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Action Plan 19:
Planning For A Shifting Shoreline and Coastal Storms
October 17, 2011 draft finalAbout the new Buzzards Bay CCMP Action Plans
The Buzzards Bay NEP is now updating our 1991 landmark Buzzards Bay Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) to reflect the great progress achieved since that plan was finalized. It will include new or updated goals, objectives, and management solutions to meet the environmental needs for Buzzards Bay and its surrounding watershed throughout the next decade.
On this page is a draft action plan from the updated Buzzards Bay Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. The text on this page is a public draft provided to invite comment and discussion of the subject by residents and stakeholders. It may contain goals and recommendations that have not yet been endorsed or approved by the Buzzards Bay Steering Committee. The views or information contained here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or the US Environmental Protection Agency.
We want your feedback on this action plan. First, please read the entire action plan Planning for a Shifting Shoreline and Coastal Storms. Then at the bottom of this page click the "rate this action plan" button to provide comments on each goal, objective and defined management approach contained in this Action Plan. Based on your feedback, we will update and revise all the action plans in the new CCMP.
Action Plan 18: Planning For A Shifting Shoreline and Coastal Storms
Problem
FFor millennia, the Buzzards Bay coastline has been subject to the rise in sea level and storms that have continued to erode and shift materials that change the shape, elevation, and position of the shoreline. These actions shift the locations of barrier beaches and alter wetland areas, resulting in the loss of habitat for certain species, and the migration of other habitats like salt marshes. Structures built in these hazard prone areas can not only impede natural processes, but when destroyed in storms represent hazards to public health and the environment, and result in a financial burden to government. The frequency and intensity of these processes will likely increase in the coming decade due to climate change. Some state and federal programs are creating moral hazards by promoting development in high risk areas.
In 2002, Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management updated its program plan with goals to prevent, eliminate or significantly reduce threats to loss of life, destruction of property and degradation of environmental resources resulting from improper development, allow natural physical coastal processes to continue unabated, limit, public expenditures in coastal high hazard areas, and prioritize public expenditures for acquisition and relocation of structures out of hazardous coastal areas. Unfortunately, current state, federal, and local laws , regulations, and policies are far from achieving these goals.
Goals
Goal 18.1. Protect public health and safety from problems associated with coastal hazards including rising sea level, shifting shorelines, and damage from storms and storm surge.
Goal 18.2. Reduce the public financial burden caused by the destruction of or damage to coastal property.
Goal 18.3. Plan for shifting shorelines and the inland migration of buffering wetlands and shifting sand formations, and the species that utilize these habitats.
Objectives
Objective 18.1. To incorporate sea level rise, increased frequency and intensity of coastal flooding, and shoreline change phenomena into all relevant planning and management programs.
Objective 18.2. To develop a comprehensive strategy for handling existing structures in areas that will be affected by future shoreline changes and other coastal hazards.
Objective 18.3. To adopt regulatory and non-regulatory measures for guiding growth and development in areas that will be influenced by coastal flooding and new shorelines.
Objective 18.4. To restructure the flood and hazard insurance programs in threatened areas to decrease the financial burden on the public.
Objective 18.5. To adopt emergency response plans to reflect additional needs and constraints caused by reduced access and increased flooding potential of developed coastlines.
Solutions
This action plan requires changes in regulations, policies, and actions by all levels of government. Public spending for infrastructure in high risk areas should be avoided, and government should not create incentives for private construction in high risk zones. The latter problem will require changes in and rethinking of flood insurance programs, and actions the federal government should require in the aftermath of disaster relief aid. Municipalities will need to conduct evaluations of new risks caused by rising sea levels. They should adopt ha-zard mitigation plans, and participate in the FEMA community rating systems. RPAs and CZM should as-sist in these efforts. They also need to lead by example by not building new public structures in high risk areas.
Costs and Financing
Much of the expenses associated with this action plan relate to conducting risk assessments and planning. These efforts might cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per community and require dedication of staff time. Those measures requiring regulatory or policy changes have nominal costs.
Measuring Success
Because of the rarity of catastrophic storms, and slowness of sea level rise, tracking programmatic actions, like completion of hazard mitigation plans, will be the measures of success.
To fully understand the basis of these goals and objectives, and possible management approaches, please read the complete Planning for a Shifting Shoreline Action Plan (October 17, 2011 draft final, pdf file).