Mitigating Shore Erosion Along Sheltered Coasts (2007) / Chapter Skim
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5 The Existing Decision-Making Process for Shoreline Protection on Sheltered Coasts
5 The Existing Decision-Making Process for Shoreline Protection on Sheltered Coasts
Pages 98-123
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From page 98... ...
The focus of those chapters, however, has not been on the process of making the decision to protect a shoreline or what steps are necessary to reach implementation of a solution. This chapter presents an overview of the current decisionmaking process for erosion control on sheltered coastlines.
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From page 99... ...
According to the Coastal Engineering Manual (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2002b)
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From page 100... ...
These legal issues can limit some shoreline erosion mitigation options, such as extensive fill of wetlands or building restrictions in coastal areas.
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From page 101... ...
Constraints such as knowledge of different types of shoreline protection options, regulatory precedence, costs, and local preferences are equally important in decision-making and differ among the groups of
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From page 102... ...
• Vendors • Formal Education Government • Implement and enforce the • Knowledge of shoreline protection • Reports or the NRC • Jurisdiction in which Regulators, regulations options (structural and nonstructural) and other expert bodies they work Permitting and • Resource stewardship • Physics and geomorphology, and • Professional networks Compliance ecology • Experience Officials • Legal mandates • Consultants • Public trust responsibility • Formal education • Constraints imposed by other • Legal counsel regulatory programs Policy-makers • Reelection • Public trust responsibilities • Press • Their jurisdiction, as and Law- • Maintaining the tax base • Current law; its impacts and any • Constituents well as their colleagues' makers • Resource stewardship unintended consequences • Staff (trusted experts in jurisdictions • Serving their constituents • Perception and understanding of the the field)
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From page 103... ...
One of the constraints mentioned above is the decision-maker's lack of knowledge of shoreline protection options. Most shore erosion studies, both engineering and environmental, have focused on erosion problems on open coasts and as such have placed less emphasis on discussing options for addressing erosion on sheltered coasts.
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From page 104... ...
In summary, decision-makers are influenced by: • financial and ecological costs, both incurred and avoided, • legal precedent, political feasibility and acceptability, time required for permitting, • site conditions, durability of the erosion control technique, spatial scale of the project, and • ancillary benefits such as public access, new revenue sources, ecosystem services provided, or broad public support. PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS FOR SHORELINE PROTECTION ON SHELTERED COASTS Federal, state, and/or local governments usually regulate shoreline protection activities by means of a permitting system that establishes criteria and then evaluates whether the proposed action conforms to the accepted criteria.
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From page 105... ...
of 1972. Through its administration of both statutory programs, USACE plays the central role in the regulation of shoreline protection projects.
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From page 106... ...
1341) and consistency with a state's approved coastal zone management plan (16 U.S.C.
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From page 107... ...
This review considers all probable impacts, including cumulative impacts, and considers a broad spectrum of factors that are applied in a case-specific manner during the assessment of the project's benefits and adverse impacts. Factors in the review include conservation, economics, aesthetics, environmental concerns, wetlands, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, land use, navigation, shore erosion, recreation, water quality, safety, and considerations of property ownership.
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From page 108... ...
State and Local Permits for Shoreline Protection Activities State Permits In addition to federal permits, most shoreline erosion control projects require permits based on state wetland, coastal, or shoreline management legislation. State shoreline and land use planning regulations (coastal construction zones, construction setback zones, erosion control easements, special management areas, among others)
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From page 109... ...
among existing institutions and programs without the creation of a new agency. Regardless of the precise institutional approach, numerous state plans have created and/or incorporated special area management plans and coastal setback zones to protect vulnerable ecosystems, avoid property losses from shoreline erosion, and better manage coastal development.
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From page 110... ...
Their staffs may be small or lack adequate skills; local budgets may be insufficient for regulating development pressures in highly desired areas; and planning boards may be forced to grant variances to avoid takings/inverse condemnation challenges from property owners. Comprehensive planning and zoning are two key techniques that local governments may select to address shoreline erosion issues (among others)
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From page 111... ...
Despite the importance of good land use planning to avoid losses to shoreline erosion, many sheltered shorelines are already highly developed areas. Thus, the application of reactive strategies (addition of sand, hard structures, and vegetative responses)
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From page 112... ...
The national coastal zone management program is a partnership between the federal government that establishes program guidelines and the states that develop and implement their own coastal management programs with federal financial assistance and promises of "federal consistency." Other programs, such as EPA's National Estuary Program and NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve System are true federal-state partnerships with guidelines, significant financial support, and coordination originating at the federal level while implementation occurs at the state level. Variability Among States Although variations in the permitting processes occur between USACE districts, the greatest variation in permit requirements and constraints occurs among the states.
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From page 113... ...
is the lead permitting agency for shoreline protection activities under a USACE regional permit. NC DENR houses both the state water quality and the coastal zone management programs.
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From page 114... ...
Most shoreline erosion projects are proposed to protect and create beaches impacted by shoreline erosion along sheltered shores. The state permits breakwaters, geotextile tubes, and beach nourishment.
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From page 115... ...
While the USACE has a long-established partnership with the states with respect to oceanfront responses to erosion, this partnership is much less developed for sheltered coasts. For example, the USACE's National Shoreline Erosion Control Development and Demonstration Program (Section 227 Program)
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From page 116... ...
Impact on environmental functions and thus on ecosystem services 7. Aesthetics Items 1 through 5 can be assessed by competent professionals with experience in permitting erosion control techniques.
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From page 117... ...
Potential Use of Mitigation Banks for Shoreline Erosion Control Permits Wetland protection regulations began in the United States over 35 years ago when individual states and the federal government acted to protect the functions wetlands provide. While regulations vary from state to state, all allow wetland alteration under special conditions, and most jurisdictions require compensation or mitigation.
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From page 118... ...
In some instances, it might be feasible to establish a mitigation bank for shoreline erosion projects. For example, some small individual projects that would adversely impact nearshore habitats could contribute to a mitigation fund or bank in compensation for the natural resources that they will degrade.
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From page 119... ...
In Florida, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program has coordinated larger proactive shoreline erosion control efforts in association with its habitat restoration efforts. These efforts are not estuary-wide, however, but have occurred on stretches of shoreline several hundred meters in length.
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From page 120... ...
Basic information for evaluating a site and selecting the most appropriate option will include the following: • Erosion history at the site and evidence of recent erosion activity • Fetch • General shape of the shoreline • Shoreline orientation • Slope and depth of the tidelands in front of the shoreline property • Boat traffic • Width of the beach above the MHT • Bank height • Bank composition • Potential planting area • Onshore gradient • Beach vegetation below the project • Shoreline and bank vegetation • Existence of erosion control measures on adjacent properties Several worksheets have been developed to assist in the evaluation of these factors to determine Cumulative Erosion Potential Values (e.g., Riggs, 2001)
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From page 121... ...
Cumulative Impact Analysis The installation of any single shoreline erosion project may not significantly alter the local ecosystem, but the combination of many small projects over time may have a large impact on the types of habitats and ecosystem services available in the coastal zone. Under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)
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From page 122... ...
In situations where insufficient information is available to provide an assessment of cumulative effects, a precautionary approach can be used to prevent irreversible loss of valuable habitats and other shoreline features (see Box 5-3)
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From page 123... ...
. • There is a general lack of knowledge and experience among decisionmakers regarding options for shoreline erosion mitigation on sheltered coasts, especially options that retain more of the shoreline's natural features.
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