Coastal Barrier Bill Mandates Removal of North Topsail Beach Land from Federal Protection within 30 Days

This bill, officially the Town of North Topsail Beach Coastal Barrier Resources System Map Amendment Act of 2025, is laser-focused. It orders the Secretary of the Interior to make a specific, targeted change to the official map of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS) affecting only the town of North Topsail Beach, North Carolina. Within 30 days of this law passing, any property inside North Topsail Beach that is currently part of the protected Unit L06 must be removed from the CBRS if the town’s local zoning rules allow for anything other than conservation use. This is a quick move designed to pull specific parcels out of federal environmental protection based entirely on local zoning decisions.

What the CBRS Designation Actually Means

If you haven’t dealt with coastal policy, the CBRS might sound like jargon, but it’s actually a big deal for your wallet. The CBRS was created to discourage development in vulnerable coastal areas—like barrier islands and beaches—by cutting off federal subsidies. When a property is in the CBRS, it generally can’t get federal flood insurance, federal disaster aid for rebuilding, or federal funding for roads and infrastructure. The idea is simple: if you choose to build in a high-risk area, the taxpayer shouldn't be on the hook when the next hurricane hits. By removing land from the CBRS, this bill makes those properties eligible for federal subsidies and support again.

Local Zoning Calls the Shots

The key mechanism here is local zoning. The bill mandates removal from federal protection if the property’s current local zoning ordinance—as of the day the law is enacted—designates it for uses other than conservation. This means that if the town of North Topsail Beach has zoned a piece of land for residential housing, commercial development, or anything that isn't strictly conservation, the Secretary of the Interior must remove it from the federally protected Unit L06. Essentially, the local government’s zoning map now dictates the scope of federal environmental and financial protection in this specific area.

Bypassing the Standard Review

One provision that cuts through red tape—and potentially environmental review—is the requirement that the Secretary must treat every affected parcel as automatically meeting the criteria for removal under Section 4(g)(1)(B) of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act. This is a technical step, but the effect is clear: the bill bypasses the standard, comprehensive review process that usually determines if land should be removed from the CBRS. Instead, it’s a mandated, automatic removal based solely on the local zoning designation. For property owners and developers in North Topsail Beach, this provides immediate clarity and eligibility for federal funding and insurance. For the rest of us, it means that areas previously deemed too risky for federally subsidized development are now back on the menu.

The Real-World Cost Shift

Who feels this change? Primarily, the general public and taxpayers. When coastal land is removed from the CBRS and development proceeds, it becomes eligible for the National Flood Insurance Program and federal disaster relief. If a major storm hits that newly developed area, the costs associated with rebuilding roads, utilities, and providing disaster aid will fall back onto the federal budget—meaning, your tax dollars. This bill is a highly specific carve-out that transfers the financial risk of developing vulnerable coastal land in North Topsail Beach from private developers and owners back to the American taxpayer, while simultaneously reducing environmental protections for that specific barrier unit.