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Dare County commissioners advanced beach nourishment for Hatteras Island at the board’s meeting held February 5, 2024.

The commissioners agreed to apply for a grant to fund an off-shore sand assessment study for Avon and Buxton. Currently, enough sand is available from the 2022 site to complete renourishment in 2027.

The study will look for other sources of sand to continue renourishment in Avon and Buxton past 2027. A similar study has been completed for the projects in Dare beach towns.

The cost of the project is $500,000. A grant from the state’s Coastal Storm Damage Mitigation Fund will cover half the costs. Dare County would be responsible for $250,000 for the Southern Hatteras Island Offshore Sand Assessment Study.

As an aside, county manager Bobby Outten made an announcement that the county is pursuing another grant. This one is for Rodanthe. The cost is $41,890,000 million.

This is a FEMA grant and part of the Community Disaster Resilience Zones Act. Under this grant program, the county will be responsible for 10 percent of the total cost or just over $4 million.

The project as proposed would extend 12,000 linear feet from Mirlo Beach in the north to mid-way the Kampgrounds of America – or KOA – property. The grant calls for 3.8 million cubic yards of sand.

Barton Grover, the county’s grants manager, says the county will know in about a year if the county was awarded the grant. And it will be at least another year to find the sand to pump on the beach.

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