20230797 Ver 1_Email_20240522

VIA ELECTRONIC DELIVERY ONLY
May 22, 2024
Ms. Christine A. Goebel
Assistant General Counsel
North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
[e-mail]

RE: Island Riparian Rights for Carteret County CAMA
Permit for Public Boat Ramp Facility

Dear Ms. Goebel,

As counsel for Carteret County, I am writing in response to your
correspondence dated April 4, 2024, regarding the upland portion on the west end of
one of the islands at issue. After a review of the deeds and historical maps, we believe
that the project, as currently proposed, should not negatively or illegally impact the
riparian rights of any private landowners.
The entirety of the sandy, unimproved island under consideration and all of the
islands in the vicinity are marked and labeled as “spoil islands” on the U.S. Coast and
Geodotic Survey map, which were developed using aerial photos from 1946 and 1980.
Under N.C.G.S. § 146-6, ownership vests in the State for any island formed in
navigable water by the process of nature, or the act of man or by dredging, which is the
generally understood use of the label “spoil island.” This island is likely owned in
whole by the State of North Carolina, and we have been unable to find any conclusive
evidence in the deed record to show otherwise. In inquiring with Carteret County GIS,
the current labeling of ownership is not documented with deeds or documentary
evidence but was historically noted based upon citizen report. After reviewing title, we
have not found any recorded legal description that conclusively shows any private
ownership of this particular island. The legal description and maps on the deeds that
have been offered to support private ownership appear to reference completely different
tracts of land in Emerald Isle.
In addition to the entirety of the island being labeled as a dredging spoil island,
the project has also been scaled back to avoid the portion of the island referenced in
your correspondence. As a result, the project as now conceived should not impact the
riparian rights of any proposed owner of that section of island.
To the extent any residual or unintended impact occurs around the margins of the project, this would fall
under the public trust doctrine. Under Weeks and Parker, appurtenant littoral rights are “subordinate to public
trust protections,” which allow lands under navigable waters to be held in trust by the State for the benefit and
enjoyment of North Carolina’s citizens “for navigation, fishing and commerce.” Weeks v. North Carolina Dept.
of Natl. Res., 97 N.C.App. 215 (1990); Parker v. New Hanover Cty., 173 N.C.App. 644 (2005): see also
N.C.G.S. § 1-45.1 (2007) (codifying the public trust doctrine and extending its protections to “the right to
navigate, swim, hunt, fish, and enjoy all recreational activities in the watercourses of the State”).
The proposed ramp project in Carteret County is intended solely for the benefit, use and enjoyment of the
public. Citizens from across the State would use this ramp to enable boating, fishing, swimming and other
recreational activities in and around our coastal County.
We truly appreciate your consideration, and respectfully ask for your assistance in obtaining the permits
required to make this a reality.
MEWBORN & DESELMS
829 Gum Branch Road | Suite C | Jacksonville, NC 28540
P: 910.455.9755 | F: 910.346.3483 | mewbornlaw.biz