MOREHEAD CITY – When Feds (especially military) want to do something that might step on the toes of a state’s coastal regulations, a document known as a ‘Consistency Determination’ is properly prepared. In 16 pages of ‘government speak’ reviewed Tuesday afternoon, Uncle Sam repeatedly claimed that future actions by Cherry Point Marine Corps Air Station will be ‘consistent’ with North Carolina’s coastal regulations to the maximum extent practicable.
Those last three words were a common refrain. Once however (on Page 3), Uncle Sam makes it clear that consistency is not in the cards when it comes to the future of Bombing Target 9 (Pamlico County) and Bombing Target 11 (Carteret County).
Deviating from being consistent with North Carolina’s coastal regulations, the Cherry Point narrative described a ‘Proposed Action’ that is entirely inconsistent. A new and much larger chunk of Pamlico Sound will see ‘intermittent’ restrictions of boating traffic. Also, of big concern to local fishermen, is a new and PERMANENT addition of a 500-foot wide restricted area ‘safety buffer’ around Bombing Target 11.
The ‘Consistency Determination’ also lacked much detail – a point stressed by both Glenn Skinner and Brent Fulcher of the North Carolina Fisheries Association. Specifically, how frequent (or infrequent) is ‘intermittent use?’ Recreational angler William Warren added that he had fished in the vast area within the last three weeks, and suggested that notifying the boating public of any future ‘off-limits’ status would be difficult.
The brief 45-minute public comment session also featured some amusing anecdotes about decades of good fishing around the targets. Dale Murphy recalled an evening in the early 1970s when he anchored on the southeast corner of BT-11. “Yeah,” he chuckled, “that was the night my boat got struck by lightning. It knocked me down completely, and for months after I had a copper taste in my mouth like I was sucking on a penny.”
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