News

Re: Fulcher’s Seafood Dock Improvement Major CAMA Permit (PA-3576)

Sound Rivers has reviewed the CAMA Major Permit application (PA-3576) submitted by Fulcher’s Point Pride Seafood Company for proposed dredging and dock construction at the Town Harbour jetty in Oriental. As a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and monitoring the health of the Neuse and Tar-Pamlico river basins, Sound Rivers respectfully requests that the Department of Coastal Management deny this CAMA Major Permit application.

Impacts to Aquatic Habitat and Water Quality

Sound Rivers is concerned about Fulcher’s proposal to dredge and disturb the riverbed within Raccoon Creek and the Neuse River in the Town of Oriental. The proposed project would disturb approximately 23,000 square feet of the riverbed and would directly impact benthic habitat and water quality in waterways designated as High Quality Waters and Nutrient Sensitive Waters.

The proposal would permanently remove approximately 8,800 square feet of benthic habitat, increase the area of the creek bottom subject to shading, and increase turbidity during construction. Given that this waterway is currently a working harbour, we are also concerned about the potential for dredging to cause the re-suspension of pollutants such as heavy metals that are currently within the sediment. The permit application should include a sediment analysis within its stated impacts to account for the potential of re-suspending legacy pollutants from maritime traffic and ship maintenance.

While the waterway where the dock is proposed is not itself designated as a Primary Nursery Area, it is directly adjacent to a large Primary Nursery Area in Smith Creek and Green Creek on the opposite side of the Oriental Road Bridge. Dredging and construction-related turbidity and disturbance therefore have the potential to affect nearby sensitive nursery habitat.

The proposed project also reflects a continuing expansion of Fulcher’s operations within Oriental Harbour. In 2018, Fulcher’s received a Major CAMA permit to construct a bulkhead and add six slips to its facility. In 2020, the company received another permit to dredge and maintain those slips. This application proposes five additional slips and further dredging, continuing a pattern of increasing physical disturbance within the harbor.

Documented History of Environmental Violations

Sound Rivers is also concerned that approval of this permit could perpetuate a history of environmental violations associated with Fulcher’s Point Pride operations in Oriental Harbour.

In 2022, community members and Sound Rivers reported incidents of illegal in-water boat maintenance to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Following these reports, DEQ inspections documented paint chips, dust, and particulate matter floating on the surface of the water. DEQ determined that the activities constituted unpermitted discharges to public surface waters.

Two incidents occurred within days of one another. In the first, workers were observed grinding paint from the docked vessel Chasity Brook, resulting in paint chips and dust covering portions of Oriental Harbour. In the second, maintenance workers wearing hazmat suits were observed conducting similar work on the fishing trawler Gaston Bell in the middle of the Neuse River, creating an approximately 75,000-square-foot debris field of paint and particulate matter in open water.

An anonymous source reported both incidents to Sound Rivers and provided photographs and video evidence, including footage appearing to show workers attempting to sink paint debris in the harbor using a hose.

According to a 2022 assessment by DEQ’s Division of Water Resources, at least one of these violations appeared to be willful: “The second violation appears to be willful given that Fulcher’s Seafood Inc. has been notified about the first violation, yet they still conducted another in-water boat maintenance with only the location changed.”

DEQ issued a civil penalty of $21,588.98 to Fulcher’s in March 2023. However, the paperwork contained incorrect identifying information. Although new Notices of Violation with the correct information were issued in June 2023, the civil penalty was never reissued and therefore remains unpaid.

Given this documented history, Sound Rivers believes the Department should carefully consider whether additional dredging, dock construction, and associated activities are appropriate at this location without substantially stronger environmental safeguards.

Pump-Out Provisions and Additional Safeguards

Finally, Sound Rivers is concerned that the permit application does not clearly specify provisions for pump-out facilities or explain how required pump-out services will be provided. This creates uncertainty about how wastewater from vessels using the expanded facility will be managed and raises concerns about the potential for future discharges into an already stressed waterway.

At a minimum, any approval should include clear, enforceable requirements governing pump-out provisions, in-water maintenance, dredging, turbidity, and other activities that could adversely affect water quality and aquatic habitat.

Conclusion

The proposed project would permanently disturb benthic habitat, increase shading and construction-related turbidity, and further expand development and dredging within Oriental Harbour and adjacent sensitive aquatic habitat. These impacts must be considered alongside Fulcher’s documented history of environmental violations and the unresolved civil penalty associated with those violations.

For these reasons, Sound Rivers respectfully requests that the Department of Coastal Management deny Fulcher’s CAMA Major Permit application.

Alternatively, if the Department determines that the project should move forward, Sound Rivers echoes the request of Oriental’s Harbour and Waterfront Committee that any approval be contingent upon a comprehensive environmental impact assessment and strong, enforceable conditions designed to prevent additional harm to Raccoon Creek, the Neuse River, and surrounding sensitive aquatic habitat.

Thank you for your consideration of these comments.

Warmly,

Samantha Krop

Neuse Riverkeeper and Advocacy Director

Sound Rivers

samantha@soundrivers.org