WILMINGTON, N.C. — October 24, 2014 — Gov. Pat McCrory says to come up with a vision for coastal North Carolina, state government needs to balance coastal issues such as funding coastal projects, improving dredging of inlets and channels, providing property insurance and addressing federal regulations.
According to a panel of experts, the way to do this is through pursuing federal funds, expanding dredging windows and challenging federal regulatory decisions.
The governor came to the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission’s regular meeting on Wednesday at the Hilton Riverside hotel, making him the first sitting North Carolina governor to attend a CRC meeting.
Over 100 representatives from local coastal governments were in the crowd that packed the meeting room to hear the governor’s comments on coastal issues and presentations from a coastal issue expert panel the CRC assembled to inform Gov. McCrory about the challenges currently facing North Carolina’s coast.
CRC Chairman Frank Gorham said that in the next two months, the commission will send the governor an executive report on the issues discussed. The governor said his primary reason for coming to the meeting Thursday was to listen and learn.
“There are issues here that are very complex,” he said. “At times it’s hard to figure that out … We must walk the fine line between continuing our economic prosperity while also protecting the environment and quality of life which brought many of us here.”
After the presentations, Gov. McCrory said – in response to some audience comments that more environmental research is needed – that the protection of endangered species is critical; he said the state needs a strategy to know what to ask for when pursuing assistance from neighboring states and federal agencies in addressing that and other coastal issues.