North Carolina’s long-standing ban on hardened structures such as piers and seawalls to control coastal erosion appears to be in effect by the end of the legislative session in 2026.
On Wednesday, members of the Senate Agriculture, Energy and Environment Committee introduced a bill that would eliminate the ban on such structures and require the North Carolina Collaborative Research Institute at UNC-Chapel Hill to update the state’s beach and cove management plan.
Sen. Bob Brinson (R-Beaufort), the lead sponsor of Senate Bill 1009, said policies created 40 years ago to protect North Carolina’s coastline should not be subject to review.
“Erosion rates are increasing. The number of structures under threat is increasing. Technology and our understanding of engineered stabilization is advancing,” Brinson said.
Brinson said the bill is in no way an effort to allow all property owners to build seawalls or to expedite widespread construction.
Brinson said if the bill passes, the Coastal Resources Commission would be tasked with creating rules governing the installation of future seawalls and similar structures.
In September 2025, a house collapses into the ocean in Buxton, North Carolina. (Photo: Cape Hatteras National Seashore/National Park Service)
The collapse of 32 privately-owned structures along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in the past six years has sparked discussions to overturn a policy that has been in place since the late 1970s. Homes on Rodanthe, North Topsoil and Figure Eight Islands are also threatened.
Sen. Jay Choudhury (D-Wake.) questioned whether the bill’s sponsors had considered other options that didn’t involve repealing the enhanced structures ban, such as beach farming.
“Beach nutrition is not appropriate in all situations,” Brinson says. “Beach aquaculture is also becoming increasingly expensive and doesn’t last long.”
A major beach nourishment project is underway in Avon, Buxton and Nags Head this summer. Tens of millions of dollars will be spent to stabilize beaches and widen these beaches, but experts say this restoration effort is designed to last only about five years.
Sen. Julie Mayfield (D-Buncombe) said the problem with permitting seawalls is that some coastal properties win and others lose because stopping erosion in one place worsens erosion elsewhere.
“It’s just science. I don’t know how the Coastal Management Board is going to strike a balance when developing these rules,” Mayfield said.
Sen. Michael Lazzara (R-Onslow) told Mayfield that what they want from homeowners is no different than what property owners in western North Carolina are asking for in the aftermath of Hurricane Helen.
“Are we saying that because of what happened, these structures should not be allowed to return to their original state? It’s the same on the coast,” Lazzara said. “You know, we’re losing a lot of homes to erosion, and anything we can do to mitigate that is our responsibility.”
Mayfield said he understands Lazzara’s analogy, but the reality is that thousands of homes in western North Carolina won’t be built after Helen because the land they lived on no longer exists.
Mayfield reminded his colleagues that Mother Nature remains undefeated. And like Western North Carolina, creating a permanent acquisition fund would be more appropriate, she said.
“Right now, for people whose homes are literally underwater and at risk of falling, this insurance collision won’t pay for them to move, and the state won’t buy them out,” Mayfield said. “Those people are completely left alone. I also think that’s unfair.”
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Brinson said state buyout funds for property owners won’t address the erosion problems plaguing Highway 12 and ferry infrastructure. Since 2010, NCDOT has spent $17 million on routine maintenance on Highway 12 in Dare County and another $51 million on storm repairs.
Rob Lame, representing the North Carolina Coastal Federation, urged lawmakers to hold off on the bill until next year’s long session, when there will be time for more thoughtful debate. The North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission’s Science Committee is scheduled to present its findings on beachfront reinforcement structures at Thursday’s meeting.
But Sen. Tom McInnis (R-Moore) saw no reason to delay. Mr McInnis said in his 50 years as a real estate auctioneer he was shocked by the lack of action on coastal erosion.
“This is what you need to do: Another day, another idea, a different perspective,” McInnis said.
Senate Bill 1009 goes to the Senate Appropriations Committee, along with Senate Bill 1001, which includes appropriating $800,000 for permitting, construction or repair costs for the terminal groin.
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