CRC Proposed Rules
The Coastal Resources Commission establishes policies for the N.C. Coastal Management Program and adopts rules for both CAMA and the N.C. Dredge and Fill Act. The commission designates areas of environmental concern, adopts rules and policies for coastal development within those areas, and certifies local land use plans.
Proposed rules information posted here and on DEQ Proposed Rules include the following information:
- The text of the proposed rule
- An explanation of the rule and why it is being proposed
- Any required federal certification
- Instructions on how and where to submit oral or written comments on the rule
- Any fiscal note that has been prepared for the proposed rule
Procedure for Subjecting a Proposed Rule to Legislative Review: If an objection is not resolved prior to the adoption of the rule, a person may also submit written objections to the Rules Review Commission. If the Rules Review Commission receives written and signed objections in accordance with G.S. 150B-21.3(b2) from 10 or more persons clearly requesting review by the legislature and the Rules Review Commission approves the rule, the rule will become effective as provided in G.S. 150B-21.3(b1). The Commission will receive written objections until 5 p.m. on the day following the day the Commission approves the rule. The Commission will receive those objections by mail, delivery service, hand delivery, or facsimile transmission. If you have any further questions concerning the submission of objections to the Commission, please call a Commission staff attorney at 919-431-3000.
Rules Review
N.C. Gen. Stat. §150B-21.3A, adopted in 2013, requires state agencies to review existing rules every 10 years. The Department of Environmental Quality's rules are located by subchapters in Title 15A of the NC Administrative Code. The Department's rules will be reviewed on a schedule established by the Rules Review Commission. The Coastal Resources Commission's rules are located within Title 15A under subchapter 07.
The Commission is required to evaluate each of the existing rules and make an initial determination from one of these two classifications:
- Necessary – Means any rule other than an unnecessary rule.
- Unnecessary – Means a rule that the agency determines to be obsolete, redundant, or otherwise not needed.
Pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A, the Coastal Resources Commission is seeking public comment on the initial classifications of its existing rules. Public comment is defined by G.S. 150B-21.3A(a)(5) as written comments objecting to the rule, in whole or in part, or objecting to an agency's determination of the rule as necessary or unnecessary, received by an agency from any member of the public including an association or other organization representing the regulated community or other members of the public. Additionally, pursuant to G.S. 150B-21.3A(c)(2), in order for the Rules Review Commission to determine whether the public comment has merit, the public comment must address the specific substance of the rule and address any of the standards of Commission review, as set forth in G.S. 150B-21.9(a).
The comment period begins September 15, 2025, and ends on November 14, 2025.
View the Coastal Resources Commission's initial classification report
Please specify which rule citation (ex: 15A NCAC 07A .0101) your comment corresponds to.
To submit electronic comments, email crcrulemakingcomments@deq.nc.gov
Or mail written comments to:
NC Division of Coastal Management
Attn: Tancred Miller
400 Commerce Avenue
Morehead City, NC 28557
The CRC proposes changes to its rules to add a definition of man-made ditches, and state that man-made ditches may not be considered public waterways or marshland, or designated as an Area of Environmental Concern. These changes conform the rules to recent amendments to the Coastal Area Management Act and the NC Dredge and Fill Law made by Session Law 2025-48.
Rule 07H .0308 defines the use standards for development within the Ocean Hazard Area of Environmental Concern (OHA AEC). Subparagraph (b)(2) identifies temporary erosion control structures as sandbags and provides use standards for these structures within the OHA AEC. the rule further defines the color and dimensions of sandbags allowable under 07H .0308(b)(2)((L). A new subparagraph .0308(b)(2)(O) will differentiate what is allowable for color and dimensions of temporary erosion control structures for the protection of public roadways. This amendment will allow broader color and dimension criteria to the protection of public roadways by the NC Department of Transportation (NCDOT). These changes are needed due to recurring erosion events prompting NCDOT to look at alternative sandbag designs that increasingly require NCDOT to seek variances from the existing rule.
The CRC is proposing to create a new General permit to allow installation of temporary structures on the beach to collect meteorological data during approaching storms. The CRC proposes these rules to address limitations in existing CAMA permitting procedures, which are not designed to accommodate the rapid, location-uncertain deployment of temporary weather monitoring structures needed to collect time-sensitive data at storm landfall.