Coastal Area Management Act was approved in 1974, by the North Carolina General Assembly legislation entitled the Coastal Area Management Act (CAMA). This legislation is applicable to all 20 coastal counties and the municipalities located within these 20 counties. Dare County is included in the 20-county CAMA jurisdiction. The CAMA legislation establishes different Areas of Environmental Concern (AECs). A table of the AECs located in Dare County is below:

Areas of Environmental Concern in Dare County

Estuarine System:

• coastal wetlands

• estuarine waters

• public trust waters

• estuarine shorelines

Ocean Hazard Areas:

• inlet hazard areas

• ocean erodible areas

• high hazard flood areas

Public Water Supplies:

• public water supply watersheds

• public water supply wellfields

The NC Division of Coastal Management, under the direction of the Coastal Resources Commission, in cooperation with local governments in the 20-county coastal area has developed a program of permit review and coordination within these areas of environmental concern. Each county has a local permit officer (LPO) on staff to assist its residents with the CAMA rules. As a rule of thumb, any development along the oceanfront or estuarine shoreline is impacted by CAMA regulations. Depending on the scope of development, either a minor or a major CAMA permit may be necessary before commencing work.

Local Permit Officer

For the unincorporated portions of Dare County, the local permit officer (LPO) is Mr. Hannon Fry located in the Kill Devil Hills Satellite Office at 2601 N. Croatan Highway in Kill Devil Hills. His telephone number is 252-475-5871 Mr. Fry is responsible for the issuance of minor CAMA permits for construction activities along the ocean and estuarine shorelines.

Oceanfront permits

Any development along the oceanfront is affected by CAMA regulations and depending upon the scope of the construction either a minor CAMA permit or a major CAMA permit will be necessary.

Any residential structure less than 5,000 square feet in area is required to obtain a minor CAMA permit before commencing construction. The CAMA regulations also dictate where on the lot a structure and its associated appurtenances may be located. On the oceanfront, any principal use structure must be located on the lot landward of the first line of stable natural vegetation. This line is established by a survey of the property and is staked by CAMA officials. Once this line is established the annual erosion rates adopted by the State are applied to the lot and measured from the vegetation line. Generally, the setback measurements are 30 time the applicable annual erosion rate. For example, if the annual erosion for a lot is 6 feet per year, then the structure must be located landward 180 feet from the first line of stable natural vegetation. Minor CAMA permits are also required for dune overwalks, beach bulldozing and decks. The LPO is available to assist residents with the necessary permit work.

For residential structures larger than 5,000 square feet and commercial structures the annual erosion rate is twice the erosion setback line used for smaller structures of less than 5,000 square feet.

Estuarine permits

The estuarine shoreline area of environmental concern (AEC) as defined by the CAMA regulations is the area which extends from the estuarine mean high water level to 75 feet landward.

Along the estuarine shoreline minor CAMA permits are required for structures such as piers, boat moorings, bulkheads located along the estuarine shoreline. There are very specific guidelines that determine the size and scope of these types of structures that vary from location to location. The LPO should always be consulted prior to construction of these types of land uses.

For residential construction along the estuarine shoreline, there are applicable CAMA rules governing lot coverage.

CAMA Major Permits

The scope of certain activities within CAMA areas of environmental concern (AECs) triggers the major permit process. Some activities that require a CAMA major permit include excavation or filling of wetlands, dredging activities, marina construction, and beach nourishment activities. The CAMA major permit application process is much more detailed and complicated than the minor permit application process. All CAMA major permit applications are reviewed by 21 State agencies for consistency with division goals. The entire process involves a minimum 90-day review period and sometimes may take years before permit conditions are resolved and a major permit is issued by the Division of Coastal Management.

Local permit officers are not involved in the review process of major permit applications. Such applications are administered by the regional DCM offices located in Elizabeth City, Washington, Morehead City and Wilmington, NC.

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