Discussion on NC jetties heads next to scientists

RALEIGH, N.C. — A panel of engineers and geologists is taking the next step toward a recommendation on whether North Carolina should end a ban on jetties designed to block shifting sand at the coast.

The state’s Science Panel on Coastal Hazards meets Monday in Raleigh to review a contractor’s draft report on the use of what some call terminal groins.

The panel will advise the Coastal Resources Commission, which must send its recommendations to the General Assembly by April 1. The Legislature would have to pass a law to overturn this 1985 jetty ban.

The structures run perpendicular to the shore and close to a tidal inlet to catch sand and keep the shoreline intact. Environmental groups don’t like the groins and say they’ll encourage risky waterfront building.

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