] » All right. Thank you, Mr. Wei. All
[27:00] right. We've now reached the public
[27:02] testimony portion of this evening's
[27:03] hearing. As a reminder, please come
[27:05] forward to the center microphone
[27:07] promptly. When your name is called,
[27:09] state your name, your spelling, and any
[27:11] group affiliation for the court
[27:12] reporter. Your 3minut timer begins once
[27:16] you state your name. The timekeeper will
[27:18] display the yellow card of 20 seconds,
[27:20] and the visual timer will indicate uh
[27:23] when your time has expired. Uh we will
[27:26] begin first by calling our elected
[27:27] officials, followed immediately by
[27:29] registered members of the public in the
[27:31] order of which they signed in.
[27:34] All right, so up first we have uh Mr.
[27:36] Rick Grant, the North Topsel Beach
[27:38] mayor.
[27:42] » You can do the yellow card at one
[27:44] minute. I wasn't going to speak today
[27:46] and kind of deference to the people that
[27:48] showed up to speak in this thing and not
[27:49] take any time. Um, important step. Thank
[27:52] you for doing this. Thank you for
[27:54] hearing the hearing and I look forward
[27:55] to the comments that come in. Obviously,
[27:57] we support the beach and we have a lot
[27:58] of beach plans. So, thank you. [snorts]
[28:03] All right. Thank you, Mr. Grant.
[28:07] Kip Malcolm
[28:09] » In the crowd. I'd rather hear from them.
[28:11] Thank you.
[28:11] » All right. Fred Fontana.
[28:17] » Same.
[28:18] » He said no.
[28:19] » All right. No. Mark,
[28:23] » John Gunter.
[28:25] » All right.
[28:27] So, that brings us uh to the public
[28:29] comment portion to Miss Susan Meyer,
[28:32] who's first up.
[28:39] Hi, thank you uh Susan Meyer meer.
[28:43] » And I just wanted to say that I'm in
[28:46] favor of number five for maintaining the
[28:50] infrastructure
[28:52] for the roads, utilities, and the homes
[28:56] because if it takes the homes, it's
[28:58] going to take the road. and uh for the
[29:02] recreational reasons for the beach and
[29:05] for um turtle nesting
[29:08] and also um the reduction long term in
[29:12] all the renourishment that we're going
[29:14] to have to do if we don't do anything.
[29:18] And
[29:20] we already tried to straighten the inlet
[29:22] once, so I'm not sure how that's going
[29:25] to go. But thank you for your time.
[29:28] » Thank you.
[29:32] Carrie Allen.
[29:45] » Thank you. Good evening. My name is
[29:47] Carrie Allen and I'm with the North
[29:49] Carolina Coastal Federation. We care
[29:51] deeply about North Hopsville Beach and
[29:53] finding a long-term approach that gives
[29:54] this community the best chance to remain
[29:56] safe, accessible, and resilient. One
[29:59] thing that stood out in our preliminary
[30:01] review of the draft EIS is that
[30:03] nourishment alone appears to provide
[30:04] substantial protection. The draft EIS is
[30:07] a considerable document. We have not had
[30:09] the opportunity to fully evaluate all of
[30:11] the modeling and its underlying
[30:13] assumptions, but based on what we've
[30:14] reviewed so far, the four-year modeling
[30:16] indicates that nourishment alone
[30:18] provides substantial beef width beach
[30:20] width across the project area, while
[30:22] adding the terminal groin provides an
[30:24] incremental bit more. that incremental
[30:26] benefit must be considered alongside its
[30:28] cost. The draft EIS estimates that
[30:31] construction and maintenance of the
[30:32] terminal groin would cost cost
[30:34] approximately $18 million over 30 years.
[30:37] The nourishment and offshore borrow work
[30:39] associated with the groin adds another
[30:40] 67 million totaling roughly 85 million
[30:44] in direct project costs over 30 years.
[30:46] That's a significant long-term
[30:48] investment and our community deserves to
[30:50] understand not just what the groin is
[30:52] intended to accomplish, but what we are
[30:53] paying for and what we are getting in
[30:55] return. I also want to address a common
[30:58] misconception we've heard over the years
[31:00] that a terminal groin will somehow
[31:01] stabilize the inlet or solve navigation
[31:04] problems. These are two different
[31:05] issues. The draft EIS identifies
[31:08] navigation safety and channel showing as
[31:10] legitimate concerns, but the purpose of
[31:12] a terminal groin is erosion control, not
[31:15] navigation or safety. A terminal groin
[31:17] is not a jetty and is not designed to
[31:19] maintain a navigation channel. The plan
[31:22] already includes tools for managing the
[31:23] inlet and maintaining navigation,
[31:25] including channel management and
[31:27] dredging. So, it's important not to
[31:28] conflate the very real need to manage
[31:30] navigation with the separate question of
[31:32] how best to manage shoreline erosion.
[31:35] The question before the core is not
[31:37] whether North Topsel Beach has a serious
[31:38] erosion problem. It clearly does. The
[31:41] question is whether the incremental
[31:42] benefits of a permanent hardened
[31:44] structure justify its costs and effects
[31:47] on a dynamic inlet system when the draft
[31:49] EIS shows that nourishment alone can
[31:51] provide substantial protection and
[31:53] whether inlet management, adaptive
[31:55] approaches, and strategic decisions
[31:56] about vulnerable development can provide
[31:58] meaningful protection without
[32:00] permanently altering the inlet system.
[32:02] Thank you.
[32:05] Thank you, Carrie.
[32:08] Jake Derell.
[32:16] » Uh, good evening. Jake Derell speaking
[32:18] in support of alternative 5. Uh, my wife
[32:20] and I live here nearly halftime in
[32:22] [laughter] at Topsel Reef. I started a
[32:25] site called briefadvocate.com because I
[32:28] couldn't enjoy this beach and community
[32:30] as much as I do in one moment without
[32:31] worrying the next. The site helps people
[32:33] express why the north end is so
[32:35] important. In that process, a few things
[32:37] became clear to me that I think belong
[32:38] in the public interest discussion in the
[32:40] draft EIS.
[32:44] Uh first, um housing and lodging for
[32:46] active military, their families and
[32:48] veterans. We love giving families a
[32:50] place to connect when visiting loved
[32:51] ones at station uh stationed at Ljun. Uh
[32:54] my neighbors at the reef uh provide
[32:56] below market mid and long-term leases to
[32:58] active military and their families. A
[33:01] substantial portion of the reef is
[33:02] veteranowned or occupied. I believe if
[33:04] the core asked the HOAs would help
[33:06] gather more of this kind of data.
[33:09] Second, military connection or not, many
[33:12] wouldn't be able to afford the coast if
[33:14] places like the Reef or St. Regis didn't
[33:16] exist. Our unit, uh, like many, is south
[33:19] of 200 per night, much less in the
[33:21] offseason. Some reef units can sleep up
[33:23] to six or more. Elsewhere, that can cost
[33:25] over 400 per night. The draft EIS calls
[33:28] us a resort community. The reef is not a
[33:30] resort. We provide a basic bed and a
[33:33] tiny kitchen that affordably
[33:34] accommodates the human need to gaze out
[33:36] over the ocean. The core has to weigh
[33:39] the needs and welfare of the people.
[33:41] Coastal access is such an essential need
[33:43] that it was part of ancient Roman law
[33:45] that rolled into English common law and
[33:47] which North Carolina adopted. It's why
[33:49] we don't have private beaches here. In
[33:52] serving that need, most of us at the
[33:54] reef don't even cover expenses. The
[33:56] money goes back into the joist hangers,
[33:58] pilings, decks, and the sandbags, and
[34:00] then we do it all over again. If given
[34:02] the chance, we'll keep up being a
[34:03] steward of of this gateway to the ocean.
[34:06] Third, the the lower cost full-time
[34:09] housing at the North End, whether
[34:11] through rental or ownership, is critical
[34:13] to the local economy. County tax data
[34:15] shows that the reef and St. Reges carry
[34:17] more tax dollars per foot of beach than
[34:19] the single family blocks. The reef
[34:21] provides the most oceanfront homes per
[34:24] acre. That's teachers, service workers,
[34:26] and others here serving the area because
[34:28] of these more modest options. We need to
[34:31] keep making ownership possible. In my
[34:33] first attempt at a mortgage here, Navy
[34:35] Federal backed out last minute based on
[34:37] erosion concerns. Alternative 5 could
[34:39] help make financing homes more feasible.
[34:42] Finally, by making the coast accessible,
[34:44] we get people to care about the coastal
[34:46] wildlife and the environment. I honestly
[34:48] didn't care much about turtles before I
[34:50] started coming to the reef. Now I do. I
[34:53] I like alternative five because it gives
[34:55] turtlene a chance at the north end.
[34:57] Alternative five is lasting stewardship
[34:59] for the island and all its creatures.
[35:02] Thank you for the town for getting the
[35:03] discussion to this point and the court
[35:04] for listening.
[35:07] » Thanks Jake.
[35:10] Jenna Derell.
[35:18] » Hi my name is Jenna Derell. I also have
[35:22] a script. Thanks for your time tonight.
[35:25] I live with my husband Jacob um
[35:28] part-time at uh building 7 in Topsel
[35:31] Reef on the north end. Also commenting
[35:33] in support of alternative 5. On the day
[35:36] we closed in July 2022, I watched the
[35:39] ocean crash over the bottom stairs of
[35:41] our beach access and splash onto the
[35:43] first floor decks. Our complex was
[35:46] rebuilding the sandbag line and adding
[35:48] sand around our buildings, a project
[35:50] that cost us millions of dollars. In
[35:52] preparation for this meeting, I looked
[35:54] back on photos I've taken since we
[35:56] brought our unit. The new sandbag line
[35:59] looks so sturdy when it was first
[36:00] completed and protected us from
[36:02] Hurricane Ian and then Hurricane Nicole
[36:04] that fall, but unquestionably took a hit
[36:07] in doing so. In spring of 2023, the
[36:11] North End received more than 200,000
[36:13] cubic yards of sand in a single season.
[36:16] That summer, we could walk onto the
[36:17] beach at any time of day. We walked
[36:20] every morning picking up trash and
[36:21] looking for turtle tracks. And a couple
[36:23] times, we found them.
[36:26] That didn't last. By the spring of 2024,
[36:29] we were checking the tide charts again
[36:31] to see if we could reach the beach. By
[36:34] the fall, there was no beach at any
[36:35] tide. After a storm on election night in
[36:38] 2024, I went to the public access uh
[36:42] beach by Topsel Dunes and saw a whole
[36:44] swimming pool lying on the sand on the
[36:47] beach. A pool. It had washed half a mile
[36:50] from dolphin shores where pools,
[36:52] stairways, and beach accesses were
[36:55] destroyed. We lost part of our parking
[36:57] lot and gained another sandbag project.
[37:00] At that time, according to coastal
[37:03] engineer Fran Ray,
[37:05] our ongoing sandbag maintenance has been
[37:07] beneficial to us and our neighbors,
[37:09] allowing us to act as a headland. That's
[37:12] why a structure is needed. Nourishment
[37:14] alone, alternative three, is not enough.
[37:17] We've done it and I wash it wash away in
[37:19] about a year. Alternative five pairs
[37:23] nourishment with a terminal growing to
[37:24] hold the sand in place and with inlet
[37:27] management to address a channel that's
[37:28] driving erosion.
[37:30] I understand there are concerns about
[37:33] Enslow Beach and the inlet habitat. I'd
[37:36] ask the core to approve alternative 5
[37:39] with strong monitoring and clear
[37:40] triggers for corrective action if it
[37:43] impacts if impacts exceed what the DEIS
[37:47] predicts. We rent our unit at an
[37:49] affordable rate when we're not there.
[37:51] And our guest book is full of notes like
[37:54] we got to see the turtles or I can't
[37:56] believe I got to be at the beach for a
[37:58] week. and that's what's at stake. I want
[38:00] to close by mentioning the joy the north
[38:03] end brings to so many people. Please
[38:05] approve alternative five so that people
[38:07] can continue to enjoy the beach for
[38:08] years to come. Thank you. Thanks for
[38:11] your time and for doing this.
[38:13] [clears throat]
[38:14] » Thanks, Jenna. Terry Hardy.
[38:24] » Terry Hardy. I'm a full-time resident,
[38:27] North Topsel Beach, phase five, not the
[38:29] north end, but something has to be done.
[38:32] I'm in full support of phase 5. Uh, but
[38:35] I'm really here to read a letter from
[38:37] one of my neighbors. He could not be
[38:39] present.
[38:41] Uh, his name is Phil Pastino and he's
[38:43] the owner of the property located at 109
[38:46] South Bermuda Wind Drive, North
[38:48] Thompson.
[38:49] constructed his home in 2003. And
[38:52] although military service required he
[38:54] and his family to relocate out of state,
[38:56] he previously resided there full-time.
[38:59] And now that he's retired, they plan to
[39:01] move back full-time by the summer of
[39:04] 2028.
[39:06] He is an avid fisherman, recreational
[39:08] boater who regularly regularly uses New
[39:11] River Inlet. Over the years, he has
[39:14] witnessed firsthand both the benefits of
[39:16] channel dredging and realignment.
[39:19] As well as the continuing challenges
[39:21] associated with shoreline erosion, loss
[39:23] of beachfront access, and damage to
[39:25] private property to remain informed on
[39:28] these issues, he's attended many North
[39:30] Topsel Beach meetings whenever possible,
[39:33] but he has also followed uh closely
[39:36] discussions uh concerning the inland
[39:38] management, shoreline erosion, and
[39:39] mitigation factors. State leaders have
[39:42] finally enacted legislation and
[39:44] regulatory changes that allow for more
[39:47] permanent shoreline stabilization
[39:48] solutions, including approval authority
[39:52] for up to eight terminal groins. In his
[39:55] view, failing to pursue this opportunity
[39:57] would represent a mischallenge to
[39:59] implement a long-term solution to a
[40:01] problem that has affected the north end
[40:03] of North Thompson for decades. For this
[40:06] reason, he believes alternative five and
[40:08] at a minimum alternative four deserves
[40:11] serious consideration.
[40:13] Prior to submitting the com these
[40:16] comments, he thoroughly reviewed public
[40:18] available documents associated with the
[40:21] project through the Arma Army Corps of
[40:23] Engineers regulatory request system. In
[40:26] addition to the public notice, he uh
[40:29] reviewed 760 pages across the following
[40:33] documents. draft environmental impact
[40:36] statement. Uh the mass new river inlet
[40:39] master management plan north tops beach
[40:42] uh appendix A the public scoping
[40:44] comments the engineering and remodeling
[40:47] report the four-year model re-update and
[40:49] the effects of and the effects of the
[40:52] alternatives
[40:53] based on his review and his experience
[40:56] as a property owner and residents. He
[40:58] believes that he's well informed
[41:00] regarding the issues. He has a direct
[41:02] and substantial interest in mitigating
[41:05] the severe and chronic shoreline
[41:07] erosions that threatens residential
[41:09] structures, infrastructure, public res
[41:11] recreational act assets, and natural
[41:14] resources.
[41:15] As a resident and taxpayer, he strongly
[41:18] supports alternative five. Um the draft
[41:22] impact statement indicates that the
[41:24] total
[41:26] uh annualized cost of alternative one no
[41:29] action is approximately $ 8.4 million
[41:32] compared to approximately $1.38 million
[41:36] for alternative five.
[41:39] » Terry, thank you. Your time is expired.
[41:41] » Good enough. He thanks y'all.
[41:43] » Please please submit the the comments in
[41:45] writing. Uh you have the opportunity to
[41:46] do that. Thank you.
[41:49] Curtis Anden
[41:56] » Curtis Anders and DS resident in North
[41:59] Topsel Beach area. One thing that has
[42:02] been brought up, but I can guarantee you
[42:04] 90% of the people in this building right
[42:05] here will be able to tell you the
[42:06] history of North Topsel Beach. 34 houses
[42:10] were lost up there in front of the reef
[42:11] in the north po point that's no longer
[42:13] there. Used to be large dooms between
[42:16] them and the reef. Gone. walkovers. Two
[42:19] years ago, like the lady stated well
[42:21] ago, we had a full moon, an eclipse of
[42:24] the moon, a king tide, and a 4x3 tide
[42:27] hit the same night. And when it did, it
[42:30] took everything in dolphin shores all
[42:32] the way up to their pylons in the back
[42:34] of their house, swimming pools,
[42:36] walkovers, and everything. Mother Nature
[42:38] came and Mother Nature took. Okay. And
[42:41] now since then, we've had several full
[42:44] moons. St. Regencies got hit bad all the
[42:47] way up almost to their swimming pool.
[42:49] The Dolphin Shores got hit a hard again.
[42:51] Condo row as we call it. All lost their
[42:53] dunes. Thanks to that man right there,
[42:56] we got a dune reenourishment in place.
[42:59] Luckily, nothing came and hit us and we
[43:02] got them built. It's helping us. We put
[43:05] grass on it and help. It's shearing
[43:07] terribly bad right now as Fran can tell
[43:08] you right now because mother nature
[43:10] continues to come once a month full
[43:12] moons and takes. Okay. So, we're showed
[43:14] in the history of the northern point. If
[43:16] you'll go back and look, she's taken
[43:18] just like the Outer Banks, she's taken.
[43:22] Okay. Um, so I have seen it every day.
[43:25] People here see it every day. When we go
[43:26] to the beach, we see it every day. We've
[43:28] got to continue doing something. Whether
[43:31] it's going to be right, we in six years,
[43:32] we don't know. But five has got to be
[43:36] done. The two problems I do have is when
[43:39] that beach doom nur nourishment got
[43:42] done, we had people decide now we want
[43:45] to put our sandbags down. They dug the
[43:47] sand up that we paid for to dump on
[43:49] those dunes, put it in their sandbags
[43:52] and then dug the beach up and covered
[43:55] the the the bags up. It's wrong. We
[43:58] should had somebody totally supervising
[44:00] that project from st and saying no, you
[44:02] can't do this. you do it before was 18
[44:04] months. We knew before that you're going
[44:06] to do it right. Okay. The other part of
[44:08] it when we dump uh dumped the uh sand in
[44:12] from the pumping two years ago, a
[44:14] contractor there, I talked to him. I
[44:16] wanted to see his contract. His contract
[44:18] just stated just to level the piles of
[44:20] sand when it got out of the pipe. He
[44:23] built a football field four feet high in
[44:26] the middle between the reef and the
[44:28] point and left it. water washed around
[44:30] behind it under the houses and now you
[44:32] go up there like Fran said, you can't
[44:35] tell there was no no sand up there. So,
[44:37] that has to be supervised a lot better
[44:40] than what it was when we start
[44:42] renourishing the beach. But, I'm totally
[44:44] for number five. Let's give it all a
[44:47] shot. Let's get it because mother
[44:48] nature's going to take the north end if
[44:50] we don't do something. Thank you.
[44:53] [clears throat]
[44:53] » Thanks, Curtis.
[44:56] » Sam F.
[45:12] Good evening. Sam Ferrari, Fe R E R I.
[45:16] Uh, believe live on Seagull Lane,
[45:18] full-time resident. Um, my first comment
[45:21] has to do with the EIS report that says
[45:23] we're a resort community.
[45:25] I would say I would take some challenge
[45:28] to at least the north end of North
[45:29] Topsel. It is changing. There are a lot
[45:31] of full-time residents there. The
[45:33] numbers may be skewed by the couple of
[45:35] condos up there because they're pretty
[45:36] dense. But again, we have a lot of
[45:39] full-time residents that live here all
[45:40] year long and enjoy the beach, the
[45:43] ocean, the sound, and I think the safety
[45:46] that's required. I'm supportive of
[45:48] alternative five with a minimum of
[45:50] alternative four because uh I moved here
[45:53] from Florida, lived my whole life in
[45:55] Florida and saw beaches stop eroding
[45:58] when terminal groins were put in,
[46:00] especially on the West Coast Clearwater
[46:01] area. They were basically pumping sand
[46:04] and it was gone within two or three
[46:06] years once they put the groin in. Better
[46:08] fishing, um better lifestyle and less
[46:12] maintenance of that groin. I I don't
[46:14] know anything about the realignment of
[46:16] the the dredging of the inlet. I know
[46:19] the inlet is very close to the north
[46:21] topsel side versus the camp lune side. I
[46:25] would question that for safety. But
[46:27] again, I'm not an engineer. I I can't
[46:29] say that. But I think the sooner we can
[46:31] get the terminal growing, I think the
[46:33] better we'll be. So, keep my comments
[46:34] short. But thank you very much.
[46:38] » Thank you, Sam.
[46:41] Steve Harold Jr.
[46:53] Steve Harrell, H A R E L L. I am a
[46:56] full-time resident here, North Topsel,
[46:58] retired. I'm in one of the condos as a
[47:00] full-time resident. Uh, the one thing I
[47:02] would ask the board, I'm going to be
[47:03] really quick, is as we do an EPA
[47:04] assessment, I would ask them to consider
[47:07] what the damage to the environment will
[47:09] be if the homes and the condos end up in
[47:11] the ocean. So, when you take a look at
[47:14] the forever chemicals and the things
[47:15] like that that if we don't do this,
[47:18] where's your bigger damage? And that
[47:20] would be my one comment is look at what
[47:21] the environment once this happens
[47:23] because FEMA is not going to relocate.
[47:25] Their strategy at the moment is let it
[47:27] fall then we'll you pay for you but they
[47:30] won't move it they won't do anything so
[47:31] it always ends up in the ocean there
[47:33] other parts of North Carolina you can
[47:35] look at where this is occurring right
[47:36] now that's it thank you
[47:40] » Thanks Steve
[47:42] » Charles Walker
[47:53] Charles Walker 15 Seagull Lane, North
[47:56] Topsel Beach. My wife Kathy and I have
[47:59] been longtime visitors to Topsel Island
[48:03] our entire life. And you can look at
[48:05] these gray hair and that's been a while.
[48:07] Uh we've also been permanent residents
[48:10] since 2022.
[48:12] We are in favor of the all of the above
[48:14] approach
[48:16] um and the concept in option five. Any
[48:19] and all options should be considered in
[48:22] the securing and maintaining of the
[48:24] dunes and beaches on the entirety of
[48:26] Topsel Island. Hopefully within the next
[48:28] year and a year and a half to two years,
[48:30] we'll see the completed phases of one
[48:33] through three finished up to where the
[48:36] entire island will be protected by
[48:39] engineered beaches
[48:42] so that all of Topsel Beach will have
[48:44] engineered beaches. And if I'd just kept
[48:46] reading, we'd known that by having
[48:48] engineered beaches, my understanding,
[48:50] and Chris, you can back me up on this if
[48:52] I'm wrong, um any lost sand can and will
[48:55] be replaced. All of these projects
[48:58] working together should help protect our
[49:00] coastal communities in the distant
[49:02] future. And perhaps as a suggestion,
[49:05] when uh this year's Jacksonville Channel
[49:08] dredge project is done, perhaps the
[49:11] contractor can be allowed or at least
[49:14] instructed to start his pumping
[49:16] operations closer to the reef so that
[49:19] more more material might be available
[49:21] down towards the St. Regis and Topppsel
[49:23] Dunes area rather than just stopping at
[49:26] the reef which has happened the last
[49:28] couple of times. Just some things to
[49:30] consider. Thank you for your time.
[49:33] Thank you, Charles.
[49:36] Chris Gibson.
[49:43] » Good evening. My name is Chris Gibson.
[49:45] CH R I S Gibbs Oo N. Uh I'm a resident
[49:48] of Hamstead. Uh I'm also a coastal
[49:50] engineer that's worked with these towns
[49:52] up and down the island for several
[49:53] years. Many of you that may know my work
[49:55] know that I am one that is a proponent
[49:57] of soft solutions usually uh with my
[49:59] inlet management projects at Topsel
[50:01] Beach and at Mason's Inlet. However,
[50:03] North Topsel Beach is one of those
[50:04] places where a hardened structure is
[50:06] probably much more applicable because of
[50:08] the way the inlet behaves. Um we're
[50:11] looking at trying to avoid the sediment
[50:14] reversal that happens right around the
[50:15] inlet. uh you have the area uh currently
[50:18] the reefs act as a headland as someone
[50:20] mentioned before almost like a terminal
[50:22] groin in itself and we're dealing with
[50:24] properties that are beyond the terminus
[50:26] of an existing terminal groin. Um so
[50:29] when you look at that the long the
[50:31] impacts longshore uh further down the
[50:34] beach that may be of concern to people
[50:37] in southern North Topsel Beach, Surf
[50:38] City or Topsel, it just really isn't
[50:40] there. It's all in the sediment reversal
[50:42] inside the Esho uh dimensions. Um I am a
[50:46] proponent of doing all of the above
[50:48] scenario. I think that's a good way to
[50:50] do it. Inlet management, you have to
[50:52] look at all of these things
[50:53] holistically. You can't look at the
[50:54] beach separate from the inlet. You can't
[50:56] look at the inlet separate from the
[50:57] beach. There's navigation stuff that
[50:59] goes on that the core of engineers is
[51:00] doing. There are proposed uh changes at
[51:04] camp lune that may be bringing bigger
[51:06] vessels in here which is going to
[51:08] implement inlet management regardless of
[51:10] whether there's a terminal groin here or
[51:11] not. Uh that may in itself endanger the
[51:15] properties that are at the very north
[51:16] end. Um, one of the things that, um, I
[51:19] see in a terminal groin that is an
[51:20] advantage that many probably have not
[51:22] thought about is that the terminal groin
[51:24] extends all the way west of New River
[51:26] inlet Road. And while there may be some
[51:30] uh, loss of habitat or or u movement of
[51:33] habitat over onto the onslow beach side,
[51:36] one of the things it's going to do is
[51:37] dissuade swimming at at New River inlet.
[51:40] And that's something that we really need
[51:41] to see happen because we've had
[51:42] significant loss of life over the years
[51:45] from people swimming in that inlet. this
[51:47] structure will dissuade that and will
[51:49] probably save lives. So, um, thank you
[51:51] for your time.
[51:54] » Thank you, Chris.
[51:58] » William Snider.
[52:08] » Uh, good evening. My name is William
[52:10] Snyder. Snyder Der. Uh I'm the chairman
[52:14] of the Topsel Island Shoreline
[52:15] Protection Commission. I'm here on
[52:18] behalf of the commission in North
[52:19] Topsale Beach, one of three island towns
[52:22] that make up Topsile Island located in
[52:24] Enslow and Pender counties. The mission
[52:27] of the commission is to actively support
[52:30] and promote plans and programs to
[52:32] increase the island's resiliency and to
[52:35] support and promote development and
[52:38] execution of the North Carolina beach
[52:40] and inlet management plan.
[52:43] One of our primary purposes is to
[52:45] promote the routine maintenance of area
[52:47] navigation channels and the beneficial
[52:50] placement of the appropriate
[52:52] corresponding dredge spoils onto our
[52:54] beaches
[52:57] as examples of island resiliency
[52:59] projects that we support. Surf City just
[53:01] recently signed a project partnership
[53:04] agreement with the US Army Corps of
[53:06] Engineers that is leading up to a
[53:08] 50-year coastal storm
[53:11] risk management program. Topsil Beach
[53:14] has had an engine engineered beach since
[53:17] 2011.
[53:19] She has benefited from periodic beach
[53:21] nourishment and in maintenance projects.
[53:24] North Topsel Beach has conducted
[53:27] numerous beach and inlet management
[53:29] projects, but it is now clearly in need
[53:32] of inlet stabilization at its north end.
[53:36] As is pointed out in the draft EIS, the
[53:39] erosion rate at the north end of Topsel
[53:41] Island in the inlet hazard area has been
[53:43] as much as 240 ft per year. What were
[53:46] second row homes are now protected by a
[53:49] sandbag revetment.
[53:51] Only this partially destroyed re
[53:53] revetment is preventing catastrophic
[53:56] erosion under those 22 structures in 44
[54:00] residences.
[54:01] The commission supports the town's
[54:04] preferred alternative as described in
[54:06] the EIS. The construction of a terminal
[54:09] groin combined with beach nourishment
[54:12] and inlet management is to us the best
[54:14] long-term management option of those
[54:17] presented. Here's one of the one of the
[54:20] positive effects that we see. Property
[54:24] protection. The value of the property
[54:26] protected and the tax revenue obligated
[54:29] from 48 oceanfront properties and 779
[54:33] individually owned housing units that
[54:36] are at risk is in excess of $386 million
[54:42] for a 30-year planning cycle. It is
[54:44] estimated that in addition to initial
[54:46] construction costs, nourishment events
[54:48] every four years would cost
[54:50] approximately 58
[54:52] million dollars over the 30-year life.
[54:55] In conclusion, in 2011, the North
[54:58] Carolina General Assembly passed a law
[54:59] that allowed terminal groins at certain
[55:01] inlets, including Oregon Inlet, Ridg's
[55:03] Inlet, Cho inlet, and New River Inlet.
[55:06] Considering the increasing threats posed
[55:09] by climate change and sea level rise,
[55:11] now is the time to implement plans to
[55:12] better protect the north end of Topsel
[55:14] Beach. Tops Island. Thank you.
[55:16] » Thank you, William.
[55:19] » Uh Mike Benson.
[55:38] I'm Mike Benson, a resident at 220
[55:41] Oyster Lane, North Hubs Beach. I'm a
[55:43] past alderman here in the town and a
[55:45] current representative of Hopsville
[55:46] Island Fire and Protection Commission.
[55:49] My comments are in addition to those
[55:51] made on behalf of the commission, which
[55:53] of course I support. The town's
[55:56] preferred alternative described in the
[55:58] draft EIS to construct a terminal groin
[56:01] combined with beach nourishment and
[56:03] inlet management is to me the best
[56:06] long-term management option of those
[56:08] presented. Having lived behind the
[56:11] town's reetment for the past 11 years, I
[56:13] have seen each of these nourishment
[56:15] events unfold.
[56:18] We were so impressed with the initial
[56:19] results of the two uh 2012 2013 ebtide
[56:25] channel dredge project that put over
[56:28] 500,000 cubic yards of sand along our
[56:31] beach. We purchased our retirement home
[56:33] in 2014.
[56:38] As pointed out, however,
[56:40] the sand barely lasted a year, mainly
[56:42] due to dredging the six- foot deep
[56:45] authorized channel to a depth of 18 ft.
[56:49] This left an unnatural uh channel trench
[56:53] that quickly refilled from the strong
[56:56] downdrift uh current along the inlet
[56:58] hazard area shoreline. Thus in 200
[57:02] 20,000 2015
[57:06] the town was in a position to construct
[57:08] other revetment to protect the resulting
[57:10] threatened homes. The Army Corps's by
[57:13] annual dredging of the ICW at Cedar Bush
[57:16] cut and channelled to Jacksonville in
[57:18] the winter has deposed about 100,000
[57:21] cubic yards of beach quality sand placed
[57:24] in front of the town's revetment. This
[57:27] sand typically lasts uh through the
[57:30] summer but is eventually eroded away.
[57:32] There is no doubt in my mind that only a
[57:34] groin with inlet management beach
[57:36] nourishment will keep sand placed in the
[57:39] project area. One glaring emission in
[57:42] the draft EIS is a statement uh that the
[57:46] effects of sea level rise were
[57:47] considered in the 30-year predictions.
[57:50] Sea level rise experts
[57:59] predict that Topsel Island and the East
[58:02] Coast will experience a sea level rise
[58:04] of 1 foot by 2050.
[58:07] There is no clear statement in the draft
[58:09] EIS that sea level rise was considered
[58:11] as part of the 30-year predictions. In
[58:14] conclusion, all the evidence points to
[58:17] the need for a terminal groin with inlet
[58:20] management and beach nourishment. If we
[58:22] are protective property at the north end
[58:24] of North Topsel Beach shoreline, one
[58:28] only has to look to the successful Ocean
[58:31] Isle Beach terminal growing project
[58:33] completed in 2022 to see the benefits
[58:37] that terminal growing will bring to
[58:39] North Topsel Beach. Thank you.
[58:42] Thank you, Mike.
[58:45] » Jeffrey Wells.
[58:55] Good evening. I'm going to apologize
[58:56] right off the bat. I am not an ortor. I
[58:59] am a author and a writer and I do real
[59:01] estate, but I've lived on this island
[59:03] for nearly a decade. I own multiple
[59:05] properties in North Topsel Beach. Um,
[59:08] and I've written extensively on
[59:11] specifically
[59:13] dozens of articles on the shoreline
[59:14] erosion issue. Uh, the impact, the
[59:17] environmental impacts, um, the impacts
[59:19] that it has on our wildlife, sea
[59:21] turtles, nesting, nesting habitats, and
[59:24] I've also done it and written articles
[59:25] and published articles on the other
[59:27] side, the economic impact that it has on
[59:29] homeowners, the economy, tourism. We've
[59:32] all seen this island change over the
[59:34] last few years, especially since co.
[59:37] We've had a huge boom, a lot of new
[59:39] construction, people buying, moving
[59:41] here, people that didn't even know this
[59:43] island existed. Um, with that comes
[59:47] problems and we have to have financial
[59:50] resources and
[59:53] resources available to fix the problems
[59:54] that will keep people coming back.
[59:56] People will not come here if we have
[59:58] beaches that are 10, 15 feet wide. if
[1:00:02] there's areas where there's no beaches
[1:00:04] and they're getting literally risked of
[1:00:06] getting swept away in the water walking
[1:00:07] down the beach on the north end of the
[1:00:09] aisle just because they're walking along
[1:00:12] the beach and it's close to high tide.
[1:00:15] It's dangerous. It's an actual serious
[1:00:18] risk to people that come and visit this
[1:00:20] island that want to enjoy this island.
[1:00:22] Um, I've published too much on it. I'm
[1:00:25] not going to go into detail. I think
[1:00:26] there's a lot more people here than I
[1:00:27] expected to come and speak tonight. Um,
[1:00:29] I'm gonna say this.
[1:00:32] We've tried everything else. We've we've
[1:00:34] spent taxpayer dollars over and over
[1:00:35] again. We've watched them, as people
[1:00:37] have said before, wash away. We have a
[1:00:39] noraster potentially coming in right
[1:00:41] now, you know, coming in. That's again,
[1:00:43] we're going to stand by and watch and
[1:00:45] see the same thing happen. Erosion,
[1:00:48] you know, to the extreme detriment of
[1:00:50] the dunes, the island, the properties.
[1:00:53] Um, I think all the homeowners are just
[1:00:55] very frustrated and tired. And I think
[1:00:57] obviously option four, I've advocated
[1:00:59] for the terminal groin. I've worked for
[1:01:01] six years to, you know, repeal the
[1:01:03] legislative ban on hard and structures
[1:01:05] with Senator Zara and I've pushed that
[1:01:06] really heavily this year, lobbying. Um,
[1:01:10] I think something needs to be done and I
[1:01:11] hope that you do what's in the best
[1:01:13] interest of the island, the environment,
[1:01:15] and the homeowners and the community as
[1:01:16] a whole. I appreciate you getting you
[1:01:19] guys taking the time to listen to
[1:01:21] everyone, hear us, hear our thoughts,
[1:01:23] and you know, consider all of our
[1:01:26] opinions, our feelings, and all the
[1:01:27] options that are put forth. But I think
[1:01:30] the terminal groin is at very much at
[1:01:32] minimum a necessity at this point. So,
[1:01:34] thank you.
[1:01:37] » Thank you, Jeffrey.
[1:01:38] Julie Youngman.
[1:01:49] » Good evening. Um I'm Julie Youngman, Yo
[1:01:52] U NG M-N with um SEC. Um I'm still
[1:01:56] digesting the the DEIS, but um really
[1:01:59] appreciate the opportunity to come and
[1:02:01] speak tonight about one or more
[1:02:02] concerns. Um, at SCLC, we really care
[1:02:05] deeply about the long-term vitality of
[1:02:07] the coastal communities of the state.
[1:02:09] And I personally feel lucky to um have a
[1:02:12] friend with a one of the duplexes at the
[1:02:14] north end of the island north of the
[1:02:16] tiki bar. And so I got to stay there
[1:02:18] when the high tide was under the house
[1:02:20] and I got to stay there during a beach
[1:02:21] nourishment project and then I got to
[1:02:23] stay there after a beach nourishment
[1:02:25] project. So I I I feel deeply the the
[1:02:27] need to do something at the north end of
[1:02:29] the island. Um I'm not here to speak for
[1:02:32] or against any particular alternative
[1:02:34] but to identify issues that um I would
[1:02:37] encourage the core to study in in real
[1:02:40] depth um in light of you know somebody
[1:02:42] mentioned the ocean aisle beach uh
[1:02:44] terminal groin which is working out
[1:02:46] great for some people but there are
[1:02:47] people on the downdrift side that would
[1:02:48] say it's not the greatest success. So um
[1:02:51] I think there are things that need to be
[1:02:53] studied in in depth to make sure that um
[1:02:56] any solution that's selected works out
[1:02:57] for everybody. Um the modeling in
[1:03:00] appendix C shows that the benefits um of
[1:03:03] a terminal groin come with significant
[1:03:05] downsides. Um I'm just taking this from
[1:03:07] the appendix. I think it's um big
[1:03:10] changes to inlet channels, sediment
[1:03:12] transport patterns, shoreline
[1:03:14] orientation, shos, habitat for protected
[1:03:17] species and other wildlife. Um so the
[1:03:20] core needs to I would really encourage
[1:03:21] you to really study those in depth and
[1:03:23] not give any of them short shrift. Um, I
[1:03:26] would also say that a terminal groin may
[1:03:29] or may not be cost-effective if you
[1:03:31] think about um all the costs that one of
[1:03:33] the other commenters listed out in
[1:03:36] addition to all those uh the costs the
[1:03:38] kind of non-monetary costs of all those
[1:03:41] other um downsides identified in the
[1:03:43] DEIS. Um and again like just building a
[1:03:48] groin won't necessarily what will not
[1:03:50] eliminate the need for repetitive and
[1:03:52] expensive beach nourishment and inlet
[1:03:54] dredging projects. Um I would encourage
[1:03:56] the core to take into account the
[1:03:58] findings of the North Carolina Coastal
[1:04:00] Resources Commission. They just uh the
[1:04:02] the it's a collection of really smart um
[1:04:05] scientists uh from across the state and
[1:04:07] they issued this report called the
[1:04:08] effects of hard structures on sandy open
[1:04:11] co open ocean coastlines. Um the report
[1:04:15] says all structural approaches in placed
[1:04:17] with the intention of mitigating erosion
[1:04:19] by trapping the sand in place like
[1:04:21] terminal groins lead to the same
[1:04:23] inevitable impact an increase in
[1:04:25] shoreline erosion downdrift. So just
[1:04:28] keep remembering the people downdrift.
[1:04:30] The the c um the report concludes with
[1:04:33] um this statement. The science panel
[1:04:35] recommends that North Carolina maintain
[1:04:36] a cautious approach to any expansion of
[1:04:39] the use of hardened structures. Um,
[1:04:41] let's see. Like I mentioned before,
[1:04:43] Oceanell Beach, Buxton Beach is another
[1:04:46] um place where we can see the the
[1:04:50] downdrift effects of a a jetty. Um, I
[1:04:53] would just say you need to evaluate the
[1:04:54] cost. Uh, whether the additional width
[1:04:57] that a terminal groin will provide is um
[1:05:00] sufficient uh to justify the cost and
[1:05:03] just make sure you're studying hard all
[1:05:05] the effects of of everything. Thank you.
[1:05:06] » Thank you, Julie. Sorry.
[1:05:10] All right. All individuals uh who
[1:05:12] registered to speak have now been heard.
[1:05:15] Is there anyone present uh who
[1:05:16] registered to speak whose name was not
[1:05:19] called?
[1:05:21] Want to make sure we didn't miss
[1:05:22] anybody. All right. Seeing none, I want
[1:05:25] to reiterate that every oral statement
[1:05:26] made tonight has been recorded by our
[1:05:28] court reporter and will be included
[1:05:30] verbatim in the official administrative
[1:05:32] record. For those who wish to submit
[1:05:34] written comments or review the complete
[1:05:37] draft environmental impact statement,
[1:05:39] please refer to the screen uh and the
[1:05:41] handouts at the comment table outside.
[1:05:44] Emily Hughes's contact information. Um
[1:05:47] and the mailing address are provided
[1:05:49] there. As a final reminder, all comments
[1:05:51] on the draft EIS must be received or
[1:05:54] postmarked no later than Monday, October
[1:05:56] 19th, 2026.
[1:05:59] Thank you all once again for your
[1:06:01] attendance, your patience, your
[1:06:02] contributions to this regulatory
[1:06:04] process. Safe travels home this evening.