Terminal groins considered for slowing beach erosion

Some local leaders traveled to Raleigh today to push for a way they say will help slow beach erosion. As of now terminal groins are prohibited in North Carolina. Come April that may all change.

A groin is a hardened structure similar to a jetty typically built of rocks that extends out from the coastline with the intention of controlling erosion by trapping sand. Today the state science panel discussed the possibility of constructing terminal groins along the coast. Some local leaders from our beach towns made the trip to join the discussion.

“I’ve been involved in this from the beginning, and I will continue to be involved in it,” Caswell Beach Mayor Harry Simmons said. “My town supports the idea of this being a tool in the toolbox, as do most of the beach towns on the coast of North Carolina. This is not a situation where one or two communities are trying to make something happen. There’s broad support for the idea of allowing a terminal groin to be in the toolbox.”

State scientists are concerned that building structures along the coast will have unknown ripple effects on the shoreline. The Coastal Resources Commission will make a recommendation to policymakers April 1.