By TIM FAULKNER/ecoRI News staff
The Coastal Resources
Management Council's latest coastal planning guide, the Shoreline Change
Special Area Management Plan (Beach SAMP) was recently approved.
The document's biggest
influence is to Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) construction
permits needed for building along the shore within Rhode Island’s 21 coastal
communities.
As a climate-change preparedness tool it also offers guidance for state and municipal planners by looking ahead at the impacts of coastal storms, erosion, and sea-level rise.
As a climate-change preparedness tool it also offers guidance for state and municipal planners by looking ahead at the impacts of coastal storms, erosion, and sea-level rise.
“Adapting to these ongoing and future conditions will ensure Rhode Island is building resilient communities, as well as a strong coastal economy and environment,” according to the document.
The Beach SAMP targets the areas most vulnerable to climate change: beaches, historic waterfronts, bluffs, peninsulas, and salt marshes. It does this through a five-step permitting process that “ensures that CRMC approved projects are designed and built with the applicant’s acknowledgement of the risks of building in coastal hazard areas.”
Unlike the
acclaimed Ocean SAMP that facilitated Rhode
Island's offshore wind industry by establishing rules and regulations for
open-water development and fishing, the Beach SAMP has no enforceable
regulations.
It offers suggestions for undertaking the mounting impacts of global warming and requires some developers to include an analysis of climate change impacts in their applications to build in coastal zones.
It offers suggestions for undertaking the mounting impacts of global warming and requires some developers to include an analysis of climate change impacts in their applications to build in coastal zones.
“This is set up as a
guidance document right now. So it doesn't have the full force of regulations,”
said Grover Fugate, CRMC's executive director.
In the coming months,
CRMC will announce specific changes to its permitting applications that will
include requiring certain applicants to include assumptions about the future
impacts of climate change on their projects.
The analysis is informational only and will not result in the approval or denial of an application.
The analysis is informational only and will not result in the approval or denial of an application.
The Beach SAMP targets
the areas projected to be overrun by a 100-year storm plus 7 feet of sea-level
rise, as projected by the STORMTOOLS mapping
program.
The coastal hazard application analysis will include flooding and erosion rates in construction areas and connecting roads. It requires reviews of public access, wastewater, stormwater, depth to water table, saltwater intrusion, and wind damage.
The coastal hazard application analysis will include flooding and erosion rates in construction areas and connecting roads. It requires reviews of public access, wastewater, stormwater, depth to water table, saltwater intrusion, and wind damage.
Larger projects and new
housing developments of six or more buildings must examine the possibility of
salt-marsh migration, which occurs when marshes move inland as sea levels rise.
Applicants will be asked
to consider relocating, elevating or fortifying projects prior to construction
or in the future to avoid or lessen the risks as coastal hazards increase due
to the changing climate.
The process is designed to “protect public health, safety, and welfare; minimize damage and losses to nearby infrastructure and properties; and reduce overall impacts to coastal resources,” according to the document.
One of goals of the new
five-step permitting process is to determine how much risk the project
applicant is taking on and if insurance is required to mitigate the risk
through the National Flood Insurance Program.
There was no public
comment at a June 12 hearing for the final chapters of the Beach SAMP. Written
comments were submitted by Save The Bay and the Conservation Law Foundation
(CLF). CLF praised CRMC for its work on the project and for engaging
stakeholders.
The Beach SAMP was
written by CRMC and the University of Rhode Island. The project began shortly
before Hurricane Sandy in 2012. It received much of its $11 million cost
through federal hurricane relief money.
Projections for
sea-level rise were revised upwards three times while the Beach SAMP was being
written. The latest projections assume
between 7 and 9 feet of sea-level rise by 2100 and 1-3 feet by 2035, as
projected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The document includes
other scientific findings and has a chapter devoted to current and future
impact of climate change. Between 52 percent and 87 percent of existing
marshland will be lost with 3-5 feet of sea-level rise. Hurricanes, tropical
storms, and floods are expected increase and intensify.