North Carolina § 113A-134 - 11. Department to compile and evaluate information.

§ 113A-134. 11. Department to compile and evaluate information.

The Department of Environmental Quality shall compile and evaluate information on the current conditions and erosion rates of beaches, on coastal geology, and on storm and erosion hazards for use in developing a State plan and strategy for beach management and restoration. The Department of Environmental Quality shall make this information available to local governments for use in land-use planning. History (2000-67, s. 13.9(b); 2015-241, s. 14.30(u).) Beach Nourishment Studies. - Session Laws 2016-94, s. 14.22(a)-(d), provides: "(a) The Division of Coastal Management and the Department of Environmental Quality shall study and provide an executive summary of readily available data and existing studies on the physical and economic, storm mitigation, and public safety benefits of out-of-state coastal storm damage reduction and beach nourishment projects. Specific items benefitted by coastal storm damage reduction shall include, at a minimum, public infrastructure, public property, private property, small businesses, and tourism. The results of the study shall be reported no later than November 1, 2016, to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources. "(b) The County Tax Office of each covered county shall work together to identify all privately and publicly owned property island-wide in the county. A covered county includes the Counties of Brunswick, New Hanover, Pender, Onslow, Carteret, Hyde, Dare, and Currituck. Each County Tax Office shall determine whether the mailing/ownership address on the tax record of such property is (i) in the county where such property is located, (ii) in a noncovered county in North Carolina, or (iii) outside the State of North Carolina. Each County Tax Office shall send an electronic list of the property addresses and matched mailing/ownership addresses suitable for electronic sorting no later than November 1, 2016, to the Department of Environmental Quality and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources. "(c) The Department of Commerce shall study and provide an executive summary of readily available economic data related to the 20 coastal counties of the State for the purpose of quantifying the contribution of the coastal economy to the economy of the State as a whole, considering, at a minimum, the benefits of travel and tourism, small businesses, job creation and opportunity, and tax revenues, including property, sales, and income taxes. The Department shall report the results of the study no later than November 1, 2016, to the Department of Environmental Quality and the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources. "(d) The Department of Environmental Quality shall include the studies required by each subsection of this section as appendices to the Beach and Inlet Management Plan required by Section 14.6(b)(4) of S.L. 2015-241." Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2000-67, s. 13.9 was codified as Chapter 113A , Article 7C, with s. 13.9(b) codified as G.S. 113A-134.11 , and ss. 13.9(c) and 13.9(d) codified as G.S. 113A-134.12 at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 2000-67, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2000'." Session Laws 2000-67, s. 13.9 (a), provides: "The General Assembly makes the following findings: "(1) North Carolina has 320 miles of ocean beach, including some of the most pristine and attractive beaches in the country. "(2) The balance between economic development and quality of life in North Carolina has made our coast one of the most desirable along the Atlantic Seaboard. "(3) North Carolina's beaches are vital to the State's tourism industry. "(4) North Carolina's beaches belong to all the State's citizens and provide recreational and economic benefits to our residents statewide. "(5) Beach erosion can threaten the economic viability of coastal communities and can significantly affect State tax revenues. "(6) The Atlantic Seaboard is vulnerable to hurricanes and other storms, and it is prudent to take precautions such as beach nourishment that protect and conserve the State's beaches and reduce property damage and flooding. "(7) Beach renourishment as an erosion control method provides hurricane flood protection, enhances the attractiveness of beaches to tourists, restores habitat for turtles, shorebirds, and plants, and provides additional public access to beaches. "(8) Federal policy previously favored and assisted voluntary movement of structures threatened by erosion, but this assistance is no longer available. "(9) Relocation of structures threatened by erosion is sometimes the best available remedy for the property owner and is in the public interest. "(10) Public parking and public access areas are needed for use by the general public to enable their enjoyment of North Carolina's beaches. "(11) Acquisition of high erosion hazard property by local or State agencies can reduce risk to citizens and property, reduce costs to insurance policyholders, improve public access to beaches and waterways, and protect the environment. "(12) Beach nourishment projects such as those at Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach have been very successful and greatly reduced property damage during Hurricane Fran. "(13) Because local beach communities derive the primary benefits from the presence of adequate beaches, a program of beach management and restoration should not be accomplished without a commitment of local funds to combat the problem of beach erosion. "(14) The State of North Carolina prohibits seawalls and hardening the shoreline to prevent destroying the public's beaches. "(15) Beach nourishment is encouraged by both the Coastal Resources Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a method to control beach erosion. "(16) The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has statutory authority to assist local governments in financing beach nourishment projects and is the sponsor of several federal navigation projects that result in dredging beach-quality sand. "(17) It is declared to be a necessary governmental responsibility to properly manage and protect North Carolina's beaches from erosion and that good planning is needed to assure a cost-effective and equitable approach to beach management and restoration, and that as part of a comprehensive response to beach erosion, sound policies are needed to facilitate the ability of landowners to move threatened structures and to allow public acquisition of appropriate parcels of land for public beach access." Session Laws 2000-67, s. 13.9(f) provides that in the event that federal funds become available for planning and developing shore protection projects, the State shall match those funds in accordance with the funding guidelines set out in G.S. 143-215.71 . Session Laws 2000-67, s. 28.2, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2000-2001 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2000-2001 fiscal year." Session Laws 2000-67, s. 28.4, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2016-94, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2016.'" Session Laws 2016-94, s. 39.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2016-2017 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2016-2017 fiscal year." Session Laws 2016-94, s. 39.7, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2018-5, s. 13.9(b), as amended by Session Laws 2018-138, s. 2.9, and as amended by Session Laws 2019-75, s. 3, provides: "On or before October 1, 2019, the recipients of allocations under this section shall submit a report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Agriculture and Natural and Economic Resources and the Fiscal Research Division. The report shall contain at least all of the following: "(1) A list of participating local governments and engineering firms and other partners in projects funded under this section. "(2) A list of projects funded, including a summary of the costs and the scope of the project. "(3) Documentation of the impact on the resilience of beach nourishment projects." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2015-241, s. 14.30(u), effective July 1, 2015, substituted "Department of Environmental Quality" for "Department of Environment and Natural Resources" twice in the section.