Cook Pushes to Reclaim Oregon Inlet from the Federal Government | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Cook Pushes to Reclaim Oregon Inlet from the Federal Government

    Raleigh, N.C.     Senator Bill Cook (R-District 1) filed a bill on Thursday, May 15, 2014, that would authorize a purchase or exchange of federally owned land around Oregon Inlet in Dare County, N.C.

    The establishment of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore transferred ownership of the property around the inlet to the U.S. Department of the Interior. North Carolina conveyed coastal lands to the federal government in a deed dated August 7, 1958, and recorded September 3, 1958, in the Dare County Registry of Deeds.

    Since 1958, the Oregon Inlet has been closed or unnavigable much of the time. Almost never has the inlet been kept at a consistent depth of 14 feet.

    During the 2013 General Assembly session, Senator Harry Brown (R-District 6) added an amendment to a bill. The amendment established the Oregon Inlet Land Acquisition Task Force. The measure was created to study acquiring land and adjacent land to Oregon Inlet.

    Cook's Senate bill – SB 791, would appropriate $15 million to create the Outer Banks Land Management Fund as an interest-bearing special revenue fund in the Department of Administration. While federal negotiations are taking place, the funds are also authorized for dredging.
Oregon Inlet, May 17, 2014: Above.     photo by Stan Deatherage
    "While the federal government may have had good intentions when they purchased the land around the inlet in 1958, they have unfortunately failed to uphold their promise to take good care of the inlet. Under their control the inlet has been unnavigable and dangerous," Senator Bill Cook (R-District 1) said. "The time has come to reclaim the land around Oregon Inlet to properly develop and manage it."

    The appropriation from the General Fund will be used to purchase some of the land. The remaining required land will be obtained by trading the federal government for land owned by the state in other locations.

    "A dependable and safe waterway passage for commercial and recreational boats is of paramount importance to this region. In the past, the poor maintenance of the inlet has cost the Outer Banks thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in lost opportunities," Cook said. "It is my belief that the state can do a much better job of keeping Oregon Inlet open for commerce."