North Carolina Coastal Union Daily News Service

State regulators are cracking down on places where owners may install artificial turf near coastal waterways.

During the Coastal Resources Committee meeting on Wednesday, September 15, Robb Mairs, a small permit coordinator at the Wilmington office of the North Carolina Department of Coastal Management, stated that the use of artificial turf in the state’s 75-foot-long coastline can cause Environmental issues, or AEC, and the associated 30-foot buffer zone "emerged suddenly" this year.

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This seemingly new trend has raised concerns about certain materials used to install artificial grass, different types of materials used to make artificial turf, whether these materials are permeable, and how their proximity to coastal waters might affect water quality.

The Coastal Resources Commission’s regulations restrict development within the 30-foot buffer zone to water, including docks, piers, ship ramps, bulkheads, and passages. There are some exceptions to the rules, such as pile-supported signs, elevated slatted boardwalks, crab sheds, deck leveling, excavation and landscaping, as long as wetland infill is not included—unless the shoreline stabilization project permits it.

However, Mairs explained that the state has no standards for installing artificial turf in the buffer zone.

Coastal AEC includes wetlands, estuary waters, public trust areas, and estuary and public trust coastlines.

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State coastal officials believe that these 30-foot-long buffer zones within the AEC are particularly important for protecting water quality.

According to Christie Simmons, a spokesperson for the Coastal Administration, in May last year, Coastal Administration officials installed artificial turf for the first time in the 75-foot AEC on Wrightsville Beach.

Simmons said in an email: "The case was resolved through law enforcement actions and the coastline buffer zone was restored."

She said that since then, the department has been reviewing cases in Corolla in Curituck County, Topsail Beach in Pender County, and Wrightsville Beach in New Hanover County. In some of these cases, artificial turf must be removed, at least from within a 30-foot coastline buffer zone.

"So far, in the limited law enforcement cases we have encountered, we have only requested the removal of artificial turf without evaluating any civil penalties," Simmons said.

As department licensing officials are dealing with these cases, owners and gardeners are becoming more and more interested in the placement of artificial turf in the coastal shoreline AEC.

Part of the controversy regarding the management of artificial turf within the AEC concerns whether the artificial grass and the materials used to install it are impervious to water.

Coastal Resources Commissioner Neal Andrew said at the committee's September 15 meeting that he had seen some artificial turf that had been installed on Wrightsville Beach.

"It looks like water does drain through this material, so it looks like a permeable surface," he said. "I personally think that there is no problem beyond 30 feet."

The head of the department, Braxton Davis, said that it has not been determined whether the artificial turf is permeable, and any such determination may have to be summarized on a case-by-case basis.

Myers said the problem is that certain components of the artificial turf appear to be inconsistent with the standards set by the North Carolina Department of Water Resources and the State Department of Energy, Minerals, and Land Resources (DEMLR) State Rainwater Department.

DEMLR staff stated that they must decide on a case-by-case basis whether artificial turf is permeable.

Any such decision will not rule out DEMLR's requirement that the vegetation on the surface water in coastal rainwater permits to regress. Unless one or more exceptions to the rule are met, the rule requires that the area in the buffer zone maintain vegetation.

Artificial turf is no exception.

The Tar-Pamlico and Neuse river buffer rules do not include artificial turf in their use tables.

Officials from the Ministry of Water Resources stated that artificial turf seems to contradict the intent of the rule, which is to retain the buffer as a nutrient-removing function.

Water resources officials expressed concern that small plastic fibers, rubber or silica beads may sometimes get mixed into the soil under the turf during installation, may enter nearby waters and may violate state water quality standards.

Larry Baldwin, vice chairman of the Coastal Resources Council, said that if artificial turf is installed for rainwater infiltration, the design may have an impact, especially if turf is used instead of fertilized grass to reduce potential nutrient loss.

"In terms of what is better for water quality, I feel a little irritated about it," he said.

When Baldwin objected, the committee members voted 10-1 to ban the installation of artificial turf in the 30-foot buffer zone.

Committee Chairman Renee Cahoon said: "I think if we all care about water quality, I will make the staff as simple as possible and protect our last line of defense in the waters."

Commissioner Craig Bromby said the committee should investigate the matter further.

"I think we can maintain the status quo and endorse the explanation (of the department), but I think it needs to be considered," he said.

Submitted as follows: Coastal Policy, Features, News and Features Tagged as: Coastal Resources Committee, Microplastics, National Committees and Committees, Water Quality Reprint this story

Trista Talton is a native of North Carolina. Soon after graduating from Appalachian State University in 1996, he took his first job in the newspaper as Hickory Reporter for Daily Record. Since then, she has moved to the coast, covering everything from education and local government to law enforcement, the environment, and the military, including embedding with the Marine Corps in Kuwait at the beginning of the 2003 Iraq War. She has been a contributor to Coastal Review since 2011, focusing on coastal related issues from Onslow to Brunswick County. She lives in Jacksonville with her husband and two sons.

In 2021, he won 9 North Carolina Press Association Awards.

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