Date: February 19, 2016
Contact: Public Affairs, 252-473-2111
A plan to to issue a Special Use Permit (SUP) to Dare County for a summer 2016 beach nourishment project to protect NC Highway 12 in Buxton, North Carolina has been approved.
An Environmental Assessment (EA) that analyzed two action alternatives was released for public comment in September 2015. A Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) was signed by Stan Austin, Director of the Southeast Region of the National Park Service, on February 19, 2016.
The NPS FONSI comes after preparing the EA in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The summer time beach nourishment alternative will allow for placing sand along 15,500 linear feet of shoreline within Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The alternative also includes numerous mitigation measures to avoid and minimize impacts to natural resources while allowing Dare County beach nourishment contractors to implement the project in a safe manner. Mitigation measures, and other required conditions associated with NPS consultation with other State and Federal agencies, will be detailed in the SUP.
Copies of the EA and the FONSI can be found on the NPS Planning, Environment and Public Comment (PEPC) website at https://parkplanning.nps.gov/documentsList.cfm?projectID=55120.
