RALEIGH, N.C.  – North Carolina lawmakers say coastal regulators should allow waterfront communities to install a kind of hardened structures designed to keep shoreline sand from floating into the water.

The state Senate voted Thursday to give the Coastal Resources Commission authority to grant construction of what’s called a terminal groin.

Such a structure runs perpendicular to the shore, close to a tidal inlet. The terminal groin entraps sand, keeping the shoreline intact and preventing sand from clogging the inlet.

The commission has banned such structures since 1985. Bill sponsor Sen. Julia Boseman of Wilmington said local governments want the option to protect their beaches.

Environmental groups argue the groins are a bad idea that will encourage risky waterfront building.

The bill was approved 37-10 and sent to the House.