I received the following group e-mail from the Lighthouse Gallery and Gifts. I felt it was important to pass it along to those who haven't heard the information. It isn't over but it is more encouraging news.


Subject:
Special Bulletin
Date:
Thu, 25 Jun 1998 11:25:14 -0400
From:
"Lighthouse Gallery & Gifts, Inc"
To:
lighthouses@outer-banks.com




*****BULLETIN*****BULLETIN*****BULLETIN*****BULLETIN*****BULLETIN*****BULLET
IN*****

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE APPROVES
$9.8 MILLION TO MOVE CAPE HATTERAS LIGHTHOUSE

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- U.S. Senator Lauch Faircloth announced today that the
Senate Appropriations Committee, of which he is a member, had approved $9.8
million to move the erosion-threatened Cape Hatteras Lighthouse one-half
mile inland.

The provision was included in the Fiscal Year 1999 Interior Department's
spending bill. The bill is expected to be approved by the full Senate in
July. The House and Senate will work out differences between their
respective bills in a conference committee later this summer.

However, Senator Faircloth believes that, when the House and Senate bills
are conferenced in August, the Senate funds will be included. "The
Lighthouse is too important a state treasure to lose; we'll make it happen,
" Senator Faircloth stated.

"This issue has been debated for over a decade now," said Senator
Faircloth. "And for all that time the scientific community has been united
that moving the Lighthouse is the only sure way to protect it for future
generations."

"President Clinton's budget included the money this year. Governor Hunt
has stated that he supports the move, based on the scientific consensus,
and the environmental consequences of allowing exceptions to be made to
North Carolina's 1985 law banning all coastal hardening structures. The
Senate Appropriations Committee agreed with President Clinton and Governor
Hunt that the move is the only long-term, environmentally sound way to save
it," said Senator Faircloth.

"Everyone involved in this debate over how best to save the Lighthouse has
sincerely and passionately argued their case. Everyone wants to save it,
they just differ on how. Although there will never be full public
consensus, I believe that the course of action the Senate has taken today
will be best for the Lighthouse, best for our coast, and best for our
State," Senator Faircloth continued. "It ensures that future generations
of North Carolinians can proudly view and visit the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse."


-- more --


The other alternative often talked about, the fourth groin, would,
according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, cost $6.4 million because it
would also require expensive beachfilling. But, in reality, it would never
be built, since these structures are illegal under State law; instead the
whole matter would simply be tied up in the courts until a storm claimed
the Lighthouse. In addition, the Congress has also made clear that it will
not fund activities, such as the groin, which are inconsistent with state
and federal environmental laws.

The State's environmental organizations have long opposed any attempts
at weakening the State's ban on hardening the coast. The N.C. Coastal
Federation, Southern Environmental Law Center, and the N.C. Chapter of the
Sierra Club have all written Governor Hunt and Senator Faircloth to urge
them to support moving the Lighthouse and to oppose the fourth groin.
Todd Miller, the Executive Director of the N.C. Coastal Federation, stated
that : "We applaud the Senate Appropriations Committee's action to protect
the Lighthouse. Time is running out as it inches closer to the sea each
day. Only 120 feet stands between it and the ocean, so we don't have much
time left, since the ocean is eroding up to 10 feet a year on Hatteras
Island."

The April 9, 1998, public meeting which Senator Faircloth and U.S.
Representative Walter B. Jones, Jr. conducted in Manteo, N.C., revealed
that the debate over the Lighthouse had also become wrapped up in larger
issues, in particular how best to protect property and infrastructure in
the Outer Banks. Local political leaders expressed concern that the Outer
Banks was not receiving adequate state and federal assistance for beach
replenishment, and that Highway 12's fate was in jeopardy.

" I will work with Senator Basnight, Congressman Jones and State officials
to see that these concerns are addressed, " Senator Faircloth said. "The
Outer banks generates a large amount of North Carolina's tourist revenue,
and it hosts millions of tourists a year; its needs cannot just be met by
local resources alone."

BACKGROUND

When the Lighthouse was constructed in 1870 it stood one-half mile from the
ocean. However, constant erosion has now placed it only 120 feet from the
ocean, and heavy storms like Hurricane Gordon in 1994 have sometimes even
caused the Lighthouse to be stranded on a temporary island. Experts
predict that a Category III or higher hurricane or three back-to-back
Northeasters would topple it.

In addition, the yellow pine platform on which it rests is only stable
because it has been bathed in a fresh water lens for the last 130 years.
This oxygen-free environment has protected the timbers from destruction by
decay fungi, insects, and marine borers. But, as the sea

-- more --


encroaches, the lens is being pushed away, exposing the timbers to possible
infestation by these
seaborne wood-destroying parasites. The receding freshwater lens will also
ultimately cause the top of the timbers to be exposed to air, and thus dry
rot.

The proposed new location will place the Lighthouse (on a new concrete
foundation) in exactly the same position -- relative both to the sea and to
the other structures of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Historic District --
as it was when the Lighthouse was built in 1870.

Last year Congress approved $2 million to begin the process of preparing
for the move. On June 19, 1998, the National Park Service, which owns the
Lighthouse, awarded the moving contract to International Chimney Company of
Buffalo, N.Y.

Because of winter Northeasters and summer and fall hurricanes, there is
only a small window of time in which the Lighthouse can be moved each year,
roughly April-May. The move is now scheduled for those months in 1999.

###





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But we still need to make sure the money that is put in the final budget is
for the move. People need to call Ralph Regula's office (202) 225-3576 and
tell them NOT to put the money for the groin back in the House budget. It
is illegal for harden structures to be built on the North Carolina
coastline and if money for that was approved, the funds would be tied up in
a court battle for years during which time Cape Hatteras would loses it's
battle with the elements.
Outer Banks Lighthouse Society
P.O. Box 305
Kill Devil Hills NC 27948
Society: (919) 441-9928
http://www.outer-banks.com/lighthouse-society