Feeling sandbagged? Take a gander

If you've wondered what the fuss is about the state requiring the removal of sandbags along the N.C. coast where permits have expired, and don't know what those sandbags look like, the state is giving you a way to take a look. The Division of Coastal Management has created a Web site through Google Earth that lets you click on problem spots so you can see for yourself. The Web site is at http://www.nccoastalmanagement.net/sandbag_locations.htm
These are not little sandbags of the sort you see thrown around during floods out West. These are big sand-filled monsters, and there are something like 358 of them along the coast. They are allowed under state law that prohibits certain "hardened" structures such as seawalls, which can cause erosion at nearby property. The law allows temporary sandbags to help stabilize property threatened by the sea, but there are time limits.
Jim Gregson, director of the Division of Coastal Management in Morehead City, told attendees at the annual conference of the N.C. Beach, Inlet and Waterway Association Monday that the state ordered 150 of the sandbags removed by May of this year, while another 65 were covered by sand and vegetation and thus not subject to be removed. The remainder will have to be removed, but the state isn't going after every one all at once because there might be a flood of appeals for variances. The state sent out a letter to 23 property owners whose sandbags are a priority to remove. Those are the ones on the interactive Web site. You can click on the teardrop-shaped icons along the coast to see exactly what they look like. Here's a link.