Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Newspaper Articles

Reprinted by permission of The News & Observer of Raleigh, North Carolina

March 12, 1999

The News & Observer

Judge will hear request to cease work on relocating lighthouse

By FROM STAFF REPORTS

Page: A3

ELIZABETH CITY -- A federal judge on Monday will consider a request to stop work on moving the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse away from the ocean until federal agencies study possible environmental damage from the relocation.

The hearing, scheduled for 11 a.m. before U.S. Judge Terrence W. Boyle of Elizabeth City, will take place about three months after the disputed $9.8 million relocation project began. Workers for a New York company already have moved four structures, including a two-story lighthouse keepers' quarters, and have removed a significant chunk of the lighthouse foundation.

The National Park Service, which manages the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, plans to move the 200-foot-tall lighthouse and support structures about 2,900 feet to the southwest to protect them from erosion. The lighthouse, built in 1870, now stands about 120 feet from the ocean.

But opponents - including Dare County officials, local residents and merchants - are seeking a preliminary injunction to halt all work. They contended in a lawsuit filed in January that the Park Service violated federal law by not preparing an environmental impact statement for work that is a major federal action.

The lawsuit said opponents would lose businesses and tax revenue from tourists if the lighthouse is destroyed or damaged. It also said that the shoreline has been protected by three groins or hardened walls on the beach that trap sand. Removing the groins after the lighthouse is moved will result in rapid beach erosion, the complaint said, an impact the Park Service has failed to adequately consider.

Officials of International Chimney Co. of Buffalo, N.Y., the contractor for relocation, said the lighthouse would be moved to its new home in the summer.

Section: News
Edition: Final
Estimated Printed Pages: 2

Index Terms:
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
NC
coast
judicial

Copyright 1999 by The News & Observer Pub. Co.

Record Number: 1999070036