The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Division of Coastal Management (DCM) and the National Park Service’s Cape Hatteras National Seashore (NPS CHNS) released the report, Managing Threatened Oceanfront Structures: Ideas from an Interagency Work Group in August 2024. This report is the result of a year-long collaboration between local governments and state and federal agencies via virtual meetings and public workshops. DEQ will use the report to guide next steps, as the state works to address threatened oceanfront structures.
The work group met regularly during 2023 to identify short-term and long-term ideas, and to produce this final report outlining key discussion conclusions that may improve management of threatened oceanfront structures through the use of new financial assistance measures, authorities, and insurance-related programs.
In August 2022, DEQ and CHNS co-hosted a forum for discussion of issues related to structures imminently at risk from oceanfront erosion in North Carolina. Following that initial meeting, the NC DEQ and the NPS agreed to continue a partnership effort to identify potential solutions through the establishment of an Interagency Work Group on Threatened Oceanfront Structures.
Highlights of the report include:
- Financial Assistance Opportunities
- Role of Public and Private Insurance
- Legal and Regulatory Authorities
The workgroup concluded that there was value in continuing collaboration to address this issue, which will inevitably continue and worsen considering sea level rise forecasts.
Managing Threatened Oceanfront Structures: Ideas from an Interagency Work Group
Send comments about the report to DCMcomments@deq.nc.gov. Please list “Threatened Oceanfront Structures Report” in the subject line.
Additional Information and Resources
Threatened Oceanfront Structures Interagency Work Group Overview
National Park Services Threatened Oceanfront Structures Information