William Helms: “in offering today the Oregon Inlet Protection Act of 1997, I must emphasize that this legislation is vital to thousands…”

“in offering today the Oregon Inlet Protection Act of 1997, I must emphasize that this legislation is vital to thousands of North Carolinians, especially citizens who work along the northeastern coast of North Carolina known as the Outer Banks, where commercial and recreational fishermen risk their lives every day trying to navigate the hazardous waters of Oregon Inlet. These fishermen have been pleading for this legislation for decades because it is a matter of life or death for them. At last count, 20 fishermen have lost their lives in Oregon Inlet during the past 30 years, the latest tragedy having occurred on December 30, 1992, when a 31-foot commercial fishing vessel sank in Oregon Inlet. This was the 20th vessel to be lost in those waters since 1961. Fortunately, both crewmen were rescued, but the Coast Guard never found the wreckage. Mr. President, this legislation proposes neither the appropriation of money nor the authorization of new expenditures and projects; it merely requires the Secretary of the Interior to transfer two small parcels of Interior Department land to the Department of the Army so that the Corps of Engineers may begin work on a too-long-delayed project authorized by Congress in 1970--25 years ago. In doing so, 100 acres of land, adjacent to Oregon Inlet in Dare County, will be transferred to the Department of the Army.”