More money going to Oak Island beach nourishment

BRUNSWICK COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Oak Island will get help from Brunswick County for beach erosion abatement and nourishment.

Tuesday night, Brunswick County commissioners approved a request for $166,666 each year for three years. According to the action agenda item for the request, the state already gave the town $1.7 million for the project that’s set to start in February.

Brunswick County commissioner Scott Phillips said while he supports beach nourishment right now, in the future, he said they need to find another way to save our beaches.

“To a certain degree, it is throwing money into the ocean because that’s what’s going to happen with it. That’s why I am for finding a source of how to keep it there. Once we put it there, how do we keep it there,” Phillips said.

“We can come up with a way that we can secure our beaches, whether it be a hardened structure or some other means, but we have to protect our beaches.”

Commissioners said they will amend the budget, so Oak Island can have the money starting this fiscal year. Because nourishment fund requests keep coming in, commissioners also talked about coming up with criteria every town would have to follow when asking for nourishment funds.