Coastal development is the primary economic engine of the 20 coastal counties.NC 20 is a partnership of the people, local governments, and businesses of the 20 Coastal (CAMA) Counties in North Carolina dedicated to economic development of the member counties. We concentrate primarily on actions to prevent regulation and rule making not based on science, to establish or maintain fairness in State funding (e.g. DOT), and to oppose predatory pricing in the areas of homeowners and dwelling insurance.

Incorporated in 2010 as a 501-c-4 nonprofit, NC 20 was the result of a loose coalition of counties that found common interest in opposing expanded stormwater rules in the 2008-9 rule making process. While there were some counties that did have fecal coliform levels that required some expanded restrictions, many did not; in fact, one county had demonstrated improved water quality with minimum impairment but was subjected to the same rules as other counties that had far worse levels. During the hearing process, the State official in charge commented, “This isn’t about science, it’s about political science. “ Those coastal residents present were sufficiently motivated by that comment to start NC 20.

The following year, they were far more organized and had a substantial impact on the insurance debate over HB 1305. The attachment, “What We Accomplished,” describes the success of that effort. Our President and expert for Insurance Affairs, Willo Kelly, is arguably the most knowledgeable individual in the State regarding coastal insurance who does not work in the insurance industry. It was her research that Sen. Basnight used in his dramatic reversal of many of the HB 1305 issues.

In 2010, DENR issued a ruling in the Tar-Pam and Neuse Buffer counties that essentially deleted variances to buffer rules that had been issued to property owners who sold their property without developing it. New owners were required to reapply under the current rules, and had no guarantee they would get a variance, obviously resulting in a taking. When NC 20 objected, the State Attorney General reviewed the rule and found it unconstitutional. Top DENR officials traveled to an NC 20 meeting in New Bern and issued a public apology. Later, NC 20 had a private 2 hour meeting with DENR Secretary Dee Freeman and had a very fruitful meeting that aired dozens of problematic issues.

Perhaps the most impressive accomplishment to date was the complete reversal of the draft policy of CRC regarding Sea Level Rise (SLR). The draft policy presented by the Science Panel of the CRC mandated that we plan for 39 inches of SLR across the CAMA area. NC 20 Board members met in a private meeting with the Chair of the CRC and carefully laid out the unscientific assumptions used in the draft report, showing the numerous errors and inconsistencies. He immediately agreed to remove most of the regulatory language, but the CRC’s Science Panel reaffirmed their belief in the “hockey stick” rise by 2100 of 39 inches. That was used by the Division of Emergency Management to draw new flood plain maps showing an additional 2000 square miles under the flood zone. We met with that Department and convinced them to reduce the SLR estimate to 8 inches which reduced the projected impact to 500 square miles. That was based on  the linear extension of the Wilmington Tide Gauge data, the best and longest data string in the State. In the final analysis, the NC State Legislature agreed with us.  It passed Rep.Pat McElraft’s  bill, H819, that required a four year moratorium on any accelerated SLR estimate not supported by a scientific study using verified, peer reviewed data. It forbade the use of computer models based on speculation based on a long chain of events beginning with CO2 increase.