(KILL DEVIL HILLS) -- At a meeting of the Outer Banks Chamber of Commerce on Monday Gov. Beverly Perdue addressed the economic challenges being created by sand in Oregon Inlet.  The Inlet has become too shallow for fishing vessels to safely pass and many are taking their catch north to Virginia.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers does not have enough money make the channel deep enough for large boats.  The governor told Outer Banks business leaders that keeping the waterway open is critical to the state's economy and cultural heritage.  She puts the impact to business on the same level with the I-40 rockslide that stopped traffic on a portion of the highway form months beginning in the fall of 2009. 

Perdue said the state could contribute to dredging funds but according to information she has received from the federal government, June would be the earliest a second dredge could be deployed to the Outer Banks.  One options might be to get North Carolina's Congressional delegation to step in with an effort to force an earlier dredge arrival.

(Thanks to: Sam Walker - East Carolina Radio Group)