One thing eastern North Carolinians never get tired of is a barbecue fundraiser. They especially never tire of them when those barbecue fundraisers are held outside, on an unseasonably mild August day, in a beautiful spot that sits on the shore of one of the many waterways that carve out the Beaufort County landscape.

That’s what happened Saturday at Cotton Patch Landing and Marine. People from all over the county, even outside the county borders, gathered to celebrate — and yes, it was a celebration — their fight against the state to save a place they hold dear: Blounts Creek, the actual creek.

A limestone mine and its water discharge could potentially change the creek’s habitat to the point that it would no longer be a nursery for many of the saltwater species that are hatched there. It could have a domino effect on the species that live there, on up the food chain.

Whether a person believes they should do what’s necessary to protect the environment or let nature take care of itself, all residents of Beaufort County, all residents of North Carolina, might want to pay attention to this lawsuit. They might want to take a closer look at what Judge Phil Berger Jr., of the N.C. Office of Administrative Hearings, had to say when he ruled against Sound Rivers (formerly Pamlico-Tar River Foundation), North Carolina Coastal Federation and their counsel, Southern Environmental Law Center.

Berger essentially said the local environmental agency had no standing — it had no right to question the state as to whether it was a bad idea to dump fresh water into a brackish creek, and maybe a good idea to ask the mining company to come up with another option for its discharge.

Imagine that: an organization that has spent the last 34 years educating children and adults about the rivers and creeks that make up much of eastern North Carolina, of Beaufort County; an organization that has acted as watchdog and made people and some companies clean up their acts; that’s held twice-a-year river cleanups that pull all the garbage out that people ignorantly throw in. They act as stewards for these waters and encourage others to do the same.

According to Berger, the local environmental agency, though it has the support of an entire community that appreciates its work and a healthy river, does not have the right to stand up in court on behalf of that community.

The reasoning why? Because no one has been economically harmed — yet. Those agencies are not “persons aggrieved” — yet. There’s no dollar sign attached to something that might happen.

It’s a real shame about the necessity of that dollar figure, because if that’s what the state of North Carolina needs in order to protect its people’s land and waters, they likely won’t get it. That’s because most people around here — the boaters and fishermen, the kayakers and paddle boarders, the waders and the skiers and the large membership of Sound Rivers — know that the health and beauty of these waters are absolutely priceless.