Coastal experts say North Carolina lacks the money and laws it needs to deal with hundreds of beachfront houses at risk of collapsing into the Atlantic Ocean because of sea level rise and erosion.
The state Department of Environmental Quality and Cape Hatteras National Seashore hosted the first meeting of a workgroup formed last summer to recommend policies and programs for removing threatened coastal structures. That's after at least three houses in Rodanthe on North Carolina's Outer Banks fell into the ocean last year and spread debris for miles.
Dare County Manager Bobby Outten says more houses are in danger and there's not enough money to solve the problem.
“You're gonna have, you know, a whole bunch of houses in the next three or four years, and then you're back to your second row houses that start becoming imperiled, and so on. And we don't have a revenue stream sufficient to do that.”
A 2020 study by the DEQ's coastal management division found about 750 beachfront structures at risk, though officials say beach work in some areas has slightly reduced that number.
The group meets again in May to talk about legal changes such as clarifying permitting disputes or liability for threatened or collapsed houses.
They hope to release recommendations in early 2024.