Carolina Alumni Review - November/December 2011

TODD MILLER ’ 78

the conservative John Locke Foundation also opposed the groins legislation on the grounds that taxpayers should not foot the bill for such projects.

“It’s not every day that we agree with the John Locke Foundation,” Miller said, “but in this case we both felt that taxpayers should have a say in how their money is spent on projects of dubious value.” (In July, North Carolina lawmakers signed the bill into law allowing terminal groins. Proposed projects still must obtain various permits.)

Not everyone shares Miller’s view of what constitutes dubious value. Public officials from several coastal communities have argued that terminal groins could save beaches and reduce the need for dredging sand from inlets. And companies with big projects on the drawing board sometimes take a dim view of the federation’s interference. Titan America, for instance, which plans to build a cement factory in New Hanover County, has posted blog entries on the company’s website calling the federation “a major agitator” and a “front for several antidevelopment nonprofits.” The federation claims that the cement plant could destroy thousands of acres of wetlands, draw down the Castle Hayne aquifer and contaminate the region with several pollutants, including mercury. Titan America denies these claims.

Even though the federation does oppose business development that threatens the coastal environment, Miller does not view its mission as antibusiness. Nor does he view his role as liberal activism.

“We find there’s enormous public interest in the coast, and it doesn’t follow political lines.” In many ways, Miller said, the federation’s mission is fundamentally conservative, in the original, Teddy Roosevelt sense of the word. He believes that often, environmental problems stem from too much government spending, not too little.

Federally subsidized flood insurance, for example, has encouraged coastal development in areas vulnerable to storms, floods and erosion by keeping premiums artificially low. Beach nourishment projects, jetties, groins, seawalls and bulkheads are all attempts to protect private property by combating natural forces. But fighting nature this way usually does more harm than good, Miller believes, and the structures are expensive.