Emergency CAMA General Permit for Hurricane Florence, Tropical Storm Michael extended for one year

Coastal property owners who need to replace docks, piers, bulkheads or similar structures damaged by Hurricane Florence or Tropical Storm Michael have an additional year to perform the work under an emergency general permit offered by the N.C. Division of Coastal Management. 

Governor Roy Cooper signed legislation Thursday that extends the deadline for work authorized by the emergency general to Oct. 12, 2020. The provision is part of the 2019 Disaster Recovery Act. 

“There is a backlog of work for contractors in the coastal counties that has made it difficult for many residents and businesses to schedule repairs before the original Sept. 20, 2019 deadline,” said Braxton Davis, director the Division of Coastal Management.  

The extended deadline applies only to emergency general permits issued prior to Oct. 12, 2019 and all work authorized by the emergency general permits must be completed by October 12, 2020. 

This emergency general permit may be used only for damages from Hurricane Florence and Tropical Storm Michael, which hit the North Carolina coast in 2018. Damages due to Hurricane Dorian fall under a separate emergency general permit. 

The emergency permit expedites the approval process for rebuilding docks, piers, bulkheads and similar water dependent structures that meet state standards. The emergency permit may also be used for dune reconstruction and maintenance dredging of existing channels. 

The normal $200 permit fee is waived for the emergency permit, and, in many cases, no site visit or adjacent property owner notification is required. 

It can be used in all 20 coastal counties: Beaufort, Bertie, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Gates, Hertford, Hyde, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Tyrell, and Washington. The permit does not eliminate the need to obtain any other required state, local or federal authorization.

The emergency permit cannot be used for rebuilding houses and does not apply to the replacement of oceanfront structures. 

Those who want to apply for the emergency general permit can help staff with the N.C. Division of Coastal Management review your request as quickly as possible by following these guidelines: 

1. First, call the Division of Coastal Management office that covers your county.  

2. Provide your name, name of any authorized agent working on your behalf, your address, phone number and the project location. Include any detailed information that will be helpful, such as the state road number, the name of the water body and the name of the subdivision or development.
3. You will be required to pick up your permit at a division office. If requested, bring with you a description of the extent of the repair, replacement, dune reconstruction or maintenance dredging you need to do, including dimensions and shoreline length. Pre- and post-storm pictures of the project are helpful.
4. For projects involving dredging, please provide confirmation that the adjacent riparian property owners have been notified by certified mail of the proposed work. The notice should instruct neighbors to provide any comments about the proposed work to the Division of Coastal Management within 10 days of receiving the notice, and that a lack of response by them will be interpreted as no objection. Or, you can provide a signed statement of no objection from both adjacent riparian property owners. Forms are available here: https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/coastal-management/coastal-management-permits/adjacent-riparian-property.

5. If you have had any other CAMA permit issued for your property, please inform the division staff. Those permits may contain information that will help staff with the Division of Coastal Management review your repair or replacement request.