Why It Matters

The Town of Topsail Beach, North Carolina, terminated its relationship with Ferguson Group LLC effective April 1, according to a lobbying termination filing. The split ended a roughly four-year relationship in which the firm represented the coastal municipality on federal funding, infrastructure and coastal policy issues.

Ferguson Group began working with Topsail Beach in April 2022 as part of the town’s federal advocacy team. A town document from that year identified Ferguson Group and Ward and Smith P.A. as its federal advocacy firms and said their work included pursuing federal support for local priorities.

In 2022, Ferguson Group lobbied on budget and appropriations issues, including federal funding for Topsail Beach’s Emergency Operations Center and fire station construction design through the Department of Homeland Security appropriations process. Ferguson Group also lobbied on H.R. 8257 and S. 4678 on behalf of the town.

Ferguson Group filed quarterly reports for Topsail Beach from 2023 through mid-2024 with no specific lobbying issues disclosed. Beginning in the third quarter of 2024, the firm shifted its lobbying focus for the town to Coastal Barrier Resources Act issues.

Broader Context

The CBRA lobbying focus continued through subsequent filings leading up to the termination. Ferguson Group advocated on sand placement policy, disaster recovery coordination and timely reimbursement of disaster aid, Community Rating System alignment and federal flood map updates.

The firm also reported lobbying on H.R. 2437 and H.R. 524. H.R. 524 would have amended the Coastal Barrier Resources Act to create an exemption for certain shoreline borrow sites. H.R. 2437 sought to revise the boundaries of Unit L06 of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System in North Topsail Beach. The House Natural Resources Committee reported H.R. 2437 favorably with an amendment in October 2024, but the measure did not become law.

The Unit L06 dispute involves North Topsail Beach, a separate municipality from the Town of Topsail Beach. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has repeatedly reviewed the unit’s boundaries. In a technical assessment completed in December 2025, the agency examined whether additional corrections to Unit L06 were warranted.

Congress has continued considering legislation addressing Unit L06. H.R. 1885 and S. 1724, introduced in the 119th Congress, would require the Interior Department to exclude certain parcels within North Topsail Beach from the unit.

The Bottom Line

The firm’s work on Topsail Beach included Chris Griffin, a senior associate at Ferguson Group who previously served as a legislative aide to Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). Griffin also previously worked for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The termination filing provides no explanation for the split. Ferguson Group’s work for Topsail Beach evolved from seeking federal funding for local infrastructure to advocacy involving coastal management, disaster recovery, flood mapping and the Coastal Barrier Resources Act before the relationship ended.

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