Coastal Sector Laws and Regulations
This tab includes laws, legislation, regulations, agency guidance, and executive orders relevant to the coastal sector.
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June 6, 2018
SB 7 supports both climate change mitigation and adaptation measures for Connecticut, with directives that will help to prepare the state for climate impacts, primarily sea level rise. Connecticut’s statutory references to sea level rise will now reflect the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation’s (CIRCA) planning recommendation of nearly two feet by 2050. The legislation requires all state or federally-funded coastal infrastructure projects to take this new sea level rise projection into account when being planned and developed.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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June 5, 2018
Proposition 68 is a $4 billion bond measure to protect California’s water, parks, and natural resources, while bolstering climate adaptation, resilience, and social equity statewide. This proposition allows the state to sell General Obligation bonds for various natural resources-related programs - including $443 million to be allocated for climate adaptation and resiliency projects throughout the state. California Senate Bill 5 (De León), “California Drought, Water, Parks, Climate Coastal Protection, and Outdoor Access for All Act of 2018” put this bond measure on the June 5, 2018 ballot.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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June 5, 2018
Measure P is a $90 million bond measure approved by Foster City, San Francisco Bay area of California in June 2018, that will fund structural projects to reduce flood risks from sea level rise. Residential, office and commercial property owners will see an annual tax rate increase of approximately $40 per $100,000 of assessed property value.
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June 2018
In June 2018, the State of Rhode Island’s Coastal Resource Management Council (CRMC) adopted the Rhode Island Shoreline Change Special Area Management Plan ( Beach SAMP) to help Rhode Island’s coastal communities better adapt to the impacts of climate and shoreline changes. The Beach SAMP includes various guidance and tools for policymakers and coastal managers. In Chapter 5, CRMC presents the “ Coastal Hazard Application Guidance” - a five-step risk assessment framework developed for applicants to address the coastal hazards from climate change in permit applications submitted to CRMC for new and substantially improved projects. The purpose of the Coastal Hazard Application Guidance is to ensure that: (1) permit applicants are aware of the coastal risks that could impact their projects; and (2) CRMC can approve projects that are better able to adapt and are more resilient to these risks to increase safety and other benefits for communities, the environment, and the state’s economy. Through a subsequent regulatory amendment, CRMC now requires (since July 2019) that permit applicants submit a Coastal Hazard Application worksheet with their applications to CRMC. Chapter 7 of the Beach SAMP outlines a suite of adaptation measures property owners and decisionmakers can consider, including protection, accommodation, and relocation or managed retreat. The Beach SAMP provides a useful example of innovative shoreline change planning, and serves as a policy model for other state agencies and local governments on how to ensure new development and redevelopment can better adapt and be more resilient to climate change and other coastal hazards.
Resource Category: Planning
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April 5, 2018
Effective July 1, 2018, Maryland will expand and strengthen its "Coast Smart" siting and design criteria to better manage sea level rise and improve coastal adaptation efforts. The legislation also requires the state to establish a plan to adapt to saltwater intrusion, and to build criteria for hazard mitigation funding for sea level rise and coastal flooding. Additionally, by July 1, 2019, local jurisdictions that experience nuisance flooding must submit a plan to address this climate impact.
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March 2018
In March 2018, the California Coastal Commission (CCC) released Draft Coastal Adaptation Guidance for Residential Development (Draft Guidance) to provide local governments sea-level rise adaptation strategies and example legal and policy tools for residential development. CCC is an independent, quasi-judicial state agency that exercises oversight for activities affecting California’s coast. Through the Draft Guidance, CCC seeks to provide state and local decisionmakers with tools to address the complexities associated with coastal land uses across approaches to residential development that are compounded by variation in the physical environment. Specifically, the Draft Guidance offers a range of legal and policy tools to help facilitate local planning for resilient shorelines and protect coastal resources, including through potential managed retreat strategies. The guidance explores the advantages and disadvantages of many adaptation options, and offers model policy language that could be used to implement best practices. The guidance and model policy language examples may be useful for other coastal jurisdictions planning for or regulating the impacts of sea-level rise on development as the language can be customized and adapted to specific situations and contexts. This guidance can assist coastal managers, local governments, and planners to address climate impacts within their jurisdictions and improve the resiliency of their coastlines and communities.
Resource Category: Solutions
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March 14, 2018
The Ocean Protection Council’s 2018 update of the California Sea-Level Rise Guidance is designed in support of state agencies and local governments preparation for and adaption to sea-level rise (SLR). The report includes a step-by-step approach to SLR risk analysis, and incorporating these projections into planning, permitting, and investment decisions. Recommended adaptation strategies are given for priorities such as bolstering the resilience vulnerable communities and coastal habitats, and incorporating climate change impacts into project design and coastal planning.
Author or Affiliated User: Jennifer Phillips
Resource Category: Planning
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January 23, 2018
The City of Norfolk, Virginia adopted a new zoning ordinance in 2018 to enhance flood resilience and direct new more intense development to higher ground. The ordinance establishes a Coastal Resilience Overlay (CRO) zone, where new development and redevelopment will have to comply with new flood resilience requirements, and an Upland Resilience Overlay (URO), designed to encourage new development in areas of the city with lower risk of flooding.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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November 22, 2017
From the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), this document offers guidance on permitting requirements for public or private living shorelines projects in the Marine and Coastal District Waters of New York (Lower Hudson River to the tip of Long Island). Intended for permitting staff, design professionals, and property owners, this guidance encourages living shorelines over other hardening approaches for flood and erosion control and promotes consistent permit determination for living shoreline projects.
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November 29, 2017
Rhode Island, under the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), mandates erosion-oriented setbacks and Coastal Buffer Zones (Rhode Island Administrative Code 650 20-00-1. 1, Adopted November 2017). The Rhode Island CRMC is the state’s regulatory coastal management agency. These regulations better protect structures and conserve important coastal ecosystems by determining setbacks and buffers based on accelerating rates of sea-level rise and erosion. Setbacks are based on average annual rates of erosion as measured on localized, property-scale maps.
Resource Category: Law and Governance
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