THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 12, 1996 TAG: 9603120269
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: MANTEO LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
With federal funds gridlocked in Washington, a government study of Oregon Inlet currents has been temporarily bailed out by Dare County.
The Dare County Board of Commissioners agreed at Monday's meeting to appropriate $20,000 for the collection of winter data at the inlet while state and county officials pursue federal funds for the project.
``At this point, we can no longer move the ball, and I put it in your hands and your court,'' the board was told by Robert Williams, chairman of the Dare County Oregon Inlet and Waterways Commission.
The inlet commission requested $158,000 in 1996 federal funds for the project through U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones Jr., R-3rd. State and county officials said they had no idea what was the status of the appropriation.
``Evidently, our present congressman cannot find the funds,'' said Chairman R.V ``Bobby'' Owens, a Democrat. ``I would hate to see us drop this program just for $20,000 that could be acquired in Congress.''
Glen Downs, Jones' administrative assistant, said late Monday afternoon that the funds has not been allocated. Money-tightening measures in Washington, along with a miscommunication about the original budget request from the inlet commission, have effectively eliminated the appropriation, Downs said.
Downs said Jones attempted to attach a bill for the research money to a provision of the 1996 federal budget, but that move was aborted by an agreement last Thursday between Congress and the White House to freeze out any regional projects while lawmakersstruggle with averting another partial government shutdown.
Although the fiscal year is half over, Downs said all hope is not lost for finding funds for the project again when the latest budget crisis passes.
``It's possible. How probable is an open question,'' he said. He added that Jones will testify next week at a hearing to attempt to get the appropriation in the 1997 federal budget.
Conducted by U.S Army Corps of Engineers, the program was started in 1990 to monitor the movement of sand around a groin and help determine the feasibility of building jetties at Oregon Inlet.
Carl Miller, the field research oceanographer in charge of the study, said the $20,000 will be used to collect the data to document the effect of the winter storm season on the Oregon Inlet.
Using a 45-foot amphibious truck-like machine, a sled is pulled across about a mile of active surf zone to a depth of 30 feet. While the sled is moving over shoals and sandbars, an infra-red laser coordinates depth readings, and the information is then fed into a computer.
``These are the first direct measurements of Oregon Inlet,'' Miller said. ``If this is interrupted now, basically we'd only be able to speculate. The engineer is always hampered by not having enough data at the site.''
In other business Monday, the commissioners agreed to include the costs of a qualified individual to run the Dare County Clean Water Advisory Committee in the 1997 budget discussions.
The water panel chairman, Damon M. Tatem, said he needs a staffer to collect, test and monitor water quality in the county.
``There is not a good water-monitoring program in this state,'' he said. ``Most of these tests have been piecemeal, with no baseline.''
Owens said Pamlico Sound is ``hideously polluted'' and Shallowbag Bay is ``completely dead,'' and it's necessary for the county to act to protect the waters.
``Stop and think about it. We're a catch-all here and if some of us don't start hollering about these serious problems . . .,'' Owens said. ``The cleaner our environment, the better our business climate.''
KEYWORDS: CURRENTS STUDY by CNB