Oregon Inlet Closing?

[thoffman]

http://hamptonroads.com/2011/03/coas...n-oregon-inlet
Doesn't sound good, hopefully it will get resolved.

Coast Guard considers shutting down Oregon Inlet

The buildup of sand around the Bonner Bridge has increased exponentially, elevating the navigational risks to dangerous levels, according to Capt. Anthony Popiel. (Virginian-Pilot file photo)
View full-size photo | Buy Pilot photos
Share161
the problem
The buildup of sand around the Bonner Bridge has increased exponentially, making navigation of the Oregon Inlet dangerous for trawlers and other vessels. The Army Corps of Engineers dredges it frequently, trying to keep the channel clear.


funding issue
President Barack Obama’s proposed budget sets aside $1 million for Oregon Inlet dredging next year, a reduction from recent funding levels and far from the $10 million to $20 million that studies have shown is needed.


economic impact
An extended closure of Oregon Inlet could seriously affect the Outer Banks’ fishing and boating industries, which were estimated in a 2006 Dare County report to annually produce more than $682 million and support 9,851 jobs.
By Erin James
The Virginian-Pilot
© March 12, 2011
OREGON INLET

A Coast Guard captain said Friday that he is prepared to close Oregon Inlet to recreational and commercial boat traffic within weeks if sand continues to accumulate in the dynamic waterway faster than dredging can remove it.

The buildup of sand - shoaling - around the Bonner Bridge has increased exponentially, elevating the navigational risks to dangerous levels. Capt. Anthony Popiel said safety is his main concern in deciding whether to close the inlet or implement restrictions.

"It seems like it could be as soon as the next couple of weeks," he said.

An extended closure of Oregon Inlet could seriously affect the Outer Banks' fishing and boating industries, estimated in a 2006 Dare County report to annually produce more than $682 million and support 9,851 jobs. The inlet is the only route to the Atlantic Ocean between Hampton Roads and Hatteras Inlet.

"It would be devastating," Dewey Hemilright, a commercial fishermen out of Wanchese.

Dare County's civilian employment averages about 23,000 during the peak summer months.

Water depths near the bridge are approaching 9 feet in spots that would typically reach 20 or 30 feet.

Trawlers - large, commercial fishing boats - are barely able to pass beneath the Bonner Bridge. Hemilright, who does not operate a trawler, said he's witnessed the vessels waiting hours for high tide to enable them to navigate the channel.

In some areas, "it's not a function of even shallow water," Popiel said. "It's actual beach."

North Carolina legislators and Dare County officials are scrambling for answers.

President Barack Obama's proposed budget sets aside $1 million for Oregon Inlet dredging next year, a reduction from recent funding levels of $4 million to $6 million and further yet from the $10 million to $20 million that studies have shown is needed.

The Army Corps of Engineers dredges in Oregon Inlet almost daily to keep the channel navigable. Without proper funding, there's only so much it can do, corps spokeswoman Penny Schmitt said.

"This is not looking good," she said Friday about the budget outlook.

Dare County Manager Bobby Outten called the situation "critical." He said he began hearing reports about a week ago that commercial fishermen had begun venturing north to Norfolk to access the ocean.

In an e-mail, U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., said she is working "to explore all possible options to get this channel clear and ensure that boats are able to pass safely under the bridge."

A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., said that earmarks are inappropriate "in the midst of a fiscal crisis."

"However, the corps doesn't need an earmark to dredge the inlet and should have sufficient funds in their budget for a necessity such as this," spokesman David Ward said. "We will continue to work with them to avert a closure."

Funding to dredge Oregon Inlet has shrunk nearly every year for a decade, Schmitt said.

In 2009, Congress appropriated more than $12 million in stimulus money to dredge, but a storm washed away those efforts soon after the project ended, Schmitt said.

"It's constant, constant housekeeping, and there is no place more dynamic on the Carolina coast than Oregon Inlet," she said. "Keeping up with it is hard to do, and it's costly

[scattered_grass]

definitely not good..

[Capt.Troy Crane]

This same thing happened a few years back and they found the money to dredge.
Only problem I see is that it is to the point now that by the time they get the money and mobilize the equipment Hatteras may no longer be an island.

Not looking good at all, way to much money comes and goes under that bridge for this to have ever gotten like this. Our government at it's finest, makes you proud doesn't it ?

[offshore]

As I said a few weeks ago you could walk out in front of the main span if you wanted too. Its probably going to end up like it did a few years ago when everyone had to run down to the 7th and 8th span to get under the bridge. That poses a problem for the big boats it is a narrow squeeze and the current really rips on the southern end then you have to scoot on through pretty fast. Once you get to the first green can under the bridge all seems OK out through the bar. Just have to watch the tides as a hard out going tide will stack up on the bar. Just use caution. XM had a marine warning about the bridge a few weeks ago. That was the first time I had ever seen one about the bridge on XM..Mark

[seapower]

Talk in the past about putting jetty's in place. I don't know if it has been determined if they will or won't work. It has to take alot of cash to keep 2 dredges running daily. I don't know what the answer is, but shutting it down isn't it! Frank

[LuckyLady]

Talk in the past about putting jetty's in place. I don't know if it has been determined if they will or won't work. It has to take a lot of cash to keep 2 dredges running daily. I don't know what the answer is, but shutting it down isn't it! Frank

I agree, I am kind of speechless on this one. I feel for all down there is it does happen!

I hope this gets worked out asap and Jetty's wouldn't be a bad idea but I am sure money is a factor their to but if its a semi permanent solution than its worth the investment.

[TROPHY SPORTFISHING]

Missing Basnight Already.

[Baydivot]

Ya I have heard countless conversations about building a jetty while sitting at the bar at pc and it just seems like its never gonna happen. but maybe we will get lucky but i doubt it with that clown in office.

[seapower]

If jetty's will work there. The inlet's that I have any knowledge about with jetty's simply don't have the volume of water running through it that OI does. Would jetty's up just put the bar out futher ? If they put up jetty's up and the rest of the inlet filled with sand (as I suppose would happen), then that jettied channel would have a really, really serious current. I have run that place for my entire working life and have seen many changes over the year's. To this day (even after run the inlet in many types of boats') I treat the place with alot of respect. Unless you've been through there when it was "bad", you have no appreciation of what that place is all about. Place's like Rudee Inlet, Mason Boro, Cape May, Absecon, etc can get bad, they are nothing compaired to OI or Hi,IMO. That place can and will take your lunch quick, Frank

[LuckyLady]

Found this from 2002 http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-02-803


Oregon Inlet Jetty Project: Environmental and Economic Concerns Need to Be Resolved
GAO-02-803 September 30, 2002
Full Report (PDF, 95 pages) Accessible Text Recommendations (HTML)

Summary
Oregon Inlet is the primary route to the ocean for hundreds of commercial and recreational fishing vessels operating in the Outer Banks region of North Carolina. However, the inlet experiences more high winds, strong tides, and shifting sand than any other inlet on the coast of the United States. This high-energy environment often creates sand bars and large breaking waves at the inlet's entrance to the ocean, commonly known as the ocean bar. These conditions, especially when combined with the severe storms that frequent the area, can swamp a boat or run it aground, imperiling both life and property. During the past 19 years, the Army Corps of Engineers has had difficulty maintaining the ocean bar navigation channel at Oregon Inlet at its authorized 14-foot depth. Specifically, from 1983 through 1994, the Corps spent on average $4.1 million per year dredging the channel, but was only able to maintain the authorized 14-foot depth on average 23 percent of the time. After 1994, the Corps spent an average of $2 million per year, but the percentage of time the channel depth was maintained at its authorized depth declined to 15 percent. The Corps' most recent economic analysis of the proposed Oregon Inlet jetty project, issued in 2001, has several limitations, and as a result, does not provide a reliable basis for deciding whether to proceed with the project. Of the eight completed jetty projects constructed similarly to the proposed Oregon Inlet jetty project, two are generally performing as planned. Of the six other similar projects, three have required more dredging and higher maintenance costs than expected, and two have had their weirs closed. In designing the proposed Oregon Inlet jetty project, the Corps' Wilmington District Office applied lessons learned from the construction of similar jetty projects and from internal Corps guidance. Both the Department of Commerce and the Department of the Interior support the goal of providing a safe navigation channel through Oregon Inlet for commercial and recreational fishing vessels. However, both departments support a dredging-only approach to achieve that goal in an environmentally acceptable manner.




Recommendations
Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

Director: Anu K. Mittal
Team: Government Accountability Office: Natural Resources and Environment
Phone: (202) 512-9846




Recommendations for Executive Action

Recommendation: Lacking resolution of environmental concerns from the Council on Environmental Quality and construction permits from the Department of the Interior, GAO agrees with the Corps that it should not pursue further development of the Oregon Inlet jetty project. However, if the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) favorably resolves the environmental issues regarding the proposed jetty project and the Corps receives assurance that it can obtain the permits from Interior that it needs to build the project, in order to have a reliable basis for determining whether the project is economically justified, the Secretary of the Army should direct the Corps of Engineers to prepare a new and comprehensive economic analysis of the navigation project's costs and benefits that incorporates updated and complete data and corrects all errors in calculations and assumptions.

Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Army

Status: Closed - implemented

Comments: The Corps, CEQ, and the Departments of Interior and Commerce reached mutual agreement on May 1, 2003, not to proceed with the proposed Oregon Inlet project. This alternative action satisfies GAO's recommendation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recommendation: Lacking resolution of environmental concerns from the Council on Environmental Quality and construction permits from Interior, GAO agrees with the Corps that it should not pursue further development of the Oregon Inlet jetty project. However, if CEQ favorably resolves the environmental issues regarding the proposed jetty project and the Corps receives assurance that it can obtain the permits from Interior that it needs to build the project, in order to have a reliable basis for determining whether the project is economically justified, the Secretary of the Army should direct the Corps to obtain the information, where possible, that is needed to address the uncertainties--such as the extent to which the jetty project could affect the activities of all commercial vessels to the extent to which areas outside the ocean bar navigation channel could require dredging--that could significantly affect project benefits and costs.

Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Army

Status: Closed - implemented

Comments: The Corps, the CEQ, and the Interior and Commerce Departments reached mutual agreement on May 1, 2003, not to proceed with the proposed Oregon Inlet jetty project. The alternative action taken satisfies GAO's recommendation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Recommendation: Lacking resolution of environmental concerns from the Council on Environmental Quality and construction permits from Interior, GAO agrees with the Corps that it should not pursue further development of the Oregon Inlet jetty project. However, if the CEQ favorably resolves the environmental issues regarding the proposed jetty project and the Corps receives assurance that it can obtain the permits from Interior that it needs to build the project, in order to have a reliable basis for determining whether the project is economically justified, the Secretary of the Army should direct the Corps to submit the revised analysis to the Congress for its use in considering future appropriations requests for the project.

Agency Affected: Department of Defense: Department of the Army

Status: Closed - implemented

Comments: The Corps, CEQ, and the Departments of Interior and Commerce reached mutual agreement on May 1, 2003, not to proceed with the proposed Oregon Inlet project. This alternative action satisfies GAO's recommendation.