OCEAN RESOURCES PLANNING
Stresses on the marine environment are steadily increasing, including pollution and habitat degradation.  Additional
stresses to the state’s coastal environment could result from Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas exploration and
production, transportation accidents and spills, hard mineral mining and waste disposal.  To date, there have been
few attempts to coordinate planning among the various state, local and federal agencies and commissions that have
responsibilities for ocean resources.
Recommendation:
The Division of Coastal Management should expand its efforts to develop a comprehensive state ocean management
plan that includes specific use standards for development.
Result:
In 1996, the Ocean Resources Task Force, which was staffed by the Division of Coastal Management, delivered its
recommendations to the CRC.  The task force recommended rules for hard mineral mining in public trust waters
and revisions to the state’s coastal energy policies to more adequately address Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas
activities.    The  CRC  adopted  the  recommended  changes  to  its  rules  in  1998.    The  task  force  also  made
recommendations for ocean jurisdiction and stewardship, marine fisheries, ocean outfalls, marine debris and marine
protected areas.
The CRC adopted a resolution asking the General Assembly to clarify the oceanward jurisdiction of municipalities
as extending from mean low tide to one mile offshore.  The CRC has also supported task force recommendations
and Marine Fisheries Commission efforts to amend its rules to better protect fishery resources, such as a ban on
the harvesting of “live rock” in state waters.
Recommendation:
The General Assembly should provide specific funding for the Division of Coastal Management to administer the Outer
Continental Shelf program.
Result:
While there has been no specific funding for the general Outer Continental Shelf program, the 1998 legislature
appropriated more than $300,000 for the Division of Coastal Management to hire staff, conduct studies and review
a proposal from Chevron to drill an exploratory well 39 miles east of Cape Hatteras.  Chevron has postponed its
plans to submit an exploration plan.
Recommendation:
The Division of Coastal Management should be the primary custodian of GIS data on ocean resources.
Result:
The Division of Coastal Management has worked with other state agencies, such as the Underwater Archaeology Unit
of the Department of Cultural Resources, and has contracted with university scientists in an effort to acquire and
create GIS data layers for North Carolina’s coastal ocean.  The Division of Coastal Management now maintains data
that  includes  shipwrecks,  artificial  reefs,  bathymetry,  Outer  Continental  Shelf  lease  blocks,  hard  bottoms  and
phosphate deposits.  Coastal Management has also worked with several southeast states and NOAA’s Coastal Services
Center to develop a GIS web site that compiles all available ocean GIS information for regional ocean planning projects.
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