Since Walter Jones Jr. has been in office, much of Eastern North Carolina has deteriorated. What we have are more poorly planned condos, strip malls and other eyesores. The land is being laid to waste and it has not been protected. The environment, economy, jobs, commercial fishing, farming, manufacturing etc. have all been somewhat affected in a spiraling downward trend. Haven't we had enough?
I want to make the Marine Science Program at Carteret Community College one of the largest and most advanced Marine Studies Institutions on the East Coast. It is ideally located and already engages some of the finest and most dedicated scientists in the environmental field.
Beach nourishment is one of the most counter productive concepts ever proposed to try to stabilize our beaches. It is a prime example of a bad management practice with total disregard for both the environment and sound ecological balance. It kills wildlife and at the same time risks unearthing microorganisms harmful to human life. This practice is making our surroundings unhealthy to live in and people are becoming sick. Instead of being a solution to the problem, it actually causes further erosion, rather than preventing it. Most scientific experts would agree that the natural ecological and environmental balance of our beaches has been set back ten, and maybe twenty years by poor management practices.
Twenty million dollars of taxpayer's money has been wasted to pump muddy basin sand. These efforts are often lost when the next big storm brushes the coast. If the state and/or local governments appropriate twenty million dollars, I'll get the Federal government to match it. With forty million dollars we can find appropriate true beach sand conducive to proper drainage. Forty million dollars can buy and transport a lot of sand. We could cover twenty miles of the main stretches of our beaches, if all levels of government would participate. I further propose that between ten and twenty jetties be built along this same twenty mile stretch. Their locations should be strategically planned and built by engineers experienced in this field. We shouldn't say that we can't do this. We can and should lead in these efforts. Once this initial twenty-mile pilot program is complete, we can look to how the entire beautiful North Carolina beachfront would best be managed.
We need to examine and where necessary change our laws to benefit development done with a 'conscience'. Together we can make our beaches beautiful again and be a source of pride. We have been on the wrong path to save our beaches. We must have local leaders and governments working with us who finally realize that 'beach enrichment' is only a quick-fix to facilitate land development. The bottom line is that we do not have an erosion problem - we have a development problem.
Never before has Eastern North Carolina's environment been so challenged. There is what I term 'A Ring of Suffocation' engulfing our lives and homes.
To the north, a new military base, and next door to that - a landfill proposal to bury trash in Camden and Currituck Counties. Follow the circle to proposed 'beach nourishment' on the Outer Banks south of Cape Lookout, and then on down to Carteret County, pumping up filthy and possibly micro-bacterial contaminated sand detrimental to our health while inducing further erosion. Chemical run-off from unconscious development is disrupting the delicate salinity balance in our waters, which normally helps to kill-off infectious bacteria. This disruption also causes blooming of unhealthy bacteria exposing us to sickness as well as killing off our shellfish and polluting our waters.
Down East has been pleading with County Commissioners in coastal North Carolina over the 'unconscious' effort to satisfy builders and developers. There needs to be a moratorium on further uncontrolled development and we must evaluate all the various concerns to reach a righteous decision. Continued unchecked major development along our coast will destroy decades of a stable heritage and our ancestral waters will be damaged forever.
We are not leaving our children much to work with. Continue along the circle and you find a Navy Sonar Range that is planned for the waters 50 miles off Onslow County's beaches. Aren't sound waves how a huge percentage of marine life navigates? If we start to interrupt the natural sounds of things in our waters you will upset an extremely delicate environmental balance. A prime example of the effect on marine life is the recent beaching of whales along the coast. Biologists believe that these mammals were confused by the excessive man-made sounds in the water. The Navy has been confronted, advised by experts and still turns a deaf ear.
Follow further around the circle to the 82,000 acres of Croatan Forest up for sale by the government (and 300,000 acres statewide). Trees are needed for soil stability. We keep setting ourselves up for major flooding problems. If a Category 3, 4, or 5 hurricane were to hit Eastern North Carolina, runoff will again run rampant. Have we already forgotten the lessons of Floyd in 1999?
Next, the Navy wants to construct an OLF (Outlying Landing Field) - much of it over sensitive wetlands. The building process alone will pollute the waters and marshlands with chemicals. Excessive runoff during each major rainstorm, nor'easter or hurricane is sure to follow. Excessive chemicals, the diluting of saltwater with fresh water, will cause further rampant bacterial growth affecting marine, waterfowl, wildlife and ultimately human life. Ecological balance will be totally destroyed and any farmland left in the area rendered useless. The ultimate, most incredible mindlessness of this decision is that the Navy's 'preferred location' is adjacent to one of the largest waterfowl refuges in the country. This particular haven is not just frequented by ducks and other relatively small waterfowl, but by many species of geese and several types of large swans. A single, inevitable collision between a Navy jet (flown by a pilot 'in a training environment') and even one large tundra swan or snow goose will pose serious risk to the life of a brave Navy pilot, the loss of an expensive jet plane (paid for by the taxpayers). Coupled with the possibility of unimaginable damage, injury and death on the ground (depending where the plane actually crashes) and, quite likely, a fuel spill that has the possibility of igniting underground peat veins that could burn for an extremely long time - further destroying what is already a delicate balance.
I do not believe Eastern North Carolina is 'Done' when it comes to farming, manufacturing and commercial fishing. I have heard this from some of our elected state leaders. Historically, we have always heard of the need for better roads facilitating travel from the coast to Raleigh and the Triangle. Currently, a Freeway idea is on the table running east and west. I say lets take that line and turn it running north and south. Let's look at making it a toll road. Collect funds to offset the cost of an interstate-like roadway. Start from just west of Savannah; continue up to Charleston and through North Carolina, using Highway 17 as a footprint. From the northern border of North Carolina it is a short distance to Interstate 64 and the tidewater metropolis of the Hampton Roads harbor in Virginia. Each state would pay its fair share of the costs. A 'Coastal Carolina Parkway' would provide fast, easy and strategic access between the ports, cities and market hubs along the way. Ports could actually share with other ports. Farming would be rejuvenated. Produce could be shipped to market in a timelier manner. Poultry, lamb and pork could all be shipped to and from ports along the coast. This would provide a better chance for growth and expansion of the Port of Morehead City. Fish could be frozen and shipped in a shorter period of time. This would enhance growth economically for all of us. It could spark a rebirth for the region and restore pride and prosperity. Too much military development causes irreversible decay of the natural elements and tourism alone will not be enough once all the natural beauty is gone. We would have a paying highway. Anyone can once again develop their business, their land and have a way to get to market. Please, do not give up on Eastern North Carolina - our region has always been there for us!
This Ring of Suffocation will tighten even further. If ignored, someday we will all wake up and just say, "What Happened?" I need those who have lived in Eastern North Carolina for many years as well as those that are new to the region to help me. You all remember how it was when you first saw our beautiful countryside and coast - a beauty shared by us all. I need you to help me take back our beaches, our wetlands, our forests and our fields. Help me preserve the natural wonder and beauty of all of these threatened resources.
Weber for Congress
1413 Arendell Street
Morehead City, NC 28557
Phone: 252-726-9697