November 21, 2025

Brunswick County approval to remove Stateline buoy on Poplar Creek

I am the chairman of the Brunswick Buoy Committee.  Along with Mac Osborme we manage the repair and replacement of navigation buoys on Lake Gaston in Brunswick County waters.  There are 7 on Poplar Creek and 10 on Pea Hill Creek along with 4 bridges that have lights.

In the past few years, the boating on Lake Gaston has changed very much.  There are more boats/wave runners, and they are bigger and faster.  We now have many more renters that come for the week from various areas who are not familiar with the lake and in some cases are not required to have a safe boating license.  One of the critical aspects of safe boating is to always have a forward observer.  Their job is to look for obstructions in the water, swimmers, boats towing wake boarders, tubing and skiing. (and of course our navigation buoys).  But this does not always happen, and the result is the important navigation buoys for boater safety are run into and damaged.  Despite the speed and size of boats it is boater negligence that results in damage to these important hazard and regulatory buoys.  

Brunswick County is the only county on the lake that supports buoys at their cost.  In North Carolina it is supported by the state.  As such I am very concerned about the cost to the county to maintain these buoys.  Brunswick spends more than about $6,000 per year on average.  The labor is free by volunteers. 

The Stateline buoy which is located at the entrance of Poplar Creek from the main lake identifies you are entering Brunswick County from the state of North Carolina. This buoy serves no warning of any hazards or regulations. It has cost the county over $6000 in the past 5 years. It is hit several times a year and repaired if possible.  The buoy has a 2-mile light on it that costs $500.  And the buoy is $300 with related hardware.  If the cable that secures it to the bottom is lost then that is an additional sum of money.

This buoy was not on the original list of buoys approved by the county and Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources in 2006.  Somehow it was added to the water.  VDWR has no record of it, and it is not inspected every April like all the others. Both the county and I have elevated this to VDWR, and they say we can remove it because it does not designate a danger or a restricted area. So, it is my request to remove this buoy.