Opponents say two bills pending in the N.C. General Assembly would weaken important environmental protections.

Proponents of these bills counter they’re trying to protect property owners’ rights.

Senate Bill 110 would legalize permitting and construction of coastal jetties “under certain conditions,” according to a copy of the bill.

The bill is co-sponsored by a number of senators, with the primary sponsors being Sen. Harry Brown, R-Onslow; Sen. Thom Goolsby, R-New Hanover; and Sen. Bill Rabon, R-Brunswick.

One of the co-sponsors is Sen. Stan White, D-Dare, who represents Beaufort County and other counties in the coastal region.

Senate Bill 110 is opposed by the N.C. Coastal Federation, a nonprofit group that works toward the protection and restoration of coastal habitats.

Last Thursday the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resources. It was uncertain when the bill would be moved to the Senate floor.

Frank Tursi, assistant director of the Coastal Federation, called the measure “a beach bungalow bailout.”

First instituted by the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission, the state ban on jetties has been in place for more than 25 years, according to Tursi.

The ban later was codified by the Legislature, he said.

“It has kept our beaches natural,” Tursi declared.

Allowing construction of “ugly rock piles on our beaches” would “protect a relative handful of private properties around inlets,” he said.

“What these things do is they work because they capture sand out of the current that moves along the beachfront,” Tursi said of the jetties.

The problem is the jetties don’t let the sea replenish sand naturally south of these structures, based on currents along the Outer Banks, he said.

At least one local official advocates passage of the Senate Bill 110.

The jetties proposal is “a good bill,” said Hood Richardson, a Beaufort County commissioner, land surveyor and engineer.

“People should be able to build hardened coastal jetties,” Richardson asserted. “Because of the net sea level rise what you’re doing is fighting the encroachment of the ocean. Things like that are necessary for short-term protection of property. Long term, the ocean is going to overrun them and win.”

The other disputed bill is on the House side.

Critics say House Bill 116, titled Delineate Coastal Wetlands Riparian Buffers, threatens protected marshes that are vital to good coastal health.

“The bill takes aim at thousands of miles of coastal salt marsh,” Molly Diggins, state director of the North Carolina Sierra Club, said in a statement.

“It reduces buffer protection for coastal wetlands in Currituck, Camden, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Washington, Tyrrell, Dare, Hyde, Beaufort, Pamlico and Craven counties,” Diggins added.

The bill’s primary sponsor, Rep. Leo Daughtry, R-Johnston, disagrees.

In an interview, Daughtry said he filed the bill on behalf of constituents who desire more complete use of their land.

Daughtry said the bill would roll back regulations affecting “setbacks” č the amount of feet a developed parcel must be from a designated waterway č for certain properties.

Daughtry said he didn’t expect the bill will affect large numbers of property owners if it becomes law.

“I think it’s just going to be a few people,” he commented. “And we’re not saying the rules are good or the rules are bad. It’s the setbacks.”

Richardson agreed.

“The Legislature empowered (the N.C. Division of Water Quality) to make rules,” he remarked. “That was the original sin because what DWQ has done is every time that you have gotten a new set of administrators in DWQ they have changed the rules. And what started off as a fairly simple set of rules from an enforcement standpoint has become a nightmare.”

He said buffers enforced under DWQ and the Coastal Area Management Act have “put a tremendous burden on a lot of people on a lot of lots for no good reason.”

Diggins, the state Sierra Club director, reached a different conclusion after researching Daughtry’s bill.

“Coastal wetlands are our most important areas for seafood production, as they feed and house young shrimp, crabs, oysters and fish,” she said. “They clean the water from pollution. Coastal wetlands also slow down waves, protecting shore during storms and floods. The damage done by Hurricane Katrina illustrates the importance of maintaining coastal salt marsh.”

Daughtry’s bill was referred to the House Committee on Environment on Feb. 17.