Two years later, the state has done little to implement its proposals. There's no protection of the coast going on. The new House Environment Committee chair, New Bern Republican John Nichols, threatened to dismantle the state's coastal-area management program. Conservationists don't just blame Republicans. Rather, they say developers have polluted politics with campaign money and used their special access to convince politicians that new regulations will hurt economic growth.
Money makes a difference.
But because of the political giving, the mechanism for dealing with these problems has not been responsive. One key state body unresponsive to the need for bold initiatives is the Coastal Resources Commission, the 15-member board that regulates development in 20 coastal counties. Once considered innovative, the CRC enacted the 1985 seawall ban, one of the nation's first. Seven Martin appointees are still on the CRC, and some Hunt appointees are even less friendly to the environment. As a result, reforms upsetting to developers get sidetracked while some older policies are rehashed.