NC Approves Beach-Saving Plan

"North Carolina would spend up to $12 million a year pumping sand onto its rapidly eroding beaches under a proposal approved Thursday by a legislative study commission. Passage of the "Beach Preservation & Restoration Act" would create a new state agency to repair shrinking strands in places such as Oak Island, Emerald Isle and Nags Head. With thousands of oceanfront homes threatened by the relentless pounding of the Atlantic Ocean, many coastal communities would rather try to rebuild their lost beaches than abandon those properties. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates the cost of pushing back the surf in North Carolina with so-called "beach nourishment" at $932 million over the next 30 years."