OAK ISLAND — The dredging of the Lockwoods Folly Inlet in Brunswick County is once again an item of discussion; if approved the Town of Oak Island could be the beneficiary of much needed beach-quality sand.
Earlier this year the Town of Oak Island requested permission to become a party to the Shallow Draft Inlet-5 federal permit, meaning it would be the recipient of sand for renourishment. During the last dredging only the Town of Holden Beach was able to receive the sand for its own shore.
Related: Oak Island asks to benefit from future dredgings of Lockwoods Folly Inlet
According to the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners agenda, “The United States Army Corps of Engineers can make the Merritt, a hopper dredge, available in mid-to-late September of this year to dredge the Lockwood Folly Inlet navigation channel to a depth of approximately 10-feet and proposed to place approximately 30,000-cubic-years of sand nearshore off Oak Island.”
The project will cost an estimated $676,000 and two-thirds of that is eligible for funding from the NC Shallow Draft Navigation Fund. The USACE has more than $100,000 still available from a previous dredging project so local funding at the time of approval would be $570,000. Brunswick County would provide $198,000 local match money to the state and is requesting the Town of Oak Island provide $95,000 towards the project.
The Brunswick County Board of Commissioners will vote on the approval of the project on Monday.
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