Mother Nature Closing Oregon Inlet? - 4.1.11

The Virginia Pilot recently reported the U.S Coast Guard’s intention to close the Oregon inlet channel connecting the Outer Banks Sound to the Atlantic Ocean. With water depths dropping to substantially low levels of 9 feet from the typical range of 30 to 40 feet, Coast Guard officials are worried about the safety of current conditions and the alternate routes some boaters are taking.

Mother Nature is filling the inlet with sand faster than the Army Corps of Engineers can clear in its daily dredging of the inlet. An effort was made two years ago with over $12 million in stimulus dollars appointed to dredge the inlet but was later destroyed by a storm.

With federal funding at only $1 million compared to the usual $4 million, a projected $10 million as an estimate to complete the job fully, and nature’s inclination to draw sand into Oregon Inlet, officials and taxpayers are less than eager to throw more money at the problem.

A long-term, lasting solution is clearly needed. But, in the meantime, shaving a few million dollars from the dredging work is likely to do more damage to the local OBX economy than it is to help ease the federal deficit.

According to a 2006 study by Dare County, the boating and fishing industries generate more than $682 million a year in revenues and support close to 10,000 jobs.

Given the economic detriment of allowing the inlet to close, Outer Banks residents and vacationers hope Congress and the Obama Administration fund the project until a more permanent fix is found.

We sent one of our roving reporters to Oregon Inlet the other day, and the below video helps demonstrate the issue. If you are familiar with Oregon Inlet, you will recognize the familiar scene of a fishing boat heading home from a trip to the Atlantic and approaching the Bonner Bridge. But rather than the usual straight shot through the channel, the pictures demonstrate that due to the sand filling in and the lack of consistent dredging recently, boats are now required to make an awkward approach to the bridge where they must turn south before swinging north close to the bride and hugging the bridge before turning west at the last minute to make their way under the bridge. This is a relatively complex approach that is adding danger to a usual easy cruise through the Inlet.

Update: The Virginian Pilot is now reporting that the Coast Guard plans to ban large vessels from Oregon Inlet. There are mixed reviews on this issue but it seems that Mother Nature isn’t backing down and now we have to ask…. Where do we go from here?

Update: WRAL reports that Governor Bev Purdue will order the Coast Guard to close Oregon Inlet declaring it impassable for large fishing vessels.

Update 4/18: WRAL reports that a larger dredge is moving into the area to make sure Oregon Inlet remains open to commercial fishing vessels.

Update 4/20: The Virginia Pilot is reporting that unless a new funding source is confirmed, the dredging at Oregon Inlet will stop in early June. “The $4 million budget for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the channel this fiscal year will be exhausted within the first week of June…When that money is gone, there is no plan to maintain the waterway for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.”

Hopefully Federal and/or State funding is secured before early June.