Officials from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) along with local, state, federal leaders and community partners, toured key sites across the Outer Banks this week to highlight ongoing coastal resilience projects and discuss strategies to address the region’s growing climate and flooding challenges. DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson was on hand to talk to local officials and tour damage at three sites of concern in Rodanthe and Buxton, where oceanfront homes have fallen into the ocean and additional structures are threatened, and at the Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS).
“It always helps to see a problem up close and to talk with community leaders to hear their concerns and perspectives,” Secretary Wilson said. “The insights gained during the resilience tour will help shape smarter, more effective policies and actions that will help coastal communities be less vulnerable to flooding. By seeing impacts on the ground, we can better assist local governments with identifying and funding specific actions to make their communities more resilient to future storms and adapt to changing conditions.”
The tour included the following stops:
- In Nags Head, officials viewed the Harvey Sound Access Living Shoreline Project. DEQ’s Division of Coastal Management (DCM) and Town of Nags Head staff gave an overview of the project, which will use plants and man-made barriers to create a living shoreline to reduce erosion, restore an estuarine habitat and provide more public access to the waterway. The project was selected through a community-driven process and supported by DCM’s Resilient Coastal Communities Program. The Harvey Sound Access project has completed all four phases of the funding process and has received more than $1 million to date. RCCP is currently one of North Carolina’s most important tools to help coastal towns prepare for the future.
- Driving Tour of Northern Cape Hatteras National Seashore and viewing of Canal Zone and Pea Island Visitor Center Highway 12 hotspot. Officials discussed the use of sandbags, the Solving Access for NC 12 in Dare County (SAND) grant that uses federal funding for a planning study to improve the resiliency of NC 12, and long-term planning for the area.
- In Rodanthe, the tour focused on the threatened oceanfront structures at Eastpoint Drive where officials discussed a mitigation program to protect vulnerable structures at Beacon Road.
- Driving Tour of Cape Hatteras National Seashore en route to Buxton and a general overview of Hatteras and Ocracoke Islands.
- The final stop of the tour included the former Navy and Coast Guard base in Buxton at Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and a walking tour of the Buxton oceanfront where structures have recently fallen into the Atlantic Ocean.
DEQ’s role in resilience includes:
- Support congressional action on threatened oceanfront structures to make pre-emptive demolition and cleanup possible (See press release: Governor Stein and Commissioner Causey Stand Up for Coastal Homeowners, Call on Congress to Pass HR 3161 | NC Governor).
- Recommendations from the Threatened Oceanfront Structures Interagency Workgroup, co-led by DEQ and the National Park Service’s Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The interagency work group was established to offer ideas to improve management of threatened oceanfront structures and released Managing Threatened Oceanfront Structures: Ideas from an Interagency Work Group in August 2024. The report is the result of a year-long collaboration between local governments and state and federal agencies.
- Coastal Resources Commission’s ongoing work that includes a recent request to its Science Panel for a report outlining approaches and options to address eroding shorelines, including the pros and cons of remedies such as jetties, sea walls and other hardened structures. The outline will be delivered to the commission at the February 2026 meeting.
- The N.C. Resilience Coastal Communities Program, which supports a locally driven process for setting coastal resilience goals, assessing community capacity and identifying and prioritizing projects that strengthen resilience to coastal hazards.
- The Flood Resilience Blueprint, a first-of-its-kind program in North Carolina and represents the largest statewide flood mitigation investment in state history. When completed, the Blueprint will lead to an actionable set of projects and funding strategies that state and other government entities can implement to reduce flooding, mitigate the impacts of flooding, and increase a community’s ability to maintain and quickly resume pre-storm activities following flooding.
During the tour, officials met with local government representatives, nonprofit partners and residents to discuss funding opportunities and emerging threats related to sea level rise, storms, erosion and chronic flooding. The visit also highlighted how state resilience programs — including the Resilient Coastal Communities Program — are supporting community planning and project development across the region.
DEQ will continue partnering with state, local and federal officials to advance long-term resilience planning, secure funding and employ science-based solutions that protect coastal resources and enhance community safety.
IMAGES:
Nags Head: The photo highlights the Harvey Sound Access Living Shoreline Project, a community-driven effort supported by more than $1M from the Resilient Coastal Communities Program to reduce erosion and restore habitat.
Pea Island: The photo was taken from a newly formed dune near NC 12, where erosion is severe. The SAND grant is helping study long-term solutions to keep this critical route open.
Buxton: Sec. Wilson meets with NPS leaders to discuss threatened homes and coordinated permitting efforts.