By Catherine M. Welch
Wilmington, NC – Coastal and waterway groups from across the state converged onto Capitol Hill Tuesday to talk with members of the North Carolina delegation.
Members of the Wilmington-New Hanover County Ports, Waterways & Beach Commission walked miles down marbel halls, shaking hands and passing out jars of sand as a reminder that sand needs to be scooped out of area inlets and dumped onto eroding beaches.
The group also walked lawmakers through a new study looking at the economic impact of recreational boating on the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
The study finds recreational boaters dump $21-million in taxes into state coffers and create roughly 4,000 jobs ini the state.
The latest budget out of the White House offers zero dollars for maintaining the Intracoastal Waterway.