N.C. Gen. Stat. § 104-25
For the purpose of aiding in the construction of a proposed inland waterway by the United States from the City of Norfolk, in the State of Virginia, to Beaufort Inlet, in the State of North Carolina, the Secretary of State is hereby authorized to issue to the United States of America a grant to the land located within a distance of 1,000 feet on either side of the center of the said inland waterway, insofar as such land is subject to grant by the State of North Carolina, the said grant to issue upon a certificate furnished to the Secretary of State by the Secretary of War, or by any authorized officer of the corps of engineers of the United States Army, or by any other authorized official, exercising control of the construction of the said waterway.
Wherever, in the construction of the said inland waterway, lands theretofore submerged shall be raised above the water by deposit of excavated material, the lands so formed shall become the property of the United States for a distance of 1,000 feet on either side of the center of such canal or channel, and the Secretary of State is hereby authorized to issue to the United States a grant to the land so formed within the distance above mentioned, the grant to issue upon a certificate furnished to the Secretary of State by some authorized official of the United States as above provided.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 104-25