Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Newspaper Articles

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

December 1, 1998

The News & Observer

Lighthouse lawsuit filed

By JERRY ALLEGOOD; STAFF WRITER

Page: A3

GREENVILLE -- Dare County officials filed a lawsuit in federal court Monday to stop the federal government from moving the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse back from the ocean, a move the lawsuit said could cause the historic structure to collapse.

"If it is to be moved, we want to be certain it is moved safely," said Geneva Perry, chairwoman of the Dare Board of Commissioners. "We're very nervous about the move."

The commissioners, in a complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Greenville, asked for an order preventing the National Park Service from doing any relocation work until the case is settled. The case was assigned to Judge Terrence Boyle of Elizabeth City, but a hearing has not been scheduled and no orders have been issued.

Bob Woody, a spokesman for the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, said federal agencies stand behind their contention that relocating the lighthouse to a spot about 2,900 feet from the eroding ocean shoreline can be done safely.

Woody said he does not know how the lawsuit will affect the plans of International Chimney Co., which will handle the move. The company had said it would start hauling equipment to the Outer Banks in mid-December, begin work early next year, and finish by summer.

The lawsuit is the latest skirmish in a dispute that has swirled around the spiral-striped beacon for more than a decade. Opponents of the move contend that the l28-year-old lighthouse can't withstand the stress of being severed from its foundation, lifted and moved on rollers.

An organization headed by Linville developer Hugh Morton has widely circulated the opinion of retired engineer Edwin L. Jones Jr. of J.A. Jones Construction Co., who believes that moving the lighthouse would involve a high risk. There are two vertical cracks in the mortar joints that run from the top of the lighthouse to the bottom.

The Dare commissioners have repeatedly objected to the relocation. Last week, the board authorized legal action after some commissioners complained that the park service had not fully explained the $9.8 million project. The lawsuit said the "more reasoned option" is to protect the lighthouse where it stands by building a new groin or wall into the water and by adding sand to the beach.

"The concern of most experts is that the old lighthouse cannot be moved without collapsing," the plaintiffs said in their complaint. "Based on citizen input and expert opinions, the Dare County Board of Commissioners believe that the high risk of moving the lighthouse is not necessary and has the potential for being a disastrous American boondoggle."

In addition, the commissioners complained that federal officials did not share the contract for the relocation with them or the public, did not hold hearings on the federal funding, and did not prepare an environmental analysis. The complaint said there were consistent reports that the lighthouse would be chopped into three sections.

Bob Reynolds, superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, said in a news release last week that questions had been stirred by misinformation and "wild rumors." He said suggestions that the lighthouse would be sawed into three pieces were "ludicrous, hardly believable," and that such a strategy "certainly would be an action adverse to the whole purpose of this project - the long-term protection of the lighthouse."

He said the lighthouse will be moved as a single unit, except for the outside staircase , which will be labeled, disassembled, transported and reassembled in the new location. The lighthouse will be separated at its base below ground level and moved to a new foundation.

"Wild rumors are one way to put pizzazz in an otherwise routine process, especially when it involves the highly visible Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, which has caught world attention in recent months," the news release said. "The fact that the lighthouse also lies close to the heart of many of the inhabitants on Hatteras Island and Dare County have made it an emotional issue as well.

Section: News
Edition: Final
Estimated Printed Pages: 3

Index Terms:
NC
coast
lawsuit
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Dare County

Caption:
photo; file

The 208-foot Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, America's tallest, is threatened by erosion. Plans call for it to be moved 2,900 feet from the ocean.

Copyright 1998 by The News & Observer Pub. Co.

Record Number: 1998334114