NC lawmakers want to allow some coastal jetties

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – The North Carolina Senate is trying again to change 25 years of coastal rules and allow oceanside communities to build jetties.

The state Senate voted 37-11 on Wednesday to change a bill extending the deadline for marinas to install equipment allowing boats to empty their on-board sewage. The provision would give the Coastal Resources Commission authority to allow construction of what’s called a terminal groin.

The House hasn’t acted on a bill allowing the jetties installed in inlets since it passed the Senate last year.

A terminal groin traps sand, keeping the shoreline intact and holding it out of the inlet. Environmentalists argue they steal the sand from coastline areas where it would collect and encourage risky waterfront construction.

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