North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 15A - Environmental Quality › Chapter 07 - Coastal Management › Subchapter H - STATE GUIDELINES FOR AREAS OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERN › Section .0300 - OCEAN HAZARD AREAS › Section 07H .0312 - TECHNICAL STANDARDS FOR BEACH FILL PROJECTS

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
Placement of sediment along the oceanfront shoreline is
					 referred to in this Rule as "beach fill." Sediment used solely to establish or
					 strengthen dunes shall conform to the standards contained in
					 15A NCAC
					 07H .0308(b). Sediment used
					 to re-establish state-maintained transportation corridors across a barrier
					 island breach in a disaster area as declared by the Governor is not considered
					 a beach fill project under this Rule. Beach fill projects including beach
					 nourishment, dredged material disposal, habitat restoration, storm protection,
					 and erosion control may be permitted under the following conditions:
(1) The applicant shall characterize the
				  recipient beach according to the following methodology. Initial
				  characterizations of the recipient beach shall serve as the baseline for
				  subsequent beach fill projects:
(a)
				  Characterization of the recipient beach is not required for the placement of
				  sediment directly from and completely confined to a cape shoal system, or
				  maintained navigation channel or associated sediment basins within the active
				  nearshore, beach or inlet shoal system. For purposes of this Rule, "cape shoal
				  systems" include Frying Pan Shoals at Cape Fear, Lookout Shoals at Cape
				  Lookout, and Diamond Shoals at Cape Hatteras;
(b) Sediment sampling and analysis shall be
				  used to capture the spatial variability of the sediment characteristics
				  including grain size, sorting and mineralogy within the natural
				  system;
(c) Shore-perpendicular
				  transects shall be established for topographic and bathymetric surveying of the
				  recipient beach. Topographic and bathymetric surveying shall occur along a
				  minimum of five shore-perpendicular transects evenly spaced throughout the
				  entire project area with spacing not to exceed 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) in the
				  shore-parallel direction. Each transect shall extend from the frontal dune
				  crest seaward to a depth of 20 feet (6.1 meters) or to the shore-perpendicular
				  distance 2,400 feet (732 meters) seaward of mean low water, whichever is in a
				  more landward position. Elevation data for all transects shall be compliant
				  with Standards of Practice for Land Surveying in North Carolina pursuant to
				  21 NCAC
				  56 .1600. These Rules are hereby incorporated
				  by reference, including subsequent amendments;
(d) Along each transect, at least one sample
				  shall be taken from each of the following morphodynamic zones where present:
				  frontal dune, frontal dune toe, mid berm, mean high water (MHW), mid tide (MT),
				  mean low water (MLW), trough, bar crest and at even depth increments from 6
				  feet (1.8 meters) to 20 feet (6.1 meters) or to a shore-perpendicular distance
				  2,400 feet (732 meters) seaward of mean low water, whichever is in a more
				  landward position. The total number of samples taken landward of MLW shall
				  equal the total number of samples taken seaward of MLW;
(e) For the purpose of this Rule, "sediment
				  grain size categories" are defined as "fine" (less than 0.0625 millimeters),
				  "sand" (greater than or equal to 0.0625 millimeters and less than 2
				  millimeters), "granular" (greater than or equal to 2 millimeters and less than
				  4.76 millimeters) and "gravel" (greater than or equal to 4.76 millimeters and
				  less than 76 millimeters). Each sediment sample shall report percentage by
				  weight of each of these four grain size categories;
(f) A composite of the simple arithmetic mean
				  for each of the four grain size categories defined in Sub-Item (1)(e) of this
				  Rule shall be calculated for each transect. A grand mean shall be established
				  for each of the four grain size categories by summing the mean for each
				  transect and dividing by the total number of transects. The value that
				  characterizes grain size values for the recipient beach is the grand mean of
				  percentage by weight for each grain size category defined in Sub-Item (1)(e) of
				  this Rule;
(g) Percentage by weight
				  calcium carbonate shall be calculated from a composite of all sediment samples.
				  The value that characterizes the carbonate content of the recipient beach is a
				  grand mean calculated by summing the average percentage by weight calcium
				  carbonate for each transect and dividing by the total number of
				  transects;
(h) The number of
				  sediments greater than or equal to one inch (25.4 millimeters) in diameter, and
				  shell material greater than or equal to three inches (76 millimeters) in
				  diameter shall be differentiated and calculated through visual observation of
				  an area of 10,000 square feet centered on each transect, and between mean tide
				  level (MTL) and the frontal dune toe within the beach fill project boundaries.
				  A simple arithmetic mean shall be calculated for both sediments and shell by
				  summing the totals for each across all transects and dividing by the total
				  number of transects, and these values shall be considered representative of the
				  entire project area, and referred to as the "background" values for large
				  sediment and large shell material;
(i) Beaches that received sediment prior to
				  the effective date of this Rule shall be characterized in a way that is
				  consistent with Sub-Items (1)(a) through (1)(h) of this Rule and may use data
				  collected from the recipient beach prior to the addition of beach fill where
				  data are available, and in coordination with the Division of Coastal
				  Management; and
(j) All data used
				  to characterize the recipient beach shall be provided in digital and hardcopy
				  format to the Division of Coastal Management upon request.