HAWAII COASTAL EROSION MANAGEMENT PLAN (COEMAP)

DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES LAND DIVISION COASTAL LANDS PROGRAM

Kalanimoku Bldg. 1151 Punchbowl St., Rm. 220 P.O. Box 621 Honolulu, Hawaii 96809

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4. Non-Regulatory Tools 26 a. Federal Emergency Management Agency 26 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Floodplain Policies 26 2. Applicability of NFIP to Erosion 27 3. FEMA Erosion

Vulnerability 27 Executive Summary 4 b. Community Performance Beach Loss in Hawaii 4 Standards 28 Beaches 4 c. Coastal Lands Acquisition 29 Lands 4 1. Eminent Domain Powers 29 Ho‘olaulima 5 2. Negotiated Purchase 30 Goals and Directions 5 3. Florida 30 Recommendations 6 4. California 31 Initial Implementing Actions 9 d. Education and Outreach 32 e. Funding Research 33 I. Our Restless Shore 10 5. Five Alternatives for Erosion Foreword 10 Management 33 A. Why COEMAP? 10 a. Abandonment 33 B. Losing our Beaches 11 b. Beach Restoration 34 1. Coastal Erosion vs. Beach Erosion 12 c. Erosion Control 35 C. Coastal Hazards 13 d. Adaptation 36 D. Ho‘olaulima 14 e. Hardening 36 6. Design Considerations 37 II. Managing Coastal Erosion 15 7. Project Performance Monitoring 38 A. Hawaii’s Current Management a. Physical Monitoring 38 Regime 15 b. Biological Monitoring 39 1. Federal Authority 15 c. Economic Monitoring 39 2. State Authority 15 3. County Authority 16 III. Recommendations 40 4. Critique 17 A. Owning-Up to the Past 40

B. New Tools for Erosion Management 17 B. Strategic Recommendations 40 1. State and County Tools 17 1. Develop CLP as Lead Agency 40 2. Criteria to Guide Decision-Making 18 2. Consider Erosion Trends when 3. Regulatory Tools 19 Zoning and Subdividing Land 42 a. Hawaii’s Permitting Puzzle 19 3. Develop a Technical Guidance b. General Permit 21 Manual 42 c. Rights of Ownership 21 4. Enhance Interagency d. Environmental Sequencing 22 Coordination 42 1. Avoidance 22 5. Pilot Hazard Mitigation Project 42 2. Minimization 22 6. Continuous Source of Data and 3. Compensatory Mitigation 22 NOAA Coastal Services Center e. Integrating Hazard Mitigation 22 Branch 43 f. Setback Programs 23 7. Public Education and Awareness 1. North Carolina 23 Building 44 2. Florida 23 8. Establish Community Performance 3. Hawaii 24 Standards 45 4. Georgia Beach Nourishment 9. Fund for Land Acquisition 46 Project 24 10. General Permit for Restoration 47 5. Certified Shoreline 24 11. Plan for Redevelopment and 6. Other States 25

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Renourishment 47 Health – Guidelines for Environmental 12. Adopt OEQC Guidelines 47 Assessment prepared in conjunction 13. Focus Regulatory Efforts 48 with an application for shoreline 14. Establish Decision-making alteration and hardening 79 Criteria 48 Technical Supplement, Part E 15. Research Products from Technical Resolution on COEMAP – Maui County Studies 48 Council 16. General Permit for Small-Scale Resolution on COEMAP – City and Nourishment Projects 53 County of Honolulu Council 17. Use Interim Erosion Mitigation 54 Resolution on COEMAP – Office of 18. Implement Erosion Control Use 55 Planning, Marine and Coastal Zone 19. Analyze Economic Factors 55 Management Advisory Group 20. Integrate Hazard Mitigation and Coastal Conservation 56

C. Initial Implementing Actions 56 1. Empower and fund the CLP 56 2. Interagency Collaboration 57 3. Institutionalize a data stream 57 4. Statutory and rule changes 57 5. Simplify regulatory system 58 6. Improved decision-making 58 7. No-tolerance policy 58 8. Fines and revocable easements 58 9. Build consensus 59 10. Fund CLP programs 59 11. Publicize new policy 59 12. Identify federal funding 59 13. Review management plans 59 14. Distribution of report 59 15. Public awareness campaign 59 16. Community input 59 17. Interim lands protection 59 18. Implement nourishment 59 19. Small-scale nourishment 59 20. Evaluate viability of concepts 59 21. Technical Guidance Manual 59

Technical Supplement, Part A Summary of Past Erosion Management Efforts 60 Technical Supplement, Part B Coastal Erosion and Beach Loss in Hawaii: Facts about beach erosion and the new Coastal Lands Program at DLNR 69 Technical Supplement, Part C Causes of Coastal Erosion and Beach Loss in Hawaii 72 Technical Supplement, Part D Office of Environmental Quality Control (OEQC), Department of

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Beach loss seriously impacts the visitor economy in Hawaii5 which in 1997 provided XECUTIVE UMMARY 171,900 jobs in the state, accounted for $13 E S billion in tourism expenditures and supported a payroll of $3.5 billion. Beach narrowing and loss, and shoreline hardening, also severely restrict public access to state conservation lands BEACH LOSS IN HAWAII and natural resources. Public access to beaches and the ocean is a right that is preserved by the Beaches Studies conducted at the University of State of Hawaii constitution. Beach loss and 1 2 Hawaii show that hardening the shoreline of narrowing, and coastal dune grading that Oahu where there is chronic coastal erosion accompanies coastal development causes causes beach narrowing and beach loss. environmental and ecological damage to natural Researchers have found that on Oahu 10.7 miles resources and habitats. Coastal hardening can of beach has been narrowed by shoreline also produce coastal water quality impacts hardening and 6.4 miles has been lost. This is through increased turbulence and turbidity, and ~24% of the 71.6 miles of originally sandy the direct flow of domestic sewage products into shoreline on Oahu. coastal waters because of the prevalence of Beach loss in the state due to hardening of the sewage soil filtration (septic and cess pool shoreline is not limited to the island of Oahu3. systems) on shoreline plots. In heavily armored At visits to selected sites and through the review sectors, sand impoundment mauka of walls can of beach erosion reports4, beach loss or lead to general sand volume decreases causing narrowing leading to recreational impacts have or exacerbating sector-wide erosion trends. been found equaling 15 miles of actual or Lands When coastal lands are attacked by imminent losses on the other main Hawaiian erosion it is a natural reaction for shoreowners to Islands. A thorough analysis of all the sandy protect them. Shorelines are hardened to stop shoreline in the state would yield much higher coastal land loss. Segments of the Hawaiian numbers of beach loss. shore are plagued by chronic or episodic erosion that destroys valuable private and public lands and threatens critical infrastructure such as roadways, emergency services, and water treatment plants. To simply let coastal properties 1 Fletcher, C.H., Mullane, R.A., and Richmond, B.M. erode into the sea, and to allow the heavy (1997) Beach loss along armored shorelines of Oahu, financial commitment along our shores come Hawaiian Islands. Journal of Coastal Research, v. 13, under unmitigated attack by erosion and other p. 209-215. coastal hazards would not be a rational Coyne, M.A., Fletcher, C.H., and Richmond, B.M. management decision. (1999) Mapping coastal erosion hazard areas in Hawaii: observations and errors. Journal of Coastal Hawaii has limited buildable land area and most Research, Special Issue no. 28, p. 45-58. usable land is at low elevations along coastal 2 Shoreline hardening refers to the construction of plains bounded by the sea on one side, and the vertical seawalls or sloping stone revetments along a mountains on the other. Population centers in shoreline to protect coastal lands from marine Hawaii are typically linked by coastal roadways erosion. 3 that are critical to emergency services, utility Hwang, D.J., and Fletcher, C.H. (1992) Beach and power delivery, mainline water and sewage Management Plan with Beach Management Districts. delivery, and the need for commuting by A report prepared for the Coastal Zone Management Program, Office of Planning, 192p. residents. 4 Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc. and Sea Engineering, Inc. (1991) Aerial photograph analysis of coastal erosion on the Islands of Kauai, Molokai, 5 Travel Industry of America and U.S. Department of Lanai, Maui, and Hawaii. A Report to the Office of Commerce, Office of Tourism Industries (1997) Planning, Coastal Zone Management Program, Travel and Tourism Congressional District Economic Honolulu, HI, 200p. Impact Study.

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Coastal landowners are, on average, citizens paying mortgages and taxes, holding jobs and Agency efforts to manage erosion, and preserve otherwise gainfully contributing to the economy and restore beaches, must ride on the shoulders and society of Hawaii. Many coastal of a strong public outreach and education homeowners grew up along the shore and are effort. The citizens of Hawaii must be made busy raising their own families. Seeing the loss aware of the difficulty of managing the erosion of their lands by erosion is, for many, a personal problem, and there must be a heightened public and financial disaster. Witnessing the beach loss value given to coastal and marine resources in that frequently accompanies hardening leaves general, and beaches in specific. Successful most shoreowners with mixed emotions of stewardship will require a flexible policy of sadness, confusion, and bitterness over the interagency coordination and community seemingly intractable character of their plight. participation built upon trust, leadership and Ho‘olaulima There is wide agreement that experience. Participants in renovating our change is needed in our system of coastal land coastal management system must come to the management. Resolving the need to conserve table willing to define levels of acceptable beaches and sustain coastal lands subject to change to past practices of coastal use. erosion is more than a matter of prohibiting Options for managing erosion are expensive, seawalls. Erosion management requires difficult, and will rarely prove completely comprehensive and creative land-use tools that satisfactory to all stakeholders. Despite this, the are applied in a coordinated fashion with problem must be met with optimism, participation by all sectors of the community. commitment, and a dedication to work together However, the direction and specific elements of for success or the children of Hawaii will suffer a new system of coastal lands management are because we were not willing to make the not simple to construct, and may not find necessary difficult choices. universal agreement among all stakeholders.

This document, the Coastal Erosion Management Plan (COEMAP), provides a GOALS AND DIRECTIONS framework for community discussion and assessment of coastal erosion and beach loss in There is no cookbook for managing erosion, and COEMAP is not a set of instructions. But Hawaii. The objective of COEMAP, and the 6 public dialogue it seeks to foster, is to outline individuals working on the problem in Hawaii socioeconomic and technical mechanisms for and throughout the nation have identified certain conserving and restoring Hawaii’s beaches in a steps that will improve the current erosion framework of mitigating erosion impacts and management regime in Hawaii. The following reducing exposure to coastal hazards for future goals represent broad targets for improving the generations. erosion management system in Hawaii. A series of technical supplements is provided at 1. The lead agency for coastal erosion the back of this document, these include: management and beach conservation is the Coastal Lands Program (CLP) at DLNR. 1. Technical Supplement, Part A - Summary of The CLP needs to be empowered, and Past Erosion Management Efforts in Hawaii. funded with a specific revenue source with 2. Technical Supplement, Part B - Coastal a nexus to coastal lands. One important early Erosion and Beach Loss in Hawaii: Facts

about beach erosion and the new Coastal 6 Lands Program at DLNR. Challacombe, A. (1997) Beach Management in Hawaii: A Public Sector Perspective. Hawaii 3. Technical Supplement, Part C - Causes of Planning, v. xviii, no. 6, p. 5, June, Monthly Coastal Erosion and Beach Loss in Hawaii. Newsletter of the Hawaii Chapter of the American 4. Technical Supplement, Part D – Guidelines Planning Association; and, Hwang, D. (1997) for Environmental Assessment of shoreline Protecting Our Beaches: Balancing Public and projects, Office of Environmental Quality Private Interests. Hawaii Planning, v. xviii, no. 6, p. Control (OEQC), Department of Health. 7, June, Monthly Newsletter of the Hawaii Chapter of the American Planning Association.

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step toward empowerment is for the CLP to improving coastal ecological systems and issue guidelines for permits for activities processes, releasing impounded sands, and that have the potential to impact beaches and rejuvenating scenic beauty and amenity. dunes and coastal environments. Office of 7. Develop a Technical Guidance Manual Environmental Quality Control coastal EA that provides direction for the guidelines already exist and could be development, restoration, and adopted by the CLP. It is important that such redevelopment of the coastline. The guidelines are adopted by other stakeholder manual7 would be used on a voluntary basis, agencies. The CLP should promote adoption but through common usage could become a of COEMAP and OEQC guidelines standard for the safe, economical, and throughout state government so that there sustainable utilization of the coastline. exists a consistent and uniform policy of Creation and development of such a manual erosion management at the state level. will require funding through the various 2. Encourage state and county decision-makers responsible stakeholder agencies, and could to consider erosional trends and take place on a component by component processes, and other coastal hazards, at (i.e., chapter by chapter) basis as needs the zoning and subdivision stages of land arise. The manual could provide direction development so that structures can be safely during zoning and subdivision stages of and properly located away from hazard development so that coastal lots are created areas. This action would prevent burdening of sufficient dimension and size to maintain landowners and regulatory agencies with a buffer between the shoreline and proposed foreseeable coastal hazard issues at a later structures. The manual could provide date. direction during the zoning of lands so that on large lots, structures are built away from

3. Implement beach and dune restoration the shoreline on the mauka portion of the with sand nourishment as a viable lot. There are certain portions of our management option in Hawaii. Streamline shoreline where existing development and coordinate the permitting necessary to patterns offer a good demonstration of achieve this goal and improve interagency properly located structures with sufficient coordination and communication. buffers against erosion hazards. On Oahu, 4. Implement a continuous source of these include portions of Waimanalo, scientific data and research products so Kailua, and Kahuku where setbacks have that land managers can achieve expert status been utilized that exceed the present 40ft on the physical processes and geographic requirement. patterns of erosion hazards and the technical The manual could also offer guidance and aspects of its management. recommendations for implementing actions 5. Create and maintain a continuous public on already developed shorelines where education and awareness campaign so that erosion hazards constitute management all citizens can learn to value coastal natural concerns. resources and can become participants in the decision-making process for sustaining our coastline. RECOMMENDATIONS 6. Establish coastal land acquisition COEMAP offers the following detailed programs to negotiate purchases from recommendations to improve erosion willing sellers of coastal lands that have high public resource value and that constitute erosion management concerns and 7 Maui County has already moved in this direction coastal hazard risks. This program would with the creation of a Technical Guidance Manual: have among its goals the restoration and “Coastal Protection and Beach Restoration revitalization of coastal lands and Feasibility Study, for Maui County, Oceanit environments, increasing public access, Laboratories Inc., Nov. 1997, 122p.”

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management in the state of Hawaii. These the NOAA Coastal Services Center. The recommendations are: integration of scientific data is sporadic and haphazard, often dependent upon the 1. Develop, fund, and empower the Coastal vagaries of funding, project specific Lands Program at DLNR as the Lead investigations, and the availability and Agency for coastal erosion management. goodwill of individuals. This is fragile 2. Consider erosional trends and processes, footing for an essential component of good and other coastal hazards, at the zoning coastal management. and subdivision stages of land development 7. Establish a broad, pervasive and so that structures can be safely and properly enduring public education and located away from hazard areas. awareness-building campaign. Few 3. Develop a Technical Guidance Manual government objectives can be realized that provides direction for the without the support of the public, and the development, restoration, and public cannot support what it does not redevelopment of the coastline. The understand. There are many avenues to build manual8 would be used on a voluntary basis, public awareness through the media, the but through common usage could become a Department of Education, special events and standard for the safe, economical, and functions, a print campaign, slogans, themes sustainable utilization of the coastline. and other techniques 4. Enhance Interagency Coordination. 8. Evaluate the applicability of “willing- Agencies should improve and standardize user,” community-based performance permit processing criteria, develop and agree standards and/or planning districts as upon acceptable guidelines for constructing erosion management tools at erosion Environmental Assessment and permit hotspots. A significant challenge to coastal applications for activities in the shore zone, managers is the restoration and and build an organized and consistent redevelopment of densely populated and system of erosion management and resource developed coastal communities where conservation among CZM, CLP, chronic erosion conflicts with beach OEQC/DOH, and the counties and federal conservation goals. One equitable approach COE. is to develop “willing-user,” community performance standards for guiding changes 5. Implement a Pilot Shoreline Hazard to land use as future needs arise. Mitigation Project Using Beach and Dune Performance standards could be Restoration. This single tool, though implemented in a framework of management expensive and complex, holds the greatest authority that focuses on controlling erosion possibility of replacing the historic system through resource conservation. Performance of shoreline hardening in Hawaii. A pilot standards act as targets for modifying the project, predicated upon identifying land use pattern through future technical and socioeconomic factors that redevelopment efforts. Such targets would would enhance it’s success and the avoid penalizing current tenants, yet would longevity of the restored environments, is an establish community goals for achieving extremely important step for Hawaii to reduced exposure to coastal hazards and achieve. restoring beach and dune environments. 6. Establish a continuous datastream, and Setting performance standards is a form of formalize an enduring data source from minimization that can be implemented the UH-SOEST by creating a branch of through time on a schedule determined by the landowner through the redevelopment 8 Maui County has already moved in this direction and renovation of existing structures and with the creation of a Technical Guidance Manual: voluntary changes in land usage. “Coastal Protection and Beach Restoration Feasibility Study, for Maui County, Oceanit 9. Fund Coastal Land Acquisition Programs Laboratories Inc., Nov. 1997, 122p.” – Ho’opono Kahakai. Create a coastal land

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acquisition fund based upon negotiated evaluation and analysis of numerous and purchase and willing-seller concepts. This interdependent factors. This is best achieved fund will focus on restoring degraded with pre-established decision-making coastlines to a high level of health and criteria. sustainability. 15. Create a system of Research Products 10. Establish a General Permit for Beach and resulting from technical studies of coastal Dune Restoration. This would be in the processes and sand resources. Coastal best interest of facilitating the use of managers and administrators need improved restoration as a viable option, and reducing data on erosion patterns and rates around the the workload of agencies. A General Permit state. The scope and characteristics of the would help to coordinate agency efforts and erosion problem need to be factually identify areas of overlapping concern such determined at a high resolution, at least to that the permitting process can be made the parcel scale. more efficient without sacrificing the 16. Implement a small-scale nourishment present high level of environmental and General Permit. The Coastal Lands ecological safeguards. Program (CLP) at DLNR has proposed to 11. Restoration is not a Permanent Solution – establish a Small-Scale Beach Nourishment Plan for Renourishment and Program pursuant to the CDUP process and Redevelopment. Planning for post- in collaboration with the COE State Program restoration realities must proceed on a General Permit (SPGP) for expediting parallel track, and integrated with, any small-scale beach nourishment projects and restoration project. information gathering. A draft version of this program is contained in Technical 12. Adopt, or alter for adoption, the OEQC Supplement, Part E. quidelines for Environmental Assessment of shoreline projects that were submitted 17. Coastal erosion is an active and dynamic for public commentary in the November 23, agent on our shorelines even during the 1995 OEQC Environmental Notice. These current period of increasing well-defined guidelines are presented in Technical and viable management options. Hence, Supplement, Part D (pg. 79). there is an immediate need to provide a management response to emergency 13. Focus regulatory efforts and build local situations confronting private and expertise among agency personnel. If we commercial landowners. It is important to are to improve the erosion management develop a technical approach to control regime in Hawaii, energy and effort must be interim coastal erosion on residential lands focused on those localities where there is where a short-term or seasonal wave-related beach degradation and where active erosion hazard exists, and where long-term permitting issues arise. erosion trends have created user conflicts. 14. Regulators need to develop littoral sector- 18. Implement an “Erosion Control” specific planning objectives and goals to approach where feasible. This could provide decision-making criteria. include offshore breakwaters, and certain Decision-making authorities and regulators types of attached structures (T-head groins) need clear and unambiguous information on used in combination with nourishment to littoral processes, sand resources, historical stabilize particularly dynamic beach erosion and accretion rates and projected segments where erosion would be controlled future patterns, development patterns, land effectively without negative impacts to ownership histories, land-use trends, adjoining beaches, or the sediment budget of structure permitting histories, and other a littoral cell. The design and specifications scientific and socioeconomic trends and of this approach should be conducted by patterns at areas where erosion management professionals in coastal engineering with an decisions must be made. Regulatory established record of successful use. decisions are complex and require

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Permitting authorities may wish to adopt 3. Institutionalize a data stream to regulators the PE Seal (Professional Engineer) as using the UH-SOEST as the home base for a one criteria for accepting permit new NOAA Coastal Services Center in applications for erosion control projects. Hawaii. 4. Define and identify statutory and rule 19. Analyze Economic Factors. The economic changes necessary to improve erosion factors governing the implementation and management. These could include altering feasibility of various coastal management the accreted land law and the offshore alternatives is poorly understood in Hawaii. mining law, establishing a shoreline Economic data designed to identify the monument system for beach monitoring and necessary funding and benefit/cost rationale shoreline certification surveying, and of management options will be critical to facilitating the creation of General Permits establishing a framework for implementing a for coastal restoration activities. new paradigm of coastal management. 5. Simplify the regulatory system for 20. Integrate Hazard Mitigation and Coastal conservation and hazard reduction activities Conservation. Erosion is only one of requiring permits. several natural hazards that present 6. Improve decision-making and planing with management challenges along the Hawaiian site-specific littoral land-use, natural coast. High winds and associated marine resource, and physical process flooding, tsunami flooding, sea-level rise, information. high waves, stream flooding on coastal 7. Establish a no-tolerance policy toward plains, landslides, and seismic and volcanic new encroaching structures. Enforce the hazards all increase the risk exposure along policy using environmental sequencing developed coastal lands. criteria for avoidance, minimization, or compensatory mitigation of impacts.

8. Use fines and revocable easements as a INITIAL IMPLEMENTING ACTIONS system of compensatory mitigation for existing encroachments. COEMAP ends with a series of initial 9. Build consensus among agencies and implementing steps that emphasize the need for communities for the concepts and tools that efficiency and direct action for putting into place will characterize the new erosion some of the more expedient tools that regulators management system. can use to improve our erosion management 10. Create a special fund for coastal system. management at CLP using resource value 1. Empower and fund the CLP so that they land revenues and other funds that offer an can begin to implement specific alternative to legislative appropriations. programmatic and planning tools such as 11. Publicize the new policy of compensatory utilizing environmental sequencing, mitigation guidelines for encroachments to establishing a willing-seller acquisition conservation lands. Consider adopting the program, facilitating community-based same system to county encroachments. performance standards, and reviewing and 12. Identify sources of federal funding for amending the shoreline certification hazard reduction and environmental procedure. restoration in Hawaii. 2. Improve interagency collaboration with 13. Review management plans and planning frequent MACZMAG Erosion goals for county and state beach parks Subcommittee meetings and interagency and confirm that current maintenance consultations, with a General Permit for activities enhance the natural resources. Small-Scale Nourishment, by adopting 14. Distribute COEMAP to stakeholder COEMAP on a state-wide basis, defining agencies and NGO’s for comment. standardized coastal EA guidelines, and 15. Develop and initiate a public awareness spearheading an education and awareness and education campaign. effort.

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16. Specifically approach coastal user organizations for input, including land- owner groups, community organizations, environmental groups, land trusts, development groups and others, with education efforts and seek their input. 17. Develop an interim erosion mitigation and lands protection system for owners with legitimate fears of major land losses, define the interim period of use, and work toward establishing a longer-term erosion management system for the sector under erosion stress. 18. Implement beach and dune nourishment plans in order to actualize a pilot restoration project. 19. Use the COE-SPGP to establish a small- scale nourishment program at DLNR. 20. Engage in an ongoing evaluation of the viability of COEMAP concepts to gauge their effectiveness at achieving stated goals. 21. Plan the creation of a Technical Guidance Manual for eventual use by all coastal stakeholders including agencies and NGO’s to improve our system of erosion and coastal hazard management.

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I. OUR RESTLESS A. WHY COEMAP? SHORE This document, the Coastal Erosion Management Plan (COEMAP), provides a framework for discussing, assessing, understanding, and ultimately managing the problem of coastal erosion and beach loss in FOREWORD Hawaii. Its foundation is affirmed and Article X of the Hawaii State Constitution strengthened through the participation of coastal mandates the state to conserve and protect landowners, the beach-going public, government Hawaii’s natural resources for the benefit of agencies and officials, commercial interests, present and future generations. As the trustee of local planning and engineering firms, and other Hawaii’s beaches, the Department of Land and stakeholders. The objective of COEMAP, and Natural Resources (DLNR) has initiated a the public dialogue it seeks to foster, is to define comprehensive program, the Coastal Lands legal, scientific, socio-economic, and Program (CLP), to save this precious natural engineering mechanisms for preserving, resource for our future. This effort is guided by sustaining and restoring Hawaii’s beaches for the doctrine of sustainability promoting the future generations. conservation, sustainability and restoration of As far as possible, decisions to best achieve Hawaii’s beaches for future generations. improved erosion management should arise from an informed and open exchange among all participants. COEMAP is one source of information for that exchange. COEMAP builds upon past efforts to increase understanding of the problems and issues and to develop mechanisms to improve erosion management in Hawaii. A summary of past erosion management efforts (prior to 1994) is provided in the Technical Supplement, Part A, which is a staff report of the Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program9. Agency efforts to manage erosion, and preserve and restore beaches, should ride on the shoulders of a strong public outreach and education effort. Windward Oahu. Coastal development, Successful stewardship will require a flexible besieged by chronic erosion, has historically policy of interagency coordination built upon relied on shoreline hardening for protection. In trust, leadership and experience. These efforts many cases this has caused beach narrowing, must also be guided by the wisdom and advice beach and dune loss, and has restricted public of those with knowledge in the legal, scientific, access along miles of the Hawaiian coast. socio-economic, and engineering sectors of COEMAP provides a framework for decision- coastal lands management. making and implementation to better manage the problem of coastal erosion and to improve the The complexity of achieving these goals conservation of our beaches and dunes. demands a common level of education and familiarity among all participants. COEMAP serves as a source of information and provides a

9 Technical Supplement, Part A, “The Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program Beach Management Effort.” CZM Staff Report, February (1994), 17p.

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discussion of the issues. It offers when it meets a wall (see diagram). Passive recommendations for action, and describes erosion as a cause of beach loss is not unique to alternatives for consideration among concerned Hawaii and has been observed in other studies parties. Consistent with the goal of improved (Tait and Griggs, 1990; Kraus, 198813; and public awareness, DLNR, in association with the others). It is probable that sand Hawaii Sea Grant College, issued a pamphlet in 1998 titled “Coastal Erosion and Beach Loss in Hawaii: Facts about beach erosion and the new Coastal Lands Program at DLNR.” A copy of this pamphlet is reproduced in the Technical Supplement, Part B10. A long and unfortunate history of beach loss along the Hawaiian shoreline illustrates the need for a renewed erosion management system. It is useful, therefore, to articulate a statement of the problem arising from coastal erosion in Hawaii such that there is a demonstrated purpose underlying new management strategies. This report documents the loss or narrowing of approximately 24% of the sandy beaches on the island of Oahu over the 20th century and discusses technical aspects of managing erosion. COEMAP ends with a series of policy and technical recommendations for consideration by stakeholder agencies.

B. LOSING OUR BEACHES A study conducted at the University of Hawaii11 documents the problem of beach loss due to hardening the shoreline of Oahu (Table 1). Using an analysis of aerial photographs from 1928 or 1949 to 1993, researchers found that armoring a coastline experiencing chronic erosion leads to beach loss, probably through the process of passive erosion, as described by Pilkey and Wright12. Passive erosion is simply the continued retreat of a beach on an armored shore, such that the beach eventually disappears because it is prevented from further movement

10 Technical Supplement, Part B, “Coastal Erosion and Beach Loss in Hawaii: Facts about beach erosion and the new Coastal Lands Program at DLNR.” DLNR Coastal Lands Program (1998), 2p. 11 Fletcher, C.H., Mullane, R.A., and Richmond, B.M. (1997) Beach loss along armored shorelines of Oahu, Hawaiian Islands. Journal of Coastal Research, 13 Tait, J., and Griggs, G. (1990) Beach response to v. 13, p. 209-215. the presence of a seawall. Shore and Beach, v. 58, p. 12 Pilkey, O.H., and Wright, H.L. (1988) Seawalls 11-28; Kraus, N.C. (1988) The effects of seawalls on versus beaches. Journal of Coastal Research, Special the beach: an extended literature review. Journal of Issue, 4, p. 41-64 Coastal Research, Special Issue 4, p. 1-28.

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Shoreline Hardening and Beach Loss

Initial shore profile Beach

width

Shoreline profile after retreat Beach (no change in width) width

Beaches on chronically eroding shores can maintain their natural width as they slowly retreat landward.

Seawall Initial shore profile Beach width

Shoreline profile after retreat

Beach loss

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (1991)

Beach loss eventually occurs in front of a



seawall where there is chronic erosion.

impoundment mauka (landward) of a seawall is a contributing factor to chronic erosion14. Fletcher et al., found that on Oahu, 17.3 ±1.5 km (10.7 miles) of beach has been narrowed

14 Pope, J. (1997) Responding to coastal erosion and flooding damages. Journal of Coastal Research, v. 13, p. 704-710.

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TABLE 1 BEACH NARROWING AND LOSS ON OAHU Mokuleia Kaaawa Kailua-Waimanalo Maili-Makaha Island-wide A. Originally sandy (km) 12.2+1.0 7.5+0.6 15.5+1.3 6.0+0.5 115.6+9.8 B. Narrowed beach (km) 2.1+0.2 3.2+0.3 0.9+0.1 1.3+0.1 17.3+1.5 C. Lost beach (km) 0.2+0 0.8+0.1 1.6+0.1 0.2+0 10.4+0.9 D. Degraded beach 18.7% 53.6% 16.3% 24.9% 23.9% E. Short-term, maximum shoreline change rate (m/yr) -5.1 to 7.7 -5.8 to 14.0 -6.4 to 5.1 -2.2 to 4.0 not calculated F. Net shoreline change rate (m/yr) -0.2 to 0.3 -1.7 to 1.8 -0.9 to 0.6 -0.4 to 0.6 not calculated G. Non-armored mean sandy beach width 26.8 m 13.2 m 22.4 m 43.7 m not calculated H. Armored mean sandy beach width 12.8 m 8.9 m 7.1 m 24.5 m not calculated I. Mean long-term shoreline change rate for armored sites (m/yr) -0.2 -0.3 -0.6 -0.5 not calculated J. Range of shoreline change rates for armored sites (m/yr) -0.1 to -0.3 0 to -1.7 0.2 to -1.8 -0.2 to -1.0 not calculated

• 97.4 per cent of armored beaches experienced chronic erosion prior to the period of narrowing. • 92.1 per cent of armored beaches experienced long-term (>12 yr) chronic erosion prior to narrowing. • Island-wide, all narrowed beaches are on armored shorelines.

information with an understanding of coastal sedimentary processes, it is often by armoring and 10.4 ±0.9 km (6.4 miles) has been lost by this process. This is ~24% of the 115.6 ±9.8 km (71.6 miles) of originally sandy possible to characterize the most likely causes of shoreline on Oahu. erosion at a particular shoreline. Along certain coasts it is known why erosion In broad terms, it is thought that the erosion of occurs. Many times, however, the causes of coastal lands is caused either singly or in erosion are hidden and even after close study combination by sea-level rise, wave and current scientists and engineers are not able to action, or sediment deficiencies. These each are definitively, and quantitatively pinpoint all discussed with regard to Hawaii in the Technical original causes. Nonetheless, it is important that Supplement, Part C15. erosion mitigation and management plans are predicated upon some effort to understand the causes of erosion. This can be achieved through 1. Coastal Erosion vs. Beach Erosion examination of past land use patterns including sand mining, circumstances of reef degradation, Coastal erosion and beach erosion are not the analysis of historical aerial photos and beach same, though they are related. Coastal lands may profiles, the history of storms and wave events, and the recollections of long-time shorefront 15 Technical Supplement (Part C) “Causes of Coastal users. By integrating these sources of Erosion and Beach Loss in Hawaii.” 6p.

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experience long-term, chronic erosion under in the state is closely tied to the quality of some conditions. Coastal lands are typically Hawaiian beaches. As visitors find access composed of sand in Hawaii, so that as they difficult to shorelines lined by seawalls and erode and shift their position landward, they crowded with development, they will come to release a supply of sand to the adjoining beach. realize that our beaches are degraded, that The beach then, remains wide and healthy even coastal vistas are no longer pristine, and that as it moves with the eroding coastline. If sand is fulfilling opportunities to experience the not available to a beach on a chronically eroding Hawaiian shore depicted by the visitor industry coast, then beach erosion will ensue, leading to are rare. Beaches are a critical component of the beach narrowing and eventually beach loss. tourism infrastructure, like all infrastructure, they must be maintained. Conserving beaches is Beach narrowing and loss occurs where sand an economic as well as environmental supplies are diminished, or discontinued. Where responsibility of our system of land chronic erosion of coastal lands leads to management. Resolving beach loss should be the shoreline armoring (the construction of seawalls business of every Hawaiian citizen, the day may and revetments, also known as shoreline come when continued beach loss will make a hardening), usually on shorelines experiencing mark in everyone’s life. long-term retreat, sand supplies are typically interrupted and nearby beaches experience a Beach loss, however, does not occur in a decrease in sand volume. The original causes of vacuum nor without rationale. In nearly all cases chronic coastal erosion are typically a the same seawalls and revetments that are combination of wave and current action, sea- damaging beaches are simultaneously protecting level rise, and/or sediment deficiencies caused valuable coastal property. Along residential by human activities16. In addition to Oahu, shorelines, the ownership of property, as in any significant beach losses have occurred on all neighborhood around the nation, is the focus of Hawaiian Islands, especially the island of Maui, the day-to-day activities of families and hard- and to a lesser degree, on Kauai and Hawaii. working individuals from all walks of life. Coastal lands, like all lands, are owned by a Beach loss incurs costs to all aspects of cross-section of Hawaiian society. From Hawaiian life. The local populace of Hawaii absentee owners who may rent their lands, to throngs to the beaches for the enjoyment of long-time kamaaina families that trace their ocean access, socializing, exercise, being alone roots on our shoreline through the centuries, it is and being together. The beaches are among the difficult to watch one’s land wash into the waves principle reasons many Hawaiians call these without taking action. Coastal lands are all the islands home. On sunny weekends and holidays, more valuable in light of the limited buildable literally tens of thousands of residents can be land area and restricted resources of our island found playing and communing along our sandy home. Not only residences, but roadways, shorelines. As beaches disappear, the fabric of sewage lines and treatment plants, harbors, life in Hawaii will change and the daily miracle airports, commercial facilities and all manner of of living among these islands will lose its luster. public infrastructure may be found along our The ecology of shorelines is destroyed when shores. To simply let our coastal investments beaches disappear. Further damage occurs with and human efforts wash into the sea would not the frequently unrecognized demise of coastal be a rational management decision. dunes which are often leveled and graded

(covered) with topsoil when shorelines are developed. Continued beach loss will C. COASTAL HAZARDS undoubtedly impact our visitor industry, the principal engine driving the economy. Tourism Erosion is not the only hazard impacting coastal development. Tsunami’s, hurricanes, periods of large waves that occur seasonally, kona 16 Mullane, R. and Suzuki, D. (1997) Beach (southerly) storms, high wind events, stream Management Plan for Maui. Prepared by University flooding at the coast, undercutting and slumping of Hawaii Sea Grant Extension Service and County of steep shores, and long-term sea-level rise are of Maui Planning Department, 41p.

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all natural processes that are of concern to land additional land use guidelines detailed in this managers and coastal land owners17. plan, are compatible with beach conservation and preservation measures. Hence it is in the Bay and Bay18 describe the situation from the best interest of regulatory authorities to pursue government’s perspective. Government has an the compatible goals of beach conservation and inherent stake and an expressed obligation to hazard reduction using an integrated framework. protect the lives and property of its citizens. Mitigating damage from coastal hazards reduces the heavy burden placed on limited public fiscal resources.

Hurricane Iniki, for example, caused $1.6 billion in losses to residential property, visitor D. HO‘OLAULIMA accommodations, public utilities, public (many hands working together) buildings and agriculture19. Recovery from these losses required state public assistance of over Solutions to the apparent conflict of landowner $17 million, federal assistance of $621 million, expectations on retreating coastlines subject to and private assistance exceeding $38 million. coastal hazards, are not easy, they are not cheap, Iniki caused over $67 million in damage to state and they will require that all parties come to the and county property, and 2 years later Kauai table willing to define levels of acceptable County remained in an economic recession with change to past practices of coastal use. Parties tourism down by 20 percent, auto sales down by with aspirations to conflict, to place blame, and 45 percent, jobs down by almost 8 percent, and guided by distrust, will achieve only dissension, an unemployment rate over 20 percent. Kauai discord, and ultimately failure. The result will be County lost an estimated $14 million in property continued beach loss. Parties with the intention tax revenue during 1993 and 1994. to compromise, to reach understanding, and to work in the spirit of achievement and All these losses strain government assistance accomplishment will promote the ability of this programs and result in tax losses at all levels. generation to pass on a healthy and viable For these reasons, and to enhance beach coastal environment to our children and conservation in an era of migrating shorelines grandchildren. Options for managing the erosion and dynamic weather patterns, it is in problem are expensive, difficult, and will rarely government’s interest to discourage prove completely satisfactory to all stakeholders. inappropriate shoreline development in known Despite this, the problem must be met with hazard areas, including erosion hazard zones. optimism, commitment and resolve or the Coastal hazard reduction can be achieved if children of Hawaii will suffer because we were structures are set back a rational distance from not willing to make the necessary difficult the shoreline, elevated above expected flood or choices. water levels, and built according to appropriate The Board of Land and Natural Resources construction specifications. These actions, with circulated COEMAP for comment in 1997 as an element of departmental policy to promote the sustainable use of coastal resources, including 17 Fletcher, C.H., and others (1994, and new edition beaches. All aspects of COEMAP were exposed in press) Atlas of Natural Hazards in the Hawaiian to public scrutiny through a year-long process of Coastal Zone. State of Hawaii, Coastal Zone public presentations and discussion groups. This Management Program, Honolulu, and U.S. public awareness effort is ongoing and will be Geological Survey, Menlo Park, 400p. continuously sustained. Outreach and awareness 18 Bay, J. and Bay, M. (1996) Reducing hazards in shoreline areas: policy and legal options. A report building is the first level of implementation of from the Coastal Acquisition Project, Phase II, COEMAP recommendations. Importantly, the Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program, 15 p. ideas in COEMAP provide a conduit for 19 Hamnett, M., Davidson Oh, K.G., and Bryant, K. feedback and conflict resolution that is a critical (1996) Hawaii Coastal Hazard Mitigation Planning part of the envisioned management framework. Project, Phase II: Findings and Recommendations. Indeed, COEMAP is an organic document, Hawaii CZM Program, Honolulu, 27p.

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meaning that it is ever-evolving, and it’s purpose through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is to incorporate new information and learned (COE) and their Department of Army Permit lessons to improve the erosion management (DA). The DA permit must be obtained for system in Hawaii. virtually any construction fill and dredge or discharge activities. Private ownership of the COEMAP should be read by all coastal land beside, or below, or near the site of stakeholders, including: State and County permitting does not change the need for a DA authorities, the commercial and residential permit. The regulatory authorities and development industry, land-use managers and responsibilities of the COE are prescribed in the planners, coastal consultants, coastal residents, following laws: public-interest groups, and the general public. 1. Section 10, Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899

(33 USC 403) – prohibits the obstruction or

alteration of navigable waters of the United States without a COE permit; 2. Section 404, Clean Water Act (33 USC 1344) – prohibits the discharge of dredged ANAGING or fill material into waters of the United II. M States without a COE permit; and COASTAL EROSION 3. Section 103, Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, as amended (33 USC 1413) – authorizes the COE to issue permits for the transportation of dredged material for the purpose of dumping A. HAWAII’S CURRENT it into ocean waters22. MANAGEMENT REGIME The COE will not approve any projects until all The coastal management structure that has other applicable state and county permit evolved in Hawaii consists of three layers of requirements have been satisfied. jurisdiction, with varying degrees of overlap and In addition to navigable waters authority, federal prescribed coordination. Oceanit, Inc. and jurisdiction is triggered for projects needing a Sullivan20 and Lacayo Planning, Inc. and Sea 21 federal permit, if significant federal funding is Engineering, Inc. present an overview of the involved, or if any major federal action erosion management framework in Hawaii. significantly affecting the environment is required. In all of these cases the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) 1. Federal Authority requires the preparation of a federal Federal authority applies to the navigable waters Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) or of the United States, which extend from the Environmental Assessment (EA). For many mean high water mark seaward to the 200 mile actions that trigger the need for a federal EIS, limit of the Exclusive Economic Zone. The state law will also require a state-level EIS. The federal government administers these waters two EIS documents can be combined, and many of the content requirements are the same or 20 Oceanit, Inc. and Sullivan, J.N. (1990) Erosion similar. Management Program Recommendations for Hawaii. A report to the Coastal Zone Management Program, Office of Planning, State of Hawaii, Honolulu, 95p. 2. State Authority 21 Lacayo Planning, Inc and Sea Engineering, Inc. (1993) Beach Nourishment Viability study, The National Coastal Zone Management Act Regulatory Analysis Component. A report to the (CZMA) of 1972 was enacted to assist states in Coastal Zone Management Program, Office of Planning, State of Hawaii, Honolulu, 32p., plus attachments. 22 Id.

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developing management policies for their own jurisdiction of the counties, through the coastal resources. Coastal erosion is specifically administration of the Special Management Area mentioned in CZMA as an area of concern to be (SMA) and shoreline setback provisions of addressed by state policy. The CZMA requires Chapter 205A, HRS, and the Department of that state programs include a planning process Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), for assessing the effects of shoreline erosion, Conservation District Regulations. evaluating ways to lessen the impact, and All submerged lands seaward of the shoreline, to restoring areas adversely affected by erosion23. the limit of state territorial waters, are included The national CZM program is administered by in the Conservation District, one of four land- the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource use classifications in the state. Pursuant to Management (OCRM), an office in the National Chapter 183, HRS, the Board of Land and Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Natural Resources (BLNR), staffed by the (NOAA), in the U.S. Department of Commerce. DLNR, is responsible for establishing the Hawaii’s CZM law (Chapter 205A, HRS) was procedures and certifying where the shoreline is enacted in 1977. Hawaii’s coastal zone includes located, and for promulgating and administering all lands, and all waters from the shoreline to the the Conservation District use regulations. All seaward limit of the state’s jurisdiction24. In activities proposed within the Conservation addition, although federal lands are District require a Use Permit (CDUP), for which administratively excluded from the CZM area, there is an application, and review process. federal activities on these lands are subject to BLNR can approve, deny, or approve with federal consistency requirements. As lead conditions, proposed uses of the Conservation agency for CZM in Hawaii, the Office of District. Planning (OP), in the State Department of The Department of Health, Office of Business and Economic Development and Environmental Quality Control (OEQC) Tourism (DBEDT) is responsible for reviewing administers the Hawaii EIS law (Chapter 343, and deciding the consistency of federal activities HRS) and provides public notice of EA’s with the State’s CZM program. (Environmental Assessments) accompanying Hawaii’s Coastal Zone Management Program CDUP’s, Shoreline Certification Applications, (CZMP) establishes broad objectives and and other shoreline use projects, falling under policies to guide all actions affecting the coastal various lead agencies. For instance, associated zone and is administered by the OP through a with the Shoreline Certification process is the network of state agencies and the county requirement for two public notices in the OEQC planning departments. The erosion planning and Bulletin (OEQCB: HAR, Sect. 13-222-12). The management activities fall primarily under the first is to notify the public that a Shoreline Certification Application has been received, and 23 Id. requests comments within 14 days of 24 The shoreline is defined as the “upper reaches of publication, and the second is to notify the the wash of the waves, other than storm and seismic acceptance or rejection of said application. waves, at high tide during the season of the year in which the highest wash of the waves occurs, usually evidenced by the edge of vegetation growth, or the 3. County Authority upper limit of debris left by the wash of the waves” (Chapter 205A-1, HRS). In 1990, the Hawaii State Under Chapter 205A, HRS, the four counties are Legislature ammended the definition of state marine required to establish a “shoreline area” with waters to “the water column and water surface, setbacks no less than 20 ft and no more than 40 extending from the upper reaches of the wash of the ft inland from the shoreline wherein no waves onshore, seaward to the limit of the state’s development is allowed. The law also allows police power and management authority, including counties to establish ordinances creating the United States territorial sea, notwithstanding any setbacks greater than 40 ft, and to extend law to the contrary.” (Chapter 190D-3, HRS). In a jurisdiction over the shoreline area seaward to 1988 proclamation, President Reagan extended the the mean sea level. Maui and Honolulu counties territorial sea of the U.S. from three to twelve miles have defined instances where the setback is (Id).

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greater than 40 ft, but to date, no county has county governments, and in the late 1970’s with moved its jurisdiction seaward to mean sea the establishment of the state’s Coastal Zone level. The statute is intended to control Management Program. Why then, as pointed to development on the shoreline, maintain open in Chapter 1, has beach loss occurred in such space, and preserve public access, however, great proportions? variances for prohibited activities may be issued On one hand the problem lies in our failure to following review by county authorities. recognize the problem in the first place, and our Chapter 205A, HRS, provides authority to the propensity to discount the economic, cultural, counties to establish SMA boundaries and an and intrinsic importance of beaches. On the SMA permit process. Permits for activities on other hand, the problem is essentially a planning SMA lands are classified as either major or issue rooted deeply in our failing system of minor depending on the potential environmental coastal zone management and regulation. impact and the value of the proposed Hawaii’s Coastal Zone Management Program development. was primarily developed as an adjunct to Any proposed activities requiring a CDUP or Hawaii’s uniform land use and zoning laws, SMA permit must undergo an application which fail to recognize the primacy of shoreline procedure requiring a description of the dynamics in their implementing rules26. Coastal proposed activity, and known alternatives, the areas are dynamic zones that are undergoing environmental setting and potential impacts, and constant change in response to a multitude of proposed mitigative actions to lessen the factors including sea-level rise, wave and current impacts. In certain cases (identified in Chapter patterns, hurricanes, and human influences. 343, HRS) an Environmental Assessment (EA) Traditional zoning tools have promoted erosion must be additionally submitted to the state control through shoreline hardening rather than Department of Health, Office of Environmental accommodation and enhancement. As Hwang27 Quality Control (OEQC), which administers the notes in retrospect, “Almost all of the current Hawaii Environmental Impact Statement Law shoreline problems could have been avoided if (Chapter 343, HRS). That office is responsible shoreline instability were planned for at the for advertising to the public that a period of zoning stage, before parcels of land are review is underway for the EA and for soliciting subdivided.” document review by all interested parties and Another related problem is that the linkages agencies. If the OEQC makes a finding of between the CZM program and other federal, significant impact (FOSI), a full EIS must be state, and county agencies responsible for the developed under their guidance. The OEQC has administration, management or regulation of proposed standards and guidelines governing the coastal areas have traditionally been weak. preparation of EA’s for shoreline construction Unlike other states that have well-integrated projects, including projects that may result in beach conservation programs in place or are in environmental impacts to the beaches and dunes the process of developing these programs, like of Hawaii (see Technical Supplement, Part D25). Texas, Hawaii has failed to move in this direction. The problem can be characterized as a weak federal presence with respect to servicing 4. Critique local agencies with the latest scientific and As discussed above, Hawaii appears to have a well-developed and comprehensive 26 Challacombe, A. (1997) Beach Management in administrative system in place to effectively Hawaii: A Public Sector Perspective. Hawaii respond to coastal erosion and beach loss. This Planning, v. xviii, no. 6, p. 5, June, Monthly system was codified in the early 1970’s with the Newsletter of the Hawaii Chapter of the American adoption of shoreline setback requirements by Planning Association. 27 Hwang, D. (1997) Protecting Our Beaches: Balancing Public and Private Interests. Hawaii 25 Technical Supplement (Part D) “Draft Shoreline Planning, v. xviii, no. 6, p. 7, June, Monthly Hardening Policy,” Office of Environmental Quality Newsletter of the Hawaii Chapter of the American Control (OEQC), Department of Health, 6p. Planning Association.

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technical solutions to deal with beach loss, and f) Beach Profile Development equally weak linkages between state and county g) Remote Sensing agencies responsible for beach and shore 2. Land and Water Management conservation. Hawaii, in effect, has no widely accepted program, or plan related to beach a) Land Acquisition conservation at this time. It is time that Hawaii b) Conservation Easements reinvents its shoreline management regime with c) Public Access Development new tools, techniques, and programs. d) Restoration/Enhancement e) Public Investment Restrictions

f) Coastal Property Disclosure B. NEW TOOLS FOR EROSION 3. Planning MANAGEMENT a) Local Land-use Plans Reducing the threat of coastal erosion and b) Special Area Management Plans processes such as hurricane storm surge, coastal c) Regional Plans stream flooding, tsunami inundation and high d) Public Access Management Plans wave and high wind impacts requires full e) Disaster Preparedness Plans consideration of policy and legal options designed to reduce exposure to these hazards. 4. Regulation a) Setbacks/Buffers b) Special Use Permits 1. State and County Tools c) Shoreline Stabilization Restrictions Across the nation, state coastal managers use d) Local Zoning Ordinances many different management techniques. e) Compensatory Wetland Mitigation Regulatory measures such as permits, zoning f) Mitigation Banking ordinances and building codes are the primary g) Wetland Permits elements of state programs to protect coastal h) Development Permits resources. States also make wide use of 5. Education incentives, voluntary programs, land acquisition, planning, public education and a) Technical Assistance to intergovernmental coordination. b) Landowners and Government c) Publications, Video and Other Section 307 of the Coastal Zone Management d) Media Act, which requires federal agencies to conduct e) Workshops and Conferences their activities consistent with state coastal management programs, is also a key 6. Intergovernmental Coordination management technique. However, resource a) Federal Consistency Procedures management priorities, management techniques, b) Operating Agreements and organizational structure differ from state to state. Various management techniques include28: Many of these tools, and others, are presently used in Hawaii by various state and county land 1. Research and Assessment and resource management agencies. The a) Resource Assessments following sections of this chapter describe b) Inventory and Mapping certain of these techniques in more detail in the c) Geographic Information Systems expectation that they can be used more d) Habitat Restoration Research effectively or their scope broadened in managing e) Sea-Level Rise Research the problem of beach loss and coastal erosion. The description is not exhaustive, and the authors of COEMAP encourage the continued 28 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration development of creative coastal management (NOAA). 1998 (on-line). "Reducing the Impacts of policies. Coastal Hazards" by Sandy Ward and Catherine Main. NOAA's State of the Coast Report. Silver Spring, MD: NOAA

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2. Criteria to Guide Decision Making Permitting to make consistent management decisions along their shore. Any administrative approach to managing the erosion hazards in Hawaii will need to The fundamental and preeminent challenge incorporate the considerations of a broad facing erosion managers is to create an effective spectrum of concerned stakeholders with a marriage of agency goals and methodologies for diversity of interests and goals. the betterment of their constituency and our environment along the shore. County, state and federal administrations share responsibility for governing the parcel by parcel This fact is recognized in the structure and usages and management decisions that will function of the Coastal Zone Management determine the future state of our coastline. Program of the Office of Planning. Among other Together, they are responsible for the efforts, the CZMP provides counties with a implementation of recommendations in this or framework, with funding, with information, and any other document and for the law as it is with guidance in managing the coastline of written in Chapter 205A. These levels together Hawaii. Indeed, the counties are the functional will primarily be responsible for implementing arms of a larger system of coastal management strategies for all types of both developed and that includes all levels of government. Since the undeveloped lands. Although beach CZMP exists as a consistency and oversight conservation is primarily a state issue because body with a mandate to enhance coastal beaches lie seaward of the certified shoreline management, and the Coastal Lands Program and fall under state Conservation District (CLP) at DLNR is the permitting authority authority and management by the CDUP governing activities on Hawaiian beaches, it is (Conservation District Use Permit), it is the appropriate that both agencies work together to coastal land losses, chronic erosion, and private facilitate the development of site-specific criteria development rights that precipitate impacts and for decision making and permitting in the SMA necessitate hazard mitigation on a day in and (Special Management Area). This must be day out basis. These issues are the engine achieved in collaboration with and under the driving our management of sandy shores, and it guidance and agreement of the various counties. is these that lie under shared jurisdiction.

State agencies and county planning and 3. Regulatory Tools permitting departments attempt to coordinate and facilitate their respective missions, but in the Although the CZMP does issue determinations end, a common vision governing the exercise of to ensure that coastal activities are consistent day to day administration of the shore on both with state CZM objectives and policies, except sides of the certified shoreline must be achieved. for certain community development districts, it If agencies of the state and counties seek to is not a regulatory body, and it does not possess improve the management of erosion, it will be the power to exercise the implementation of crucial that both administrations establish state laws and to actively manage state lands. mutually acceptable criteria for conservation and The DLNR, the DOH, the counties, and the COE mitigation. These criteria must be articulated, share the majority of responsibility for reviewed and modified, and finally accepted as implementing new programs, issuing permits policy with governing rules for dealing with and affecting true changes to coastal erosion erosion. One example of such criteria are found management in Hawaii. in the 1991 Oahu Shoreline Management Plan29 a. Hawaii’s Permitting Puzzle On both a which are used by the City and County of national and local level there has been much Honolulu Department of Planning and discussion on the applicability of using sand nourishment for beach and dune restoration as an erosion management tool. If Hawaii is to 29 Sea Engineering, Inc. and Moon, B.A. (1991) pursue beach and dune restoration using marine Oahu Shoreline Management Plan. A report prepared sand sources as a policy of erosion management, for the City and County of Honolulu Department of it will require conducting activities seaward of Land Utilization, 57p.

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the mean high water mark, an area that is and licenses. The state’s consistency regulated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determination can include conditions to mitigate (COE). If a significant impact to the or offset potential impacts of the activity or use environment is identified, such as with a large- proposed in the permit application. scale restoration project, then a federal The State DLNR under the legal authority of Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) must be Chapter 183, HRS will require a CDUP for submitted in accordance with the National large-scale restoration activities because beaches Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 in and lands seaward of the certified shoreline will order to acquire the necessary Department of be impacted by sand dredging and filling. The Army (DA) permit. Land Division of DLNR will also have to issue a The Hawaii Environmental Impact Statement separate Right of Entry for sand mining or fill Law (Chapter 343, HRS) also requires that a based on a submitted Environmental Assessment Hawaii EIS be submitted for any activities (EA) describing the proposed activities and involving eight types of conditions. Among possible impacts. these eight are the use of state or county funds or In order to obtain a CDUP, a shoreline lands, use of Conservation District lands, or use certification must be granted by the State of the Shoreline Setback Area. Surveyor under Chapter 205A, HRS. This The Hawaii EIS law is modeled after NEPA, and requires a separate application to the Land since large-scale beach nourishment will trigger Division of the Department of Land and Natural both federal and state EIS requirements it will be Resources which requests a review by the State necessary to prepare a single EIS document that Surveyor in the Department of Accounting and addresses both federal and state issues. The two General Services (DAGS). A period of public levels of requirements are closely matched, comment is announced in the OEQC Bulletin however, and the burden of conducting the EIS (14 days), after which a recommendation is study is not made significantly more difficult forwarded from the Surveyor’s office to the with the joint use. The submission of the joint Chairperson’s Office of DLNR, where it is EIS is coordinated by the DOH Office of approved or rejected. Environmental Quality Control (OEQC) and its Under county jurisdiction, sand mining or final acceptance at the state level is granted by moving and depositing by mechanical means for the governor or mayor for public projects, and public uses within a shoreline area may be by the permit lead agency for private projects. authorized by a Shoreline Setback Variance Under the federal Clean Water Act (Section (SSV), provided that “moving of sand will not 401), an applicant requiring a federal license or adversely affect beach processes, will not permit to conduct work in state waters must also diminish the size of a public beach, and be obtain a Water Quality Certification (WQC) necessary to stabilize an eroding shoreline” from DOH. Additionally, any beach restoration (Chapter 205A-46, HRS). The setback activity that utilizes the discharge of a sand requirements are administered and enforced by slurry, or the placement of dredged sand in the permitting departments of the counties and coastal waters will require a National Pollution they will be the issuing authorities of the SSV Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. for nourishment actions. This permit application will be reviewed by the Because restoration will involve activities in the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “Special Management Area” (SMA) that extends and issued by DOH. no less than 100 yards inland from the shoreline, As the lead agency for the CZMP of Hawaii, the and the power to regulate these lands is Office of Planning is responsible for reviewing delegated to the counties under Chapter 205A, and deciding the consistency of all federal HRS, a “major” SMA Permit must be obtained if activities with state goals in CZM areas (coastal the total valuation of the project exceeds lands and waters). A consistency determination $125,000 or if it may have a significant adverse is required from OP/CZMP for federally-funded environmental or ecological effect. Otherwise, a activities and activities requiring federal permits SMA Minor Permit may be issued by the

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county. This is conditioned upon documentation Environmental Management Division, under that there will be no adverse environmental or authority of ecological impacts resulting from the action, and a) Chapter 342D, HRS and Title 11, that public access is maintained or enhanced as a Chapter 55, HAR result of the project. 7. Shoreline Certification, Department of Large-scale beach restoration will require a total Accounting and General Services of 13 permits or actions to obtain the agreement of federal, state, and county agencies, these a) Chapter 205A, HRS are30: 8. DLNR, Land Division, Conservation 1. National Council of Environmental Quality, District Use Permit granted by the Board of Federal EIS, based on Land and Natural Resources under a) NEPA of 1969 (Public Law 91-190) a) Chapter 205, HRS, Title 13, Chapter 2 2. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Department 9. DLNR Right-of-Entry-Authorization of Army Permit, based on under a) Section 10, Rivers and Harbors Act of a) Chapter 171, HRS 1899 (33 USC 403) 10. A major Special Management Area Use b) Section 404, Clean Water Act (33 USC Permit administered by the counties under 1344) authority of c) Section 103, Marine Protection, a) Chapter 205A, HRS and county Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972, governing ordinances as amended (33 USC 1413) 11. Counties will also issue a Shoreline 3. Federal Consistency Determination, Setback Variance for any activities within Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program, the designated setback zone under Office of Planning, DBEDT, under a) Chapter 205A, HRS and county a) CZM Act of 1972, Chapter 205A, HRS governing ordinances 4. Water Quality Certification, Hawaii 12. A Permit for Grading and/or Grubbing Department of Health, Clean Water Branch will need to be issued for sand fill activities under authority of based upon a) Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, a) County Ordinances Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972, Public Law 92-500, Chapter 13. A Flood Hazard Certification must be 342D, HRS awarded by county agencies to certify that the permitted activity will not alter the 5. Hawaii EIS, for the DOH, Office of elevation of base flood conditions (100 yr Environmental Quality Control, can be same flood) of the NFIP document as 1. above, addressing both a) County Ordinances federal and state guidelines, defined by a) Chapter 343, HRS b. General Permit It is clear from this review 6. National Pollutant Discharge Elimination that a high level of analysis and understanding System Permit, from the DOH must accompany any large-scale beach restoration project in Hawaii. It would be in the best interest of facilitating the use of restoration 30 Lacayo Planning, Inc and Sea Engineering, Inc. as a viable option, and reducing the workload of (1993) Beach Nourishment Viability study, agencies, to coordinate and identify areas of Regulatory Analysis Component. A report Prepared overlapping effort such that the permitting for the Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program, 32p. plus attachments. process can be made more efficient without

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sacrificing the present high level of position of the shoreline to migrate inland over environmental and ecological safeguards. time. One approach to realize this goal is to define a A discussion of this issue by the CZMP, Marine single “General Permit” such as the Department and Coastal Management Advisory Group of the Army State Program General Permit (MACZAG), Subcommittee on Coastal Erosion (SPGP, administered by the Corps of Engineers) concluded that representatives of DAGS Survey that defines guidelines for activities seaward of Office should consult with the Office of the the certified shoreline, identifying state or Attorney General and others with legal expertise federal jurisdiction. Such activities could include to further explore these issues. One approach integrated conservation and hazard mitigation would be to file a unilateral agreement among projects, such as small-scale beach restoration. property owners in a project area with the Bureau of Conveyances. It is also expected that One General Permit applicable under state or amended legislation will be necessary to resolve federal jurisdiction, administered by a single the issue. lead agency, that defines guidelines for Best Management Practices to achieve integrated d. Environmental Sequencing Hwang31 describes conservation and hazard mitigation along the the “environmental sequencing approach” to shoreline, would provide efficiency and erosion hazard reduction. Environmental economy to the effort to restore lost beaches. sequencing helps regulators to focus on the most That lead agency should be the Coastal Lands efficient and acceptable means of shoreline Program at DLNR. This would, in fact, move protection while reducing the burdens on the directly toward the environmental restoration regulated community. Sequencing is an and erosion mitigation identified in management environmental decision-making framework based alternatives 2. (Beach Restoration), and 3. on the concepts of avoidance, minimization, and (Erosion Control) articulated in Pope (1997) and compensatory mitigation. described ahead in section II.B.5. 1. Avoidance Avoidance relies on historical c. Rights of Ownership An accompanying issue shoreline data and erosion analysis to that must be addressed prior to filling and determine a safe location for structures. This is accreting coastal lands is the rights of ownership the most effective way to prevent shoreline and use for private lands that have eroded and erosion problems. Avoidance requires that whose property boundaries (metes and bounds) erosion hazards are recognized prior to zoning lie across the area of restoration. at the county level, and that erosion projections are incorporated in plans for It would be a mistake, and in fact would violate subdividing coastal lots. Hence, avoidance stated FEMA goals, if beach restoration resulted leads to the safe siting of structures away from in increased development in coastal hazard coastal hazards. areas. It is highly likely that sand nourishment and the resulting accretion of the shoreline, 2. Minimization If structures are improperly would shift the highest reach of the waves located and coastal hazards cannot be avoided, seaward of their pre-nourishment location. the environmental and economic impacts need Future certifications at such sites by owners with to be minimized. Minimization employs an overlapping metes and bounds would result in a array of planning and engineering tools to take seaward shift in the setback zone and the the place of the traditional, and harmful, encroachment of development into high hazard seawall or revetment. These include seabags, areas. dune enhancement, sand replenishment, Property owners who have hardened their coastal lands, and thereby “fixed” the position of the certified shoreline may be rewarded for their 31 Hwang, D.J. (1998) An environmental sequencing actions with larger areas of private property and approach to shoreline management. First Regional buildable land compared to owners who have Conference on Coastal Erosion Management in not hardened their property and who allowed the Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. Abstracts with programs, University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program.

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offshore structures, and other erosion control 9. Encourage private groups to take a and beach restoration technologies. leadership role in improving design and construction standards to reduce the risk of 3. Compensatory Mitigation If environmental future hurricane damage; impacts cannot be minimized, the concept of 10. Develop a hazard mitigation incentive compensatory mitigation can be employed program through the Hawaii Hurricane where the landowner contributes to the state or Relief Fund; county an amount related to the costs to 11. Establish a Hurricane Mitigation Advisory develop or replenish similar beach resources Board; elsewhere. 12. Establish a beach monitoring program; Environmental sequencing for reducing erosion 13. Develop a coastal retreat strategy for high hazards can be integrated with efforts to reduce hazard areas; exposure to other coastal hazards, including 14. Fund training programs on the provisions of hurricanes. the 1991 Uniform Building code for county building department officials and building e. Integrating Hazard Mitigation In October of contractors; 1996, the University of Hawaii Social Science 15. Establish a wind hazard assessment Research Institute (SSRI) provided 20 program; recommendations as the result of their CZM 16. Fund the development and distribution of funded Hawaii Coastal Hazard Mitigation public information materials on the risk of Planning Project32. When combined, these future hurricane damage and steps initiatives represent an integrated approach to individuals and businesses can take; coastal hazard mitigation. They recommended: 17. Develop a hurricane hazard mitigation 1. Hawaii government should enforce existing program for state buildings; floodplain regulations and shoreline setback 18. Develop a hurricane recovery and hazard requirements; mitigation plan; 2. Designate coastal high hazard areas on all 19. Create state income tax credits for hazard county planning, zoning, and land-use maps, mitigation; and establish a hazard mitigation review 20. Provide low interest loans for hurricane process; hazard mitigation. 3. Review Flood Insurance Rate Maps and evaluate their adequacy in coastal high These recommendations focus principally on hazard designations; reducing hazards to coastal development, but 4. Establish variable shoreline setbacks; certain actions would also promote avoidance 5. Adopt the latest version of the Uniform and minimization of erosion threats, hence Building Code; leading to enhanced beach conservation. 6. Assess the capacity of county building f. Setback Programs Various states have dealt departments to adequately enforce the with the mitigation of coastal hazards, including provisions of the 1991 Uniform Building chronic erosion, through the use of construction Code; setbacks (see Table 3). 7. Encourage development of a federal tax credit for hazard mitigation; 1. North Carolina North Carolina's coastal 8. Monitor the availability of Federal development regulations require property Emergency Management Agency grant owners to set their buildings back from eroding funds for hazard mitigation and make the shorelines and protective beaches and dunes. establishment of a hazard mitigation These natural features and the design and size of homeowner grant program a priority; the proposed development determine the construction setback required. The setback is 32 Hamnett, M., Davidson Oh, K.G., and Bryant, K. measured from the first line along which aerial (1996) Hawaii Coastal Hazard Mitigation Planning photos show stable natural vegetation or from Project, Phase II: Findings and Recommendations. the point at which a ground survey shows stable Hawaii CZM Program, Honolulu, 27p. vegetation.

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New, smaller structures must be set back farthest of the resultant structural damage during Opal. landward of (1) a distance equal to 30 times the Of the 576 major habitable structures located long-term annual erosion rate, (2) the crest of the seaward of the CCCL and permitted by the state primary dune, (3) the landward toe of the under the current standard, none sustained frontal dune, or (4) 60 feet landward of the substantial damage. In contrast, 768 of the 1,366 vegetation line. Larger structures must be set pre-existing structures seaward of the CCCL back a distance 60 times the average annual sustained substantial damage. erosion rate or 120 feet landward of the vegetation line. Where erosion rates exceed 3.5 Table 2. Damaged Structures seaward of the feet per year, the setback line for larger CCCL due to Hurricane Opal structures is 30 times the erosion rate plus 105 feet. The law allows single-family residences on Structures Structures preexisting lots not deep enough to meet the built to CCCL NOT built to erosion setback requirements as long as they are standards (576 CCCL set back at least 60 feet33. total) standards (1366 total) 2. Florida The State of Florida has implemented two effective tools for mitigating Structures not coastal hazards, land use and building code substantially 576 598 requirements, through its Coastal Construction damaged Control Line (CCCL) regulation. Structures substantially 0 768 During the 1980s, Florida's Department of damaged Environmental Protection established the CCCL Percentage of to upgrade the standards that guide land use and structures 0% 56% building construction in high-hazard coastal substantially areas. The CCCL defines the zone along the damaged coastline subject to flooding, erosion, and other impacts during a "100-year storm" (a severe storm that has a 1% chance of occurring each More structures were damaged or destroyed by year). Properties located seaward of the CCCL wave erosion associated with Hurricane Opal setback are subject to state-enforced elevation than in all other coastal storms that have and construction requirements that are more occurred in Florida over the past 20 years stringent than National Flood Insurance Program combined. The fact that CCCL-permitted (NFIP) coastal (V-Zone) requirements. structures sustained no damage in Hurricane Likewise, the wind-load requirements seaward Opal is a result of the use of hazard-resistant of the CCCL are more stringent than those of the construction and siting requirements. 34 standard building codes . 3. Hawaii Bay and Bay35 report on the The test of the CCCL requirements came on minimum construction setbacks of 40 ft October 4, 1995, when Hurricane Opal struck a established in Hawaii which are required under portion of the Florida coastline as a category 3 Chapter 205A, Hawaii Revised Statutes. With hurricane with 111 to 115 mile per hour winds the granting of a variance from the governing (Table 2). county, a structure can be sited within 20 ft of the shoreline, or less in the County of Hawaii. Coastal flood forces, consisting of storm surge, Variances are awarded in cases of emergency or wind-generated waves, flood-induced erosion because the 40 ft condition would render the lot and flood-borne debris, appeared to cause most unbuildable otherwise. The County of Hawaii Planning Commission Rules allow the granting 33 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 1998 (on-line). "Reducing the Impacts of Coastal Hazards" by Sandy Ward and Catherine 35 Bay, J. and Bay, M. (1996) Reducing hazards in Main. NOAA's State of the Coast Report. Silver shoreline areas: policy and legal options. A report Spring, MD: NOAA. from the Coastal Aquisition Project, Phase II, Hawaii 34 Id. Coastal Zone Management Program, 15 p.

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of a Shoreline Setback Variance for lesser vacationers, and in preventing the erosion that setbacks if certain criteria can be met. The lesser was threatening beachfront homes on the island. setback is applicable to lots which were created After eight years, sand dunes and vegetation are prior to adoption of the Planning Department’s thriving on the beach, and the threat of coastal Rule 11 (January 19, 1997) when one of the hazards impacting the beachfront homes has following exists: 1) when the average lot depth greatly diminished. of a parcel is one hundred feet or less; or 2) 5. Certified Shoreline36 The setback in Hawaii, when the buildable area of a parcel is reduced to as mentioned earlier, is measured from the less than fifty percent of the parcel after Certified Shoreline. It is defined in the Coastal applying the forty-foot shoreline setback line Zone Management Act (HRS-205 A) as, and all state and county requirements of the parcel. the upper reaches of the wash of the waves, other than storm and seismic waves, at high tide during the Many nonconforming structures have been season of the year in which the highest wash of the grand-fathered under the current setback law waves occurs, usually evidenced by the edge of such that the typical residential developed coast vegetation growth, or the upper limit of debris left by in Hawaii has a range of permitted, the wash of the waves. nonconforming, and non-permitted structures at This definition creates some problems, as various distances from the shoreline. Under the described by Fletcher and Hwang (1994). Chief law the counties have the ability to increase the among them is the fact that coastal land owners setback. The City and County of Honolulu has and managers (typically homeowners, and increased it’s setback for new construction from commercial interests) frequently landscape their 40 ft to 60 ft. Maui County has a setback up to beachfront property to push the vegetation line 150 ft depending on lot size and other aspects, seaward and thereby gain valuable building and Kauai and Hawaii Co’s have maintained the space. This constitutes a slow but inexorable minimum 40 ft, except where county rules encroachment of development upon the permit a lesser setback. hazardous and fragile beaches of Hawaii. Also, 4. Georgia Beach Nourishment Project Sea wave run-up does not provide the surveying Island, Georgia is a small resort island with profession, responsible for identifying the beaches that attract numerous vacationers and certified shoreline, with a fixed natural new residents. Since the late 1980s, beach monument or datum with measurable erosion has been chronic, primarily as a result of characteristics. Hence, the defined shoreline is coastal storms and northeasters. The erosion based upon an inherently ephemeral and persisted until it was difficult to walk on the unobservable phenomenon that is identified by beach at high tide. The owners of the resort interpretation and judgement, leading to island concluded that the best way to preserve problems of inconsistency and disagreement. the primary attraction of the resort, the beach, The State Surveyor, who “certifies” the position was with a beach nourishment project along the of the shoreline, processes approximately 200 shore. Although the project was expensive and applications per year and it is impossible to the resort owners funded it themselves, they conduct an on-site visit to confirm the proper considered it an economic necessity for the application of the law at each one. Currently, the future of the entire community. Office of the Attorney General handles about 5 to 6 contested case hearings a year that deal with In 1990, the beach on Sea Island was nourished, certification. The majority of these involve a and two groins were constructed to alleviate the dispute over the interpretation of physical chronic erosion problem. Since then, the resort evidence of the upper reaches of the wash of the has continued the beach nourishment project by waves. moving sand from time to time, planting vegetation and using snow fences to hold the sand in place during windy periods. 36 Fletcher, C.H., and Hwang, D. J. (1994) Shoreline The project has thus far proved successful in Certification Review and Recommendations. A maintaining a beachfront for residents and Report to the Coastal Zone Management Program of Hawaii, 76p.

27 Department of Land and Natural Resources, Coastal Erosion Management Plan - COEMAP

6. Other States For comparison, some states easily surveyed by civil engineers or surveyors use the Mean High Water tidal datum measured (Table 3). from benchmarks, or other datums that can be Table 3. States with fixed and rate-variable setbacks.

States with Basis for Reference Setback Fixed Setback Point Setback Maine 75 feet Setback is part of the state zoning Seasonal Mean High law and not specifically for erosion Water control Delaware 100 feet, no Based on U.S. Army Corps of Ocean beaches 10 (changing to development seaward of line Engineers study foot contour; Bay erosion rates) beaches 7 foot contour, NGVD Florida Setback distance varies w/ Erosional trends, shoreline Mean High Water (see below) stricter building standards fluctuations 100 year storm surge, seaward of line and associated waves Alabama Setback ranges from 120 to 450 Ranking of 4 factors: Mean High Water feet, no development seaward of 1) impact of storms; line 2) alignment of existing structures; 3) buildable property; 4) maintain structures at higher elevations States with Setback Reference Point Shoreline Change Variable Methodology Setbacks New York 25 ft in low erosion areas (<1 Dune – Landward toe of 1st dune Aerial photographs ft/yr); 40 yr setback +25 ft in Bluff – Landward receeding edge (40 to 50 yr time high erosion areas (>1 ft/yr) span) Rhode Island 50 feet in low erosion areas (<1 Dunes – Primary dune crest Aerial photographs ft/yr) Bluffs – Landward edge with Zoom Transfer 30 yr setback in high erosion Wetland – Veg. transition line Scope (1970-‘80’s areas (>2 ft/yr) Beach – Scarp or deposition change technology) New Jersey 50 year setback Mean High Water, locally Aerial photographs determined (‘52, ‘71, ‘88, recent) North 1. Development <5000 sq. ft. 1. a. Vegetation line Aerial photographs Carolina furthest of b. primary dune = to 100 year storm (22 to 50 years) a. 30 year setback level +6 feet elevation orthogonal grid b. behind crest of primary dune c. primary dune with sufficient matrix system c. behind land toe of frontal height, vegetation, continuity and dune configuration to offer protective d. 60 feet landward of veg. line value 2. Development >5000 sq. ft. d. vegetation line a. 60 year setback in areas with 2.a. & b. vegetation line annual erosion rate >3.5 ft/yr b. 30 year setback + 105 ft in areas with erosion rate <3.5 ft/yr

4. Non-Regulatory Tools 1. Floodplain Policies In 1994, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) a. Federal Emergency Management Agency identified coastal hazard mitigation as a new management initiative. Presently (1998), they

28 Department of Land and Natural Resources, Coastal Erosion Management Plan - COEMAP

are in the last phase of a multi-year analysis of As pointed out by Hamnett38 the direct hit of a the national exposure to coastal erosion, and will hurricane on a densely populated area of Hawaii submit a future report to the U.S. Congress with has the potential to cause financial losses recommendations on the agency role in both exceeding the total annual state budget. erosion planning and response activities. Accordingly, in order to reduce the financial exposure to catastrophic losses, FEMA offers Current FEMA efforts seek to limit economic programs providing incentives for reducing exposure to coastal flooding hazards. The hazard exposure by lowering insurance costs if agency uses the historical frequency and certain performance standards are achieved. magnitude of coastal floodplain inundation (including stream floods, storm surge and The FEMA Community Rating System (CRS) tsunami inundation, and high wave hazards) as provides incentives and guidelines for the basis for modeling the elevation and inland establishing planning performance standards in limit of the “100 year flood” (1 per cent annual coastal communities of homeowners. The CRS recurrence probability). Results are published as offers reduced premium rates for communities construction and building siting guidelines in a that implement adequate land use and loss series of maps called Flood Insurance Rate Maps control measures, facilitate accurate risk (or FIRM’s). These maps show the inland limit ranking, promote flood insurance awareness, and of predicted coastal flooding and high wave encourage measures for the management of velocity hazards (V zones), and set minimum natural and beneficial floodplain functions and elevations (the Base Flood Elevation, or BFE) erosion hazards. In Hawaii, these activities and for building construction. FIRM’s have been measures would typically be enacted at the adopted nationally for insurance rating and county level. Communities may receive floodplain management. additional credit for implementing eligible mitigation activities. This could include changes Communities in flood hazard areas as mapped in the shoreline setback, or development of on the FIRM’s are able to get affordable flood mitigation plans that place stricter development insurance, through the National Flood Insurance and building guidelines on structures in the Programs (NFIP) administered by FEMA. coastal V zone. Commercial insurance carriers act as agents for the NFIP to offer flood insurance to The CRS has established a ranking system, from homeowners at reasonable rates through the 1 to 9, where a 5 per cent decrease in flood NFIP in what otherwise would be uninsurable insurance premiums is offered for each lower locations. ranking achieved with specified mitigation efforts, up to a maximum of 45 per cent However, although Hawaii has the highest per reduction. Currently, Maui County is the only capita NFIP participation rate in the nation, community in the state participating in the CRS. numerous structures here are not insured since They have a Class 8 rating which earns a 10 per they are not subject to federally backed or cent discount on their insurance premiums. insured mortgages37. Additionally, many insured structures in Hawaii do not meet the mandated FEMA also offers the Flood Mitigation NFIP building codes because the stricter Assistance (FMA) program, which provides requirements only apply to new or substantially mitigation assistance grants and mitigation rebuilt homes. Hence, the NFIP is not fully insurance coverage to eligible states and resolving the problem of hazard exposure and in communities. One-time planning grants for the event of a serious disaster, insurance will not mitigation development are available to states fully alleviate the resulting socioeconomic ($75,000) and to communities ($25,000). burdens.

38 Hamnett, M.P. (1993) Findings and Recommendations. Coastal Hazard Mitigation 37 Bay, J. and Bay, M. (1996) Reducing hazards in Planning Project: Findings, Recommendations and shoreline areas: policy and legal options. A report Technical Documents. Honolulu: Social Science from the Coastal Acquisition Project, Phase II, Research Institute, University of Hawaii for the Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program, 15 p. Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program, 239p.

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Mitigation activities could include planning the 3. FEMA Erosion Vulnerability The FEMA is acquisition of property for land banking, updating its Coastal Construction Manual aggregate mitigation activities, and technical (FEMA-55) in an effort to improve the quality assistance. The amount is capped at $5,000,000 and durability of residential construction in to any state or community over a 2-year period. coastal areas and thereby reduce the amount of Amounts are subject to 75/25 matching funds. damage caused by natural hazard events in coastal areas. The agency is currently 2. Applicability of NFIP to Erosion In Hawaii, considering, and circulating for comment, draft the exposure to marine flooding is not equal guidelines for erosion hazard analysis. If along all shorelines, and delineating historical adopted in the new manual, these would include flood limits as the sole criteria guiding coastal a series of checklists, flowcharts and figures to hazard mitigation neglects the ongoing erosion guide an erosion hazard vulnerability analysis of hazard and, alone, may not be adequate as a shoreline properties targeted for development, or beach conservation measure. Nonetheless, many redevelopment. activities that reduce flood hazard exposure are consistent with erosion mitigation and beach They propose that erosion hazards be defined as conservation. part of the evaluation criteria made by commercial and governmental professionals in In the case of undeveloped shorelines, a level of selecting, designating, and designing avoidance of flooding and erosion hazards can development projects along the coast. To define be achieved with the use of an increased an erosion hazard it is necessary to estimate the construction setback from the shoreline. It is “Maximum Shoreline Erosion,” based on the possible to determine a setback based upon the long-term erosion rate, a storm erosion distance historical rate of coastal erosion and thus define (eroded profile), and a stable bluff/dune face future erosion hazard areas (i.e., 30 times the slope distance. To make these determinations, a annual erosion rate defines a distance landward number of variables must be considered by an of the current shoreline that is vulnerable to the erosion analyst. erosion hazard over the next 30 years). This approach recognizes coastal erosion as the 1. General Information principal hazard guiding mitigation policy, and a) property location and dimensions establishes avoidance as the primary goal. b) land use at site and adjacent properties To achieve integration of flood and erosion c) history of damaging flood and erosion hazard reduction, a variable setback calculated events at site and nearby with erosion rates used to delineate projected 2. Physical and Natural Processes future erosion hazards that also sets minimum BFE’s, would provide a high level of hazard a) soils, geology and vegetation – site and avoidance along the Hawaiian coast. Additional region building criteria implementing bearing wall b) site drainage – potential for erosion orientation, load-path construction techniques, from surface water or groundwater and post and pier construction would further c) coastal morphology and coastal reduce hazard exposure. Development processes guidelines based on criteria defined by BFE’s d) presence and influence of nearby tidal and erosion hazard zonation would achieve inlets and coastal structures insurance premium reductions, dune and beach e) littoral sediment supply and sediment conservation goals, and lower damage expenses budget carried on government budgets in the event of f) topography of nearshore, beach, dune, storm surge, high winds, large waves, chronic bluff, uplands erosion, coastal stream flooding, tsunami g) relative sea-level change – land inundation, and accelerated sea-level rise. subsidence or uplift Hence, erosion mapping and flood inundation 3. Historic Shoreline Changes – Magnitudes mapping should be undertaken with and Causes coordination and common standards by management agencies.

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a) shoreline change maps and historic efforts in Hawaii to overlay “after-the-fact” aerial photographs enhanced setbacks on developed residential b) published erosion rates – long-term and shores have been stopped by residents with fears short-term of land devaluation. c) spatial variability in erosion rates However, this does not mean that efforts to alter d) temporal variability in erosion rates – land use patterns on developed shorelines should seasonal, annual, and long-term be abandoned. Indeed, it on such developed e) erosion/accretion cycles – magnitude residential coastlines that the community can and periodicity become the primary workforce. Public education f) inlet- or structure-induced erosion and awareness of the value of beaches and 4. Observed and Predicted Coastal Flood dunes, and the logical and rational steps that can Conditions be made toward their conservation and the simultaneous mitigation of coastal hazards can, a) flood elevations due to tides, storm in time, lead to improved land usage. No more surge, tsunami or seiche powerful force can be applied to our shorelines b) wave conditions at shoreline (height, than the will of a community dedicated to period, direction) conservation and mitigation goals. c) wave runup, overtopping and flooding d) erosion of beach, dune and/or bluff A first step is to raise public awareness of e) sediment overwash coastal hazards, and awareness of what are, and f) breaching or inlet formation are not, appropriate shoreline development practices and alternatives. Heightened public 5. Other Sediment/Erosion Considerations awareness can lead to enhancing current land a) erosion by wind use practices that are beneficial, reducing b) burial by storm overwash or wind- practices that are harmful or increase hazard blown sand exposure, and can encourage and help achieve c) erosion by channeling of flow between future goals of hazard avoidance and beach buildings or obstructions conservation. To reach these goals a shoreline d) local scour potential and presence of community may establish voluntary, willing user terminating strata performance standards. Such standards could be designed to conform to CRS rankings and the 6. Navigation and Erosion Control Projects – community would be thus rewarded with Type, Location, Age and Performance reduced insurance premiums. a) navigation projects (jetties, dredged Performance standards provide and define channels, flood channels) affecting site targets for future redevelopment and land usage. b) shore protection structures, on property Such targets should avoid penalizing current or nearby tenants, yet would establish community goals c) dune/bluff stabilization projects, on for achieving reduced exposure to coastal property or nearby hazards. Setting performance standards is a form d) beach/dune nourishment projects – of minimization on developed coastal lands that completed or planned can be implemented through time on a schedule determined by the landowner through the redevelopment and renovation of existing b. Community Performance Standards structures and voluntary changes in land usage. Along developed shorelines where existing Applicable performance standards include: setbacks have proven historically inadequate and shoreline hardening has been used to stop 1. defining nonregulatory, “willing user” chronic erosion, it will not be possible to variable setbacks and BFE’s as targets to establish a new setback policy without forcing guide the redevelopment and renovation of much of the existing land usage to become existing structures; “nonconforming.” This may have undesirable financial implications for present tenants. Past

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2. setting construction standards promoting characterize these activities as a “strategic wind and flood reinforcement and retreat” from the shoreline40. avoidance; A powerful tool for resource protection can be 3. following landscaping standards promoting the acquisition of lands that are subject to dune preservation, sand conservation and coastal hazards, that are environmentally beach enhancement; sensitive, and that have a high public resource 4. promoting enhanced coastal access and value. Acquisition and protection programs of parking; various types are being carried out in Hawaii by 5. creating and paying into a community beach numerous agencies, each with its own mission, and dune restoration fund. jurisdiction, and authority41. At this writing, the

City and County of Honolulu is considering the These performance standards should be purchase of Pua’ena Point on the north shore to nonregulatory targets setting a future vision for protect it from development. Maui County the community that would ultimately enhance budgeted $15 million for coastal land purchases land values, increase community pride, and in FY’98 and the City and County of Honolulu restore damaged beach environments. A simple had $12.5 million available for the same descriptive pamphlet containing site-specific purpose. The State of Hawaii is in the process of maps and guidelines could be the first step in acquiring the Ka Iwi shoreline on the south coast implementing this goal. It would also be of Oahu for approx. $10 million to protect it necessary to identify a community representative from commercial development. or point person to assist in awareness-building and to facilitate communication between the Placing lands into permanent protection status neighborhood users and the lead agency. provides greater guarantees of future preservation than the use of zoning tools such as In the spirit of the incentives offered by the variable setbacks. Land acquisition may be a NFIP/CRS, the state and counties of Hawaii useful approach along developed shorelines should provide incentives to communities of where owners are willing to voluntarily sell homeowners located in erosion hazard areas that lands (termed “negotiated purchase”) to the state seek to define and achieve performance standard or county for the purpose of preservation. Bay goals for hazard exposure reduction and dune and Bay42 describe the acquisition of lands in and beach conservation. This could include high coastal hazard areas as the most direct way efforts along the lines of the CRS and/or FMA to mitigate impacts. and/or alternative incentives to reduce exposure and promote beach conservation. Additionally The government can purchase an interest in land this action would move toward achieving either through condemnation, known as eminent recommendations 10, 16, 19, and 20 of the domain, or through a negotiated purchase with a Hamnett et al39 report. willing seller. 1. Eminent Domain Powers43 The exercise of eminent domain by government authorities is the c. Coastal Lands Acquisition Many state coastal programs outside Hawaii have established the regulation and management 40 Beatley, T., Brower, D.J., and Schwab, A.K. of coastal development activities and land use as (1994) Coastal Zone Management. Island Press, Washington, D.C., 210p. a major component of their efforts. Some states 41 (Maine, North Carolina, South Carolina) Bay, J.H. (1994) Methods and Strategies for Acquiring Coastal Lands. Prepared for Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program, 82p. plus appendices. 39 Hamnett, M.P. (1993) Findings and 42 Bay, J. and Bay, M. (1996) Reducing hazards in Recommendations. Coastal Hazard Mitigation shoreline areas: policy and legal options. A report Planning Project: Findings, Recommendations and from the Coastal Aquisition Project, Phase II, Hawaii Technical Documents. Honolulu: Social Science Coastal Zone Management Program, 15p. Research Institute, University of Hawaii for the 43 Bay, J.H. (1994) Methods and Strategies for Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program, 239p. Acquiring Coastal Lands. Prepared for Hawaii

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least desirable approach to land acquisition. It is In the fiscally restrictive climate of the 1998/99 the most expensive acquisition alternative, and Hawaiian economy, a less-than-fee-simple usually the least socially popular. The power to acquisition, with its reduced costs (and reduced condemn lands for public purposes resides with guarantees of preservation), may be a more the government, providing the landowner realistic approach to acquisition in some receives just compensation. To condemn land, situations. For instance, conservation easements the government must follow a specific set of can be purchased by government, or donated by legal procedures that effectively raise the cost of a landowner, as a less-than-fee-simple status. the transaction above the simple market value of This transaction incurs a land control status the land. In Florida, the exercise of eminent whereby a parcel will be used for conservation domain is calculated to increase acquisition purposes and the owner agrees not to put the costs an average of 150% of their fair market property to any incompatible use. Future owners value. Condemnations tend to be politically are also subject to the terms of such an unpopular because they are viewed by a wary easement. public as harsh and unfair treatment of Landowners can be persuaded to donate landowners by big government. Condemnations conservation easements, or sell them at less than are generally the method of last resort in any market value, because of the favorable tax land acquisition scheme. Any program consequences involved, including a decrease in attempting to achieve conservation goals the valuation of their property for tax purposes. through a process of community dialogue and public decision-making should seek cooperative Another less-than-fee-simple property interest is methods, not eminent domain, to acquire coastal transferred development rights (TDR). This lands in order to avoid creating antagonistic method separates the development potential of relationships with landowners and generating land from the land itself and treats that potential public distrust. as a marketable commodity45. 2. Negotiated Purchase44 The most direct and In a TDR program, a regulatory agency restricts most common method of land acquisition is to further development of a parcel, but allows the negotiate a purchase with a willing seller. As owners to take their right to development and described below, the nations leading acquisition apply it to another piece of land. Depending on programs in California and Florida, are the terms, the owners may even be able to sell predicated upon a “willing seller” philosophy. that right to a third party. Negotiated purchases offer increased flexibility Public purchase of an owner’s right to develop for all parties, and are easily modified or tailored their property has been used to prevent the to support the needs of the landowner. For destruction, or substantial transformation, of a example, an owner can realize tax advantages by parcel and to prevent the development of large dedicating part of their land and selling the rest open lands. Development rights may be to government for conservation. Further, if they purchased outright by a public entity and banked are willing to sell the total parcel provided they in a charitable conservation trust. Alternatively, are allowed to live on the land for the rest of they may be purchased by a private developer their life, such a deal can be easily negotiated. and used to increase the density in a designated In a negotiated purchase, lands can be acquired section of an urban area where, typically, the in fee-simple by the state or county, although right to develop at greater than normal densities this is nearly always an expensive proposition. is extremely valuable to private developers46. However, the fee-simple purchase gives Other land acquisition schemes include: government total and permanent control of the land.

45 Id. Coastal Zone Management Program, 82p. plus 46 Beatley, T., Brower, D.J., and Schwab, A.K. appendices. (1994) Coastal Zone Management. Island Press, 44 Id. Washington, D.C., 210p.

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1. building private-public partnerships with scarce within a region of Florida or a larger not-for-profit conservation groups to geographic area. purchase lands, or various land-use options; 2. To conserve and protect lands within 2. conducting negotiated purchases of parcel designated areas of critical state concern, if blocks on damaged shorelines and selling the proposed acquisition is related to the them for redevelopment under a new, site- natural resource protection purposes of the specific zoning regime; designation. 3. using certain permit conditions to offset 3. To conserve and protect native species development impacts, or as a form of habitats or endangered or threatened species. compensatory mitigation where funds or 4. To conserve, protect, manage, or restore actions are applied by the permitee for important ecosystems, landscapes, and conservation purposes with some nexus forests, if the protection and conservation of (relationship) to the original impacts; such lands are necessary to enhance or 4. impact fees assessment on new development protect significant surface water, ground to recover or offset a proportionate share of water, coastal, recreational, timber, or fish or public capital required to accommodate the wildlife resources which cannot otherwise development, such fees might be applied to be accomplished through local and state environmental conservation activities with a regulatory programs. clear nexus to the nature of the development. 5. To provide areas, including recreational trails, for natural resource-based recreation. 6. To preserve significant archaeological or 3. Florida Florida is one of the nation’s leaders historic sites. in acquiring conservation and recreation lands.

Their effort consists of a number of related By statute, 20 per cent of the Preservation 2000 programs in land banking that collectively funds must be spent on acquisition of coastal amount to an effort greater than that of the entire lands. In addition, CARL receives recurring federal government. The primary approach to revenues from a 5.84% increment of the real land acquisition that has evolved in Florida is property documentary tax, from an excise tax on the dedication of small, continuous revenue phosphate ore mining, and from some additional sources, such as tax increments, that are used to sources. support the debt service payments on large bond issues. 1. In the planning phase for coastal parcels, 3 additional criteria are considered: The largest of these acquisition programs, CARL (Conservation and Recreation Lands) has 2. The value of acquiring coastal high-hazard acquired 435,400 acres of land and expended parcels, consistent with hazard mitigation $807 million since it’s inception in 1979. In and post-disaster redevelopment policies, in 1990, the Florida State legislature authorized the order to minimize the risk of life and Preservation 2000 bond program enacting the property and to reduce the need for further issuance of $3 billion in bonds over a 10 year disaster assistance; period for land acquisition47. 3. The value of acquiring beachfront parcels, irrespective of size, to provide public access CARL projects must meet at least one of the and recreational opportunities in highly following 6 public purposes: developed urban areas; 1. To conserve and protect environmentally 4. The value of acquiring identified parcels the unique and irreplaceable lands that contain development of which would adversely native, relatively unaltered fauna and flora affect coastal resources. representing a natural area unique to, or CARL is a “willing seller,” negotiated purchase program. The program has the power to 47 Bay, J.H. (1994) Methods and Strategies for condemn property, however the statutory Acquiring Coastal Lands. Prepared for Hawaii prerequisites are rigorous and experience has Coastal Zone Management Program, 82p. plus indicated that purchase through condemnation appendices.

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typically costs 150% of the fair market value. 3. It has the authority to make grants and enter Instead, CARL uses leases, conservation into partnerships with private nonprofit easements, and other less-than-fee-simple organizations. methods to achieve its objectives48. This has 4. It can acquire and hold fee simple and less- been a source of criticism by some involved than-fee interests in lands without going with the effort who cite the high cost (80 to 85 through the State Land commission and per cent of fair-market value) of typical less- other normal bureaucratic procedures for than-fee purchases. In the end, less-than-fee lands acquisition. acquisition does not provide the enduring 5. It has been funded primarily by general guarantees of conservation that come with a fee- obligation (GO) bonds until bond issues simple purchase. It is felt by some critics that failed at the polls in 1994 and 1998. Those full fee-simple purchases would be more cost- involved with the program, however, are effective. Other critics state that CARL needs optimistic that the statewide recession of the strengthening in the areas of planning and last decade has ended and that funding for resource management, and that many CARL the Conservancy will regain it’s former targets were not the product of careful planning strong footing. and goal setting, but rather were targets of 6. The Conservancy provides technical opportunity not backed up by careful assistance to plan and design projects, it consideration. holds community meetings and workshops to resolve conflicts, it provides grants and CARL nonetheless demonstrates the matching funds for projects, it undertakes significance of political support. If the political demonstration projects, it works closely with support is there, the money and programs will nonprofit groups to achieve conservation follow49. goals, and it leverages funding with multi- 4. California Another state-level program that stakeholder consortiums. focuses on acquisition is the California State 7. Through it’s powers and philosophy it has Coastal Conservancy created in 1976 to allow the flexibility to take risks, act quickly, the state to use acquisition, as well as regulation, innovate, and otherwise act to implement for coastal protection, restoration, and state coastal policies. management50. The Coastal Conservancy has been especially The Coastal Conservancy is separate from the effective in its use of innovative acquisition California Coastal Commission. The techniques, including less-than-fee interests, lot Commission is a state grantee agency under the consolidation, area-planning programs, federal Coastal Zone Management Act and has partnerships with nonprofit land trusts, and TDR regulatory powers including permitting. The and the transfer of development credits (TDC). Conservancy has no permitting or regulatory powers and its primary mission is to act as a Because its primary mission has been to facilitator and problem-solver. accommodate the competing demands of development, public use, and resource protection The Conservancy is characterized by the in creative ways, it’s philosophy has always following features51. been to utilize an approach of mediation and

compromise. It is not a program whose primary 1. It cannot exercise power of eminent domain mission is to acquire land, or issue permits or without legislative approval. denials. However, critics state that an approach 2. Its projects, including land acquisition, are of compromise does not well-serve the long- not subject to individual legislative term interests of resource protection and that approval, hence it has increased flexibility. sensitive, mediated development has little to do with conservation.

48 Id. d. Education and Outreach 49 Id. 50 Id. 51 Id.

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A 1998 review of the Ocean Resources Coastal resource managers lack sufficient Management Plan52 highlights the value of a scientific data and analysis to make informed mobilized and educated public as a means of decisions regarding the occurrence, magnitude, achieving change in government management of continued threat, causes, and mitigation of natural resources. The Review identifies the coastal erosion and other coastal hazards. This general “lack of recognition of ecological and prevents them from establishing planning goals economic importance of ocean and coastal for coastal sectors53. This also places the resources for Hawaii.” In general, coastal and planning process on a reactionary footing that is ocean resources do not carry the same political poorly equipped to protect coastal resources. weight as higher profile political issues such as Often the first awareness that regulators have of the economy and education. This should not be an erosion problem area is a phone call from a the case. Our economy, and our lifestyle and homeowner in an emergency situation and in quality of life in Hawaii are all dependent to a need of immediate protection. This causes a great degree upon the preservation and chain of reactionary events, on an accelerated perpetuation of a viable, thriving, and healthy schedule, driven by a mixture of chaos, panic, coastal and ocean ecology and resource base. emotion, and legal regulation. The time for The fact that the management of these resources planning and proaction are long past. At this is not accorded high political value in the public point, the chain of reactionary events is oriented arena of social discourse is a sign of to the immediate mitigation of the threat to the disorganization among the management landowner. Resource conservation is lowered to leadership. It signifies a lack of vision for the secondary status. This would not necessarily be future of our ocean resources. a bad system of management if it were limited to a few dozen homes, or even a few hundred. The Once a vision is identified, and a plan of action resource impacts might be relatively benign and is defined, there can be the clear articulation of a the valuation of costs to benefits might be in new coastal future communicated to the people favor of such a system of management. But there of Hawaii. A rational plan for resource are thousands of coastal properties in Hawaii conservation must ride upon the political will of that have been channeled through this system of the constituency. However, the constituency (the reaction management. The combined impact of people) can only give such a plan high value if this lack of planning, applied over the years to they are educated and possess a high degree of miles of coastline, has now placed significant awareness of the issues. The most effective portions of the shoreline on the brink of loss. strategy for altering the policies and procedures of our coastal management system are doomed Managers are hampered by the lack of a to failure if we do not build a high level of continuous datastream providing information on awareness and education among the citizens of past, current and potential future problem areas. Hawaii, and the users of our beaches and Without objective, high-quality descriptive data shorelands. The power to change flows up from in a useable format, it will be impossible for the people once the people are educated on the managers to implement a system of issues and the possible directions for environmental sequencing. Without high improvement. resolution data on erosion patterns and trends, regulators are consigned to reactionary permit

processing…this is not planning.

The State of Florida, through its university e. Funding Research system, maintains a multi-level research program that provides scientific products to managers. The managers themselves are

52 Lowry, K., Hamnett, M., Anderson, C.L., and 53 Challacombe, A. (1997) Beach Management in LeMaitre, M. (1998) Review of the Ocean Resources Hawaii: A Public Sector Perspective. Hawaii Management Plan (draft). A Report to the Hawaii Planning, v. xviii, no. 6, p. 5, June, Monthly Office of Planning, Coastal Zone Management Newsletter of the Hawaii Chapter of the American Program, 30p. Planning Association.

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involved in deciding where to focus research eroding shore. The beach is allowed to behave as efforts, and what data is needed to assist in it will regardless of the causes of erosion or the planning. Beach profile monitoring, storm surge impacts that shoreline retreat may have upon the modeling, sand resource investigations, annual upland region. This is the appropriate response tracking of erosion and accretion patterns in areas where erosion or flooding problems are throughout the state, and new technology so severe that hazard mitigation is not development and application to coastal resource economically viable, that is, where the cost of management are hall marks of the Florida protection would exceed the value of the system. The availability of high-quality research investment. This may also be the preferred products has made the regulators and planners of approach in areas where the natural appearance Florida agencies acknowledged experts on of the shoreline, and the natural patterns of coastal processes. They are able to develop shoreline change, are important to the character community plans in the expectation of future and attractiveness of the system and deemed of hazard patterns, and they are able to engage a highest priority in the socioeconomic valuation process of informed decision-making, and goal- of management options. setting based upon the best available scientific Decision-making for this approach is based data and analysis. primarily upon socioeconomic considerations and must involve a high level of public participation and community dialogue. At Shell 5. Five Alternatives for Erosion Management Island, North Carolina, a 9-story condominium “Today’s coastline is of economical, social, is being allowed to fall into the sea as the state cultural, and environmental value to forbids the construction of seawalls or bulkheads communities and to nations. However, because they often aggravate nearby erosion. In shorelines are dynamic and ephemeral places Oregon, a row of newly-built townhouses where erosion trends tend to dominate. perched on the lip of an eroding coastal bluff are Development along the shore places the being undermined by erosion, and the state has desires of man (to have a safe and stable stopped attempts to protect them. Both New home) in direct opposition to the natural York and Massachusetts have allowed, at times, trends of nature (to erode, transport, and beachfront buildings to collapse rather than deposit coastal lands).” permit their protection by shoreline hardening. So wrote Joan Pope, a coastal geologist with the Abandonment has not been considered in U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in a research Hawaii as an erosion management alternative. article published in the Journal of Coastal What criteria would Hawaiian regulators use to Research in 199754. She goes on to advise that define a situation where a home would be lost coastal erosion management should be the rather than protected from erosion? rational consideration of a range of options Alternatively, what will regulators do when the including: abandonment, beach restoration, very first seawall application on an otherwise erosion control, adaptation, or hardening the pristine beach arrives on their doorstep? shoreline. b. Beach restoration - “fill the beach with This succinct and clear statement of the options sand” is worth a closer look because it provides a Beach restoration involves the placement of useful common language for discussion, and sets sand on an eroding shoreline to resupply out a framework for decision-making. deficiencies in natural sand volume due to waves a. Abandonment - “do nothing” and currents or human activities, or to counteract shoreline retreat caused by sea-level rise. Sand The abandonment solution involves taking no placed on the beach to offset these losses may action to protect human developments along an partially mitigate chronic erosion or provide a buffer to protect the back beach and upland 54 Pope, J. (1997) Responding to coastal erosion and against future storm or seasonal wave-induced flooding damages. Journal of Coastal Research, v. erosion or flooding. A healthy beach may also 13, p. 704-710.

37 Department of Land and Natural Resources, Coastal Erosion Management Plan - COEMAP

provide recreational benefits that contribute to achieved by the natural migration of sand across the economic vitality of a community. This is the entire profile. That is, the dry beach width the only management alternative that actually will decrease because sand moves offshore to adds sand back into the littoral system and feed the lower portion of the profile that is restores the beach to some previous below sea level. The degree to which this sand configuration that is an improvement to its remains in the system and continues to provide eroded state. benefits to the dry beach varies from site to site and should be the focus of research designed to The restoration of a dune system with endemic improve our understanding of equilibrium coastal vegetation may be a major component of profile fluctuations. the effort as the dune further enhances the sand storage capacity of the shoreline and provides Challenges to beach restoration57 include finding additional mitigation against the effects of storm a source of sand with adequate grain or seasonal wave erosion. characteristics that will constitute a stable beach under the expected range of wave energies. The Coastal Zone Management Program funded There must also be a careful determination of a study and review of the state of knowledge of the necessary fill volume to not only restore the offshore sand resources55. The results indicate beach and dune system lost to historical erosion that sand resources exist in marine environments and development practices, but to also fulfill the sufficient to promote the use of beach restoration uneroded potential sand volume that was denied using offshore materials. Further discussions of by the presence of shoreline armoring. That is, beach restoration in various committees and along many shorelines actual erosion has been public forums, as well as additional research56, stopped because of walls and revetments, it may have identified environmental, commercial, and be that any sand placed on such shores will technical aspects of the procedure that should be immediately erode to fulfill some undefined further investigated before the technique can be “erosion potential” demanded by the system but widely employed in Hawaii. These include unavailable because of armoring58. It is dredging impacts to offshore ecosystems, important, therefore, to fully understand the sand availability of suitable sand recovery and budget of Hawaiian beach systems to address delivery technologies, sand grade and color this question and to make realistic economic inadequacies, and financing and administrative projections of sand (fill) characteristics and issues including permitting and cost sharing. volume59. Beach restoration also requires data Typical beach restoration involves placing sand on historical shoreline changes and projections on the upper portion of the beach profile so that of future patterns of change, as well as studies of it is visible and leads to an immediate waves and currents and sediment transport improvement in beach width and scenic amenity. processes to assess the economic life and design Sand may also be placed lower on the profile components of the project. such that it is below the water level yet still acts Potential environmental (benthic and pelagic as a feeder to the beach. Any sand that is placed faunal communities and dependents) disruptions within reach of the waves will immediately, and continuously thereafter adjust to assume a dynamic equilibrium profile. This condition is 57 Bodge, K.R. (1998) Beach management and 55 Sea Engineering, Inc. (1993) Beach nourishment restoration. First Regional Conference on Coastal viability study. A report prepared for the Coastal Erosion Management in Hawaii and other Pacific Zone Management Program, Honolulu, 300p. Islands. Abstracts with programs, University of 56 Hampton, M.A., Torresan, M.E., Wong, F.L., Hawaii Sea Grant College Program. Fletcher, C.H., Bailey-Brock, J.H., and Cruickshank, 58 Id. M.J. (1997) Reef-front sediment deposit in Kailua 59 Fletcher, C.H., and Norcross, Z. (1998) Knowing Bay Hawaii: A possible sand resource? First large-scale coastal behavior. First Regional Regional Conference on Coastal Erosion Conference on Coastal Erosion Management in Management in Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. Abstracts with Abstracts with programs, University of Hawaii Sea programs, University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Grant College Program. Program.

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at the sand source to be mined60 must be fully perched beaches, reef/sill systems, dune fencing, assessed and mitigated to an acceptable level beach dewatering, and a number of devices on among all stakeholders. It does not make sense the market (i.e., surge breakers at Kualoa Beach to destroy one environment in order to restore Park, Oahu). As with all aspects of coastal another. Lastly, as recommended by the behavior, there are no guarantees that the desired National Research Council61, all restoration effect will be achieved with the system of efforts must be fully monitored so that lessons choice. Nevertheless, certain structures, such as learned from analysis of fill performance, and T-head groins and detached breakwaters, are source site recovery, can lead to improved future solidly based in both theory and practice and can restoration efforts. produce results with a high level of predictability under appropriate conditions when Beach restoration is being seriously considered their use is designed by an experienced in Hawaii. Several small-scale projects are in professional62. progress on Maui and Oahu. The Department of Land and Natural Resources is proposing a bill A properly designed beach erosion control in the 1999 Legislature to fund beach restoration project is one of the greatest challenges of projects, and together the CZM program and coastal engineering. The complex interaction of DLNR are conducting a site assessment survey these structures with the littoral system requires to identify a viable large-scale restoration a good understanding of local beach dynamics, project. coastal processes, historical shoreline patterns, and acceptable performance tolerances. In c. Erosion control - “slow down the erosion evaluating the performance of a particular rate” structure, it is important to avoid the classic Coastal erosion control techniques use structures mistake of misinterpreting natural profile that are designed to reduce sediment losses and recovery and accretion as the work of the thus slow the rate of erosion. The intent is to structure. protect the backshore by trapping and holding The beach erosion control approach is more sand and thus stabilize the beach. The trapping appropriate for areas where the problem is characteristic of this approach could mean chronic erosion due to diminished sediment adverse impacts to adjacent beaches if sand held supply. These structures can be very useful in in the project area would normally migrate areas where it is too expensive to maintain a through or accrete on neighboring beaches. beach by continuing to bring in large quantities Because of this, erosion control projects should of sand from an outside source. Groins, include the use of additional sand to fill the breakwaters and headlands work best in areas profile to an equilibrium level relative to the where longshore transport is much more structures plus any additional sediment the dominant than cross-shore transport in moving structures may cause to be diverted offshore and sediment out of the project area. Structures alone lost to the littoral system. do not protect the back beach from wave- The purpose of a beach erosion control project induced flooding and erosion. They provide should be to slow the loss of the placed sand, not their benefit to the shore by trapping and or to trap sand from the ambient littoral system. holding sand in the desired location and allowing sufficient elevation of the beach profile Structures include groins, T-head groins, to be maintained. It is the beach held by the detached breakwaters, artificial headlands, structures that provides protection to the coastal upland and related human developments. 60 Bailey-Brock, J.H., and Giles, H. (1998) Benthic communities resident to the Kailua, Oahu sand cell. d. Adaptation - “live with it” First Regional Conference on Coastal Erosion Management in Hawaii and other Pacific Islands. Abstracts with programs, University of Hawaii Sea 62 Bodge, K.R. (1998) Beach management and Grant College Program. restoration. First Regional Conference on Coastal 61 National Research Council (1995) Beach Erosion Management in Hawaii and other Pacific Nourishment and Protection. National Academy Islands. Abstracts with programs, University of Press, Washington, D.C., 334p. Hawaii Sea Grant College Program.

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Adaptation requires that development patterns Pope reviews coastal armoring as an erosion change in order to allow natural response. Coastal armoring includes the use of erosion/accretion cycles to continue without seawalls, revetments, bulkheads, levees and interference. dikes in an attempt to harden the shoreline. This protects natural shoreline attributes from This is usually the approach of last resort, and is the impact of human alterations to coastal most appropriate where the primary problem is processes, but requires modification of human one of storm-induced damages rather than occupancy and use of the coastal zone. This is a chronic erosion. In Hawaii, to the contrary, management, rather than engineering, approach armoring has been the typical response to that utilizes tools such as zoning restrictions, intermittent as well as chronic erosion hazards building standards, community facilities and is often the first choice among landowners. districts, new subdivision requirements, and/or In her article, Pope states that if armoring is new rules governing permit restrictions and placed along a chronically eroding coast, the allowable actions in an erosion hazard area. beach in front of the structure is likely to Decision-making for this approach is based upon eventually disappear. This is not due to an active socioeconomic considerations and must involve aggravation of the erosion process, but rather a high level of public participation and dialogue. because the back beach reference has been Examples include: stabilized while the shoreline has not. This process is called passive erosion because of the 1. changing set-back requirements for new tendency for a shoreline to passively retreat up construction, to a wall, losing the beach in the process. Many 2. setting new limitations on development and studies by coastal scientists and engineers alike landscaping, support this finding64. 3. relocating structures threatened by erosion, 4. flood-proofing buildings, Other challenges accompany shoreline 5. new building standards for high winds, wave hardening, these include the following. impacts and erosion threats, 1. Groin-effects occur when a portion of a wall 6. land banking, protrudes across the shoreline and blocks 7. implementing a “coastal retreat” policy. The basic assumption behind this approach is that it is easier and cheaper to retreat than to stay 64 and eternally wage war with coastal hazards63. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (1991) Beach Developing an adaptation methodology requires response to the presence of a seawall: Comparison of an economic analysis that includes a valuation of field observations. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Coastal Engineering Research Center, Technical the scenic and recreational amenity of natural Report CERC-91-1, 63p.; McDonald, H.V. and shorelines. Patterson, D.C. (1984) Beach response to coastal Adaptation includes identification of “hazard works, Gold Coast, Australia. Coastal Engineering zones” where human activities and future ‘84 (New York, American Society of Coastal patterns of shoreline change may overlap. It is Engineers), p. 1522-1538; Kraus, N.C. (1988) The effects of seawalls on the beach, an extended within these hazard zones that the land-use tools literature review. Journal of Coastal Research, are applied to implement adaptation. It is Special Issue 4, p. 1-24; Pilkey, O.H., and Wright, important, therefore, to involve the local H.L. (1988) Seawalls versus beaches. Journal of community and the larger population of beach Coastal Research, Special Issue, 4, p. 41-64; Tait, users in an open discussion of options and J.F., and Griggs, G.B. (1990) Beach response to the consequences, as well as uncertainties. presence of a seawall. Shore and Beach, v. 58, p. 11- 28; Hall, M.J., and Pilkey, O. H. (1991) Effects of e. Hardening - “build walls” hard stabilization on dry beach width for New Jersey. Journal of Coastal Research, v. 7, no. 3, p. 771-785; 63 Bay, J. and Bay, M. (1996) Reducing hazards in Fletcher, C.H., Mullane, R.A., and Richmond, B.M., shoreline areas: policy and legal options. A report 1997, Beach loss along armored shorelines on Oahu, from the Coastal Aquisition Project, Phase II, Hawaii Hawaiian Islands. Journal of Coastal Research, v. 13, Coastal Zone Management Program, 15 p. no. 1, p. 209-215.

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longshore sand movement causing down- and engineers is to mitigate the erosion hazard drift erosion. while at the same time fully preserving, even restoring, the beaches along the shoreline. 2. Sediment impoundment is the trapping of However, it is foreseeable that on some sand behind a wall, this leads to sand shorelines the cost of beach preservation and volume deficiencies because erosion of the restoration may be prohibitive and the rational land can be an important source of sand to alternative may not be beach conservation. It is beaches. Sediment impoundment may create equally foreseeable that the cost of protecting an increased demand for sand within a upland development and property is prohibitive littoral cell causing accelerated erosion and that abandonment is the rational alternative. along unprotected sections of shoreline. These are socioeconomic decisions that are not Only beach monitoring efforts can provide likely to be easy or obvious. But it is critically the data to fully investigate this problem, important that the valuation criteria and public and studies have not undertaken this task to dialogue for making these decisions be engaged date. and openly defined rather than hidden from 3. Cross-shore reflection occurs as waves public view. In the end, it will be the case that bounce off walls and cause scour and the combinations of various approaches are used to deflection of sediment offshore. However, differing degrees to resolve erosion hazards some studies65 question the veracity of along the Hawaiian shore. cross-shore reflection as a negative impact The technical considerations necessary to fully because actual sand deficiencies may not be design and successfully implement these caused. Nonetheless, cross-shore reflection approaches to erosion management include the has been implicated in Lanikai as a negative following67. influence on beach stability66. 1. Hydrodynamic Site Characteristics 4. End effects are typically a localized scour effect at the ends of a wall. a) understanding the wave climate, b) wave transformation, 5. Differential erosion in some circumstances c) current patterns, may be a perceived, rather than real d) fairweather vs storm conditions and occurrence. Differential erosion is identified frequency, when an unprotected shore continues to e) bathymetry, retreat adjacent to a protected shore, thereby f) water level conditions; giving the appearance of having been caused by the wall. Historical shoreline change data 2. Geologic Site Characteristics can be effectively used to define the a) present sediment supply rates and occurrence (and magnitude) of this transport dominance, phenomenon as a factor in the erosion of the b) historical shoreline trends and patterns, beach. c) inherited geologic features, d) foundation conditions, e) profile variability, 6. Design Considerations f) sediment characteristics, In the majority of cases where erosion threatens g) availability and quality of construction human habitation and infrastructure on the materials (sand fill); Hawaiian coastline, the challenge to managers 3. Project Economics

65 Kraus, N.C., and McDougal, W.C. (1996) The a) benefit-cost ratio, effects of seawalls on the beach: Part I, An updated b) performance requirements, literature review. Journal of Coastal Research, v. 12, no. 3, p. 691-701. 66 Lipp, D.G. (1995) Changes in beach profiles due to wave reflections off seawalls at Lanikai, Hawaii 67 Pope, J. (1997) Responding to coastal erosion and (thesis). University of Hawaii, Department of Ocean flooding damages. Journal of Coastal Research, v. Engineering, 94p. 13, p. 704-710.

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c) future land-use and partner funding Council, Committee on Beach Nourishment and expectations, Protection68. Erosion hazard reduction and beach d) constructability, preservation projects need continual re- e) ability to perform future maintenance, evaluation, maintenance, and modification. f) acceptable levels of risk; A monitoring program will require establishing 4. Environmental Considerations a base-line condition, and ideally should start before any construction is undertaken, and a) land use, continue over several years during and well after b) biological community requirements, a project. This includes monitoring biological, c) environmental policy, geological, engineering, and socioeconomic d) potential for physical and environmental aspects of the effort, as well as monitoring the impacts, sand borrow site if the potential for residual e) endangered species, impacts from dredging exists. f) cultural resources; a. Physical Monitoring 5. Socio-Political Guidelines Monitoring is essentially the collection of a time a) customer and partner expectations, series of data that describes the need for, b) future development trends, evaluates the performance of, and otherwise c) user community requirements, builds a scientific framework for erosion d) public safety and accessibility, management decision-making. e) local legal and zoning restrictions, f) national and state regulatory and Monitoring the physical processes associated funding policies. with a beach restoration project, for example, should be oriented toward establishing a sediment budget69. This includes identifying and quantifying all sand sources and sinks, and rates of exchange. Gains and losses in the sand budget are balanced against the changes in sand volume 7. Project Performance Monitoring in the area. Monitoring data is collected to quantify the physical processes that comprise the No solution for addressing coastal erosion is sources, sinks, and sand volume changes in a ever final and no coastal project is ever project area. These can include the previous complete. There are no absolutes along the history of the coastal site, beach profiles, local coast, only compromise and adaptation. It is anthropogenic impacts, history of storms, waves good to remember that no one type of erosion and currents, historical shoreline changes, water management is best for all locations. What levels, structures, sediment characteristics, rates works well in one place will not necessarily and volumes of transport, bathymetry, and work well somewhere else. It is also the case photographic documentation. that no erosion management approach will work equally well in all conditions. Every approach is b. Biological Monitoring designed for a certain range of conditions. If Biological monitoring should be oriented toward those conditions are exceeded or not realized, determining the existing biological resources the project may fail to function as intended. that may be altered by a project and providing There is no such thing as “low cost” erosion recommendations that will avoid long-term management. There are no bargains in the effort negative impacts to those resources. This can be to preserve our beaches and protect our lands. achieved by characterizing the pre-project It is important, therefore, to monitor project temporal and spatial variability in biological performance, especially in the case of beach resources present within and near a management restoration, in order to improve technical understanding of all aspects of erosion 68 National Research Council (1995) Beach management. In fact, this was a major Nourishment and Protection. National Academy recommendation of the National Research Press, Washington, D.C., 334p. 69 Id.

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area, and evaluating the post-project recovery of biological resources that may be impacted by the project70. c. Economic Monitoring According to the National Research Council71, economic monitoring should attempt to answer the following questions: 1. How large are the economic benefits, and do they approximate those predicted for the project? 2. What are the effects of the project on property values and to what extent are these effects linked to coastal hazard reduction, enhanced aesthetics, and recreational amenities? 3. What were the construction and other related costs, and were they well approximated by the cost estimates? 4. Are there other significant but perhaps unanticipated costs and/or benefits accruing from the project? 5. From the locality’s standpoint, did the project stimulate growth, and, if so, what desirable or undesirable effects did the growth have on the community? 6. Did the project encourage construction that places more property at risk from coastal hazards? 7. What was the actual distribution of the costs and benefits of the project - that is, who benefited and who paid?

70 Id. 71 Id.

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1. we have managed our beaches and dunes poorly in the past; 2. coastal hardening as a solution to chronic III. erosion is environmentally destructive; ECOMMENDATIONS 3. historical patterns of erosion management R have been too frequently inadequate and have too often ignored resulting impacts; 4. the existing regulatory framework for coastal conservation and hazard mitigation is not sufficiently comprehensive, it can be A. OWNING-UP TO THE PAST improved and its effectiveness can be increased; and The people of Hawaii strive to live in harmony with their dynamic shoreline. No resident 5. the improvement of these failings will not be actively seeks to damage the beaches and dunes easy, rapid, inexpensive, or simple. that are so much a part of the daily beauty that surrounds us all. Awareness, education, and foresight can build public conviction for an B. STRATEGIC enhanced coastal future. The menu of options RECOMMENDATIONS and tools for coastal land stewardship can be Improved management guidelines and policies increased. Funding, statute changes, and rule can emerge from a more detailed understanding amendments to implement new coastal policies of coastal environmental processes, from the for Hawaii are only as far away as the political successful coordination of multiple levels of resolve to ask. A strong unified voice will be government, and from the participation of heard by our leaders. Government can respond communities of coastal users. The following to the complex issues of erosion management in recommendations individually and collectively a manner that enhances the interests of all will move Hawaii toward the attainment of these stakeholders. But it will take time, work, a goals. willingness to forgive and accept, vision on the part of our leaders, and a broad public awareness 1. Develop, fund, and empower the Coastal effort. Lands Program at DLNR as the Lead This final section of COEMAP outlines actions Agency for coastal erosion management. and makes recommendations to reduce coastal The mission of the CLP is to manage growth hazard exposure, and increase beach and dune along the state’s shoreline in order to conservation and restoration. These achieve a balance of resource conservation recommendations are intended to be used as and reduced hazard exposure. This is best tools to authorize agencies seeking changes and achieved through participation and to empower citizens searching for answers. partnerships with all stakeholder agencies and coastal communities. The Coastal Lands Simplistic and non-comprehensive management Program will oversee and assist in the practices cannot be effectively applied to our implementation of technical and policy dynamic shoreline. But a comprehensive plan recommendations embodied in COEMAP for managing erosion can offer powerful and derivative efforts to promote the guidance for developing policy, framing the establishment of sustainable coastal use discussion of issues and stakeholder needs, and policies and programs. The CLP should be directing the actions of agencies. staffed by experts in coastal management Several well-documented realities about the and planning, and coastal science and management of coastal lands in Hawaii are now engineering who will work cooperatively evident: with other federal, state and county agencies and workers to devise additional

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management strategies to mitigate shoreline mitigation activities in fulfillment of the degradation. CLP mission. a) Funding for the CLP can originate from d) Activities within the purview of the CLP many sources, including: may include: i) federal monies for coastal i) administering the CDUA process, management, ii) planning new state regulatory ii) donations, functions and programs on the iii) legislative appropriations, shoreline in a framework of multiagency coordination and iv) bonds with debt service repaid by community participation; small revenue streams with a nexus to coastal lands, iii) providing public education; v) federal grants, iv) sponsoring and conducting research and monitoring efforts; vi) fines and penalties, v) conducting enforcement activities; vii) fees, and other revenues generated by public resource-value lands, and vi) planning and facilitating agency others. coordination on permitting and planning within coastal hot spots; b) At this writing the state of Hawaii is experiencing a fiscal crisis that is vii) creating and providing GIS layers manifested in a declining annual budget, of shoreline data; a reduction in the size and scope of viii) acquiring and maintaining a coastal government, and a restriction in the database with standardized format, flexibility of existing programs. The accuracy and precision; CLP was created in the midst of this crisis and despite the widely recognized ix) developing programs for beach importance of its mission, it is not likely nourishment, offshore sand to enjoy significant levels of funding in recovery, and alternatives to the immediate future. In fact, the CLP shoreline hardening; was created without an increase in x) creating opportunities for DLNR staff or expenditures. compensatory mitigation and c) A rational source of funding for the CLP bringing into conformance existing is the utilization of state resource lands nonpermitted structures, activities to generate revenues. This could include and usages; fees, tenantships, and fines generated by xi) conducting land acquisition users of state lands with nonpermitted planning and implementation; shoreline structures such as piers, docks, walls and other structures crossing state xii) setting planning goals oriented lands. These could be a source of funds toward sustainable development for for exercising compensatory mitigation specific littoral cells to promote under the CLP. A special fund should be resource protection and restoration. created to house these monies so they e) The CLP may also provide grants-in-aid are not lost from the coastal zone so to the counties, citizen groups, and they can be applied to restoration and individuals (homeowners) who wish to mitigation activities of the CLP and conduct activities that are consistent sister agencies. Grants (such as available with the CLP mission. from the EPA for environmental restoration) are another source of funds f) The CLP should enhance the counties’ for conducting restoration and ability to control and regulate

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development activities along their development so that coastal lots are created shorelines. of sufficient dimension and size to maintain a buffer between the shoreline and proposed g) The CLP should facilitate working structures. The manual could provide agreements with the counties, the direction during the zoning of lands so that federal government, and other state on large lots, structures are built away from agencies to simplify the complex the shoreline on the mauka portion of the permitting process for projects such as lot. There are certain portions of our beach and dune restoration and shoreline where existing development renourishment, and offshore sand patterns offer a good demonstration of mining. properly located structures with sufficient h) The CLP should promote and support buffers against erosion hazards. On Oahu, county programs designed to facilitate these include portions of Waimanalo, coastal restoration and hazard Kailua, and Kahuku where construction mitigation. setbacks have been utilized that exceed the present 40ft requirement. i) The CLP should review and recommend amendments to the shoreline The manual could also offer guidance and certification process for the purpose of recommendations for implementing actions environmental restoration, conservation, on already developed shorelines where and hazard mitigation. erosion hazards constitute management concerns. 2. Encourage state and county decision-makers to consider erosional trends and 4. Enhance Interagency Coordination. processes, and other coastal hazards, at Agencies should improve and standardize the zoning and subdivision stages of land permit processing criteria, develop and agree development so that structures can be safely upon acceptable guidelines for constructing and properly located away from hazard Environmental Assessment and permit areas. This action would prevent burdening applications for activities in the shore zone, landowners and regulatory agencies with and build an organized and consistent foreseeable coastal hazard issues at a later system of erosion management and resource date. conservation among CZM, CLP, OEQC/DOH, and the counties and federal 3. Develop a Technical Guidance Manual COE. This coordinated system should that provides direction for the incorporate the best aspects of ideas development, restoration, and embodied in COEMAP and other applicable redevelopment of the coastline. The sources. A strong starting point would be to: manual72 would be used on a voluntary basis, but through common usage could a) guarantee a continuous datastream to become a standard for the safe, economical, coastal managers, and sustainable utilization of the coastline. b) build a prevalent, consistent, and Creation and development of such a manual continuous public education and will require funding through the various awareness campaign, responsible stakeholder agencies, and could take place on a component by component c) implement beach and dune restoration as (i.e., chapter by chapter) basis as needs a viable management tool, arise. The manual could provide direction d) establish community redevelopment during zoning and subdivision stages of procedures and guidelines to recover and restore beaches and dunes where 72 Maui County has already moved in this direction they have been lost by shoreline with the creation of a Technical Guidance Manual: hardening, “Coastal Protection and Beach Restoration e) institute environmental sequencing as Feasibility Study, for Maui County, Oceanit the basis for coastal planning, Laboratories Inc., Nov. 1997, 122p.”

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f) establish a coordinated approach where legislators should expect to fund the federal expectations of CZM activities, actual restoration effort within a few state resource conservation goals, and years of that appropriation at an county development plans are all expected additional cost of several integrated and defined in a mutually million dollars to engage the final acceptable framework without exclusion restoration of the dune and beach of the goals at any government level. environment. 5. Implement a Pilot Shoreline Hazard c) This entire effort will fail if the Mitigation Project Using Beach and Dune community does not support it. Restoration. Using federal Section 309 Education, awareness, outreach, and monies, the State Coastal Zone Management public dialogue are fully as important as Program has funded the Coastal Lands the engineering and economics in Program at the DLNR to conduct a site completing this effort. selection analysis for the development of a d) Restoration must be established as a pilot beach restoration project in Hawaii. viable coastal management tool in DLNR, in turn, has subcontracted for coastal Hawaii. This is best achieved with a engineering expertise to evaluate candidate carefully conceived pilot project that sites on Oahu and Maui shorelines that will have a high degree of success. present the strongest mix of socioeconomic, Although there have been a number of geologic, and engineering factors promoting small-scale restoration efforts, there has successful implementation of beach and not been a large-scale nourishment dune restoration as a management option. project in Hawaii aimed at revitalizing a) This is a critical and important first step an entire littoral cell. to implement sand nourishment for the e) An important, and often undiscussed integrated purposes of beach and dune component of this effort should be the restoration and hazard reduction. evaluation of upland development Nourishment is the use of sand mined patterns in the area of the restoration from either offshore73 or onshore to project. A planning analysis should augment the littoral sediment budget of examine the potential for increased a beach experiencing chronic erosion. development, increased density, and Nourishment and restoration reduce the increased economic commitment in the exposure of coastal development to area that has been historically an erosion natural hazards by increasing beach hazard zone, but has with restoration width, dune elevation, and profile achieved a temporarily reduced hazard recovery. exposure. It has been the experience of b) This project should lead to a report many mainland restoration efforts that identifying the best candidates for sand nourishment leads to temporary coastal restoration from the perspective decreases in hazard exposure. Hence, of both engineering and socio-economic stakeholders should engage in long-term criteria. The report should be used as a planning for upland development tool at the state legislature to request patterns under a range of scenarios, funds for a full engineering study and including a future return to increased analysis of the lead site. The expected hazard exposure. cost may reach over $500,000 and the 6. Establish a continuous datastream, and analysis may take 3 years or more to formalize an enduring data source from complete. Planners, regulators, and the UH-SOEST by creating a branch of the NOAA Coastal Services Center. The 73 Dollar, S.J., 1979. Sand mining in Hawaii: coordination of agency functions within and Research, restrictions, and choices for the future. Sea between layers of government is formalized, Grant Technical Paper, UNIHI-SEAGRANT-TP-79- in various ways, through law and 01, 106p

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administrative rule. However, the integration i) During 1998 MACZMAG of scientific data is sporadic and haphazard, meetings, the City and County of often dependent upon the vagaries of Honolulu has called repeatedly for funding, project specific investigations, and improved data collection and the availability and goodwill of individuals. dissemination on erosion patterns. This is fragile footing for an essential ii) The 1997 and 1998 report of the component of good coastal management. nongovernmental members of a) The role of research and science in the MACZMAG identified the need for erosion management effort should be an improved database, and even solidified by establishing a consistent, suggested that a government office reliable, and continuous datastream from dedicated to that purpose be created. researchers at the UH School of Ocean iii) Maui County and the UH Sea and Earth Science and Technology Grant College, at the 1998 Erosion (SOEST). This would provide access to Management Conference, identified the highly applicable work presently the recent availability and being conducted there on beach involvement of scientific expertise dynamics, sand resources, coastal at UH for assisting decision-making, processes, sea level movements, erosion as a turning point in the ability of patterns, and littoral cell budgets. This the County Planning Department to would additionally provide a forum for effectively manage their coast. managers to request specific studies and data products in response to current iv) Kauai County relies upon needs, and in expectation of near-term assistance from UH-SOEST to planning issues. develop permit guidelines, to testify in contested cases, and to assist in b) One mechanism for this would be to the decision-making process. create a “regional node” of the NOAA Coastal Services Center located in v) USGS, FEMA, DLNR, DOH, Charleston, S.C. Another mechanism and CZM rely on UH-SOEST as a would be to establish a more sounding board and feedback autonomous entity that is not a direct source, as well as a point of origin federal effort, but which benefits from for technical assistance, advice, and federal funding. Various avenues for public awareness building. establishing a research service provider d) These and other activities point to the for the state and counties should be already established role of erosion explored in light of funding realities and research at UH-SOEST as an effective management needs. component in the erosion management c) A first step in this process is the system of Hawaii. However, that role is confirmation of regulatory authorities undefined and unformalized and rests that there is a NEED for a responsive, solely upon the willingness of scientists high quality, and nationally respected to become involved. This is a fragile coastal data research provider in Hawaii. footing and could at any time leave a Administrators may choose to submit gapping void in the information network legislation to create and fund such a if individuals shifted priorities or places provider, and a resolution establishing of work. The importance of a continuous its need. As mentioned throughout source of data and objective expertise is earlier recommendations, managers at such that it must be institutionalized and all levels have a need for improved data codified, and that a solid framework of on coastal stability, patterns of coastal high quality data collection and change, and characteristics and viability dissemination not be dependent upon of sand for responding to chronic the vagaries of specific project funding. shortages.

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7. Establish a broad, pervasive and homeowners, hotel managers, enduring public education and scientists, engineers, and agency awareness-building campaign in authorities. coordination with the Ocean Resources ii) Another example of a public Management Plan and other resource forum that improves communication management efforts such as MHI-MRI among a range of stakeholders is the (DLNR) and the Polluted Run-off Marine and Coastal Zone Program (DOH). Few government Management Advisory Group objectives can be realized without the (MACZMAG) and the support of the public, and the public cannot Subcommittee on Coastal Erosion. support what it does not understand. There MACZMAG meets every other are many avenues to build public awareness month to discuss the broad issues through the media, the Department of related to effective and sustainable Education, special events and functions, a coastal zone management in Hawaii. print campaign, slogans, themes and other The public is invited to attend and techniques. contribute to the dialogue and a a) Institutionalize a regularly occurring diverse cross-section of concerns coastal forum to give voice to all and opinions are regularly stakeholders and as a component of presented. public awareness building. Coastal iii) The Erosion Subcommittee of managers, scientists and engineers MACZMAG meets on an irregular possess the expertise and knowledge to though frequent basis to address predict, at a preliminary level, the specific erosion management issues. resulting physical and socioeconomic This is also an open and broad- impacts of management decisions. To ranging forum that has achieved a access this body of knowledge, it is great deal of consensus and open important to enhance communication communication among members of among coastal stakeholders. the public, the research and private Communities face the issue of erosion sector, and government regulators on a daily basis and can provide the and planners. perspective of “workability” and feasibility for various socioeconomic iv) Another example of an effective management options. The fact that public forum is the series of successful erosion management rests colloquia and seminars that are held upon the participation of managers, by the UH-Manoa. For example, in scientists, engineers, and communities the fall semester of 1998, the UH increases the need for an open and Water Resources Research Center frequent forum designed to achieve sponsored a speaker series on mutually advantageous and acceptable coastal erosion highlighting local solutions. and national planners, scientists, and engineers. i) One excellent example of this was the 1998 First Regional b) Integrate management and public Conference on Coastal Erosion expectations. Coastal managers must Management in Hawaii and Other communicate with local community- Pacific Islands. This conference was based resident and user groups, and jointly sponsored by the Sea Grant private property owners for their College at UH Manoa, the County opinions on coastal management of Maui Planning Department, and options. Where communities are not the US Geological Survey. it was responsive to management alternatives, attended by a wide range of there is a reduced chance of successful stakeholders, including implementation and shared funding for

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innovative conservation practices. restoring beach and dune environments. Where communities and managers are Setting performance standards is a form of able to communicate on a common level minimization that can be implemented of understanding and education about through time on a schedule determined by alternatives and impacts, and where the landowner through the redevelopment common goals can be defined and and renovation of existing structures and articulated, there exists an enhanced voluntary changes in land usage. opportunity for achieving success. a) Creating a new setback regime in a i) Most importantly, where location experiencing chronic erosion projects incorporating beach and would relegate existing land tenancy to dune restoration are proposed, the “nonconforming” status and levy public must be educated regarding significant economic penalties to the specific criteria for project landowners. A more equitable approach success or failure. If they observe a is to develop community-based wide sandy beach initially resulting performance standards for guiding from a restoration project that soon subsequent changes to land use as future begins to narrow as it experiences needs arise. Performance standards profile adjustment, they may could be implemented in a framework of conclude the decrease in dry beach management authority that focuses on width is a sign of project failure. controlling erosion through resource Whereas the planners had fully conservation. This would be ideal for expected the reduction as part of the implementing the concepts of profile equilibration process. More environmental sequencing, and for using than any engineering criteria, the redevelopment tools and coastal court of public opinion will judge restoration to recover lost resources and the success or failure of protect existing ones. implementing new management b) Performance standards act as targets for programs. modifying the land use pattern through 8. Evaluate the applicability of “willing- future redevelopment efforts. Such user,” community-based performance targets would avoid penalizing current standards and/or planning districts as tenants, yet would establish community erosion management tools at erosion goals for achieving reduced exposure to hotspots. A significant challenge to coastal coastal hazards and restoring beach and managers is the restoration and dune environments. Setting performance redevelopment of densely populated and standards is a form of minimization that developed coastal communities where can be implemented through time on a chronic erosion conflicts with beach schedule determined by the landowner conservation goals. One equitable approach through the redevelopment and is to develop “willing-user,” community renovation of existing structures and performance standards for guiding changes voluntary changes in land usage. to land use as future needs arise. c) Applicable performance standards Performance standards could be include: implemented in a framework of management authority that focuses on controlling erosion i) defining nonregulatory, “willing through resource conservation. Performance user” variable setbacks as targets to standards act as targets for modifying the guide the redevelopment and land use pattern through future renovation of existing structures; redevelopment efforts. Such targets would ii) setting regulatory construction avoid penalizing current tenants, yet would standards promoting wind and flood establish community goals for achieving reinforcement and avoidance; reduced exposure to coastal hazards and

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iii) following landscaping standards that year erosion hazard setback as measured promote dune preservation, sand from the mauka toe of the primary dune. conservation and beach It would also define a relocation buffer enhancement; zone located landward of the 60 yr hazard boundary which would be iv) and promoting enhanced coastal preserved for structure relocation in the access and parking. event of future shoreline retreat. These d) These performance standards could be setback guidelines would have to be established as a mixture of defined following an analysis of nonregulatory and regulatory targets historical shoreline fluctuations. setting a future vision for the c) Construction guidelines and landscaping community that would ultimately recommendations would need to be enhance land values, increase specified such that exposure to losses community pride, and restore damaged due to coastal hazards are reduced and beach environments. A simple beach and dune restoration and descriptive community pamphlet conservation is enhanced. containing site-specific maps and guidelines could be the first step in d) Lands in Ho’opono Kahakai would be implementing this goal. resold or auctioned to the private development sector for redevelopment e) In the spirit of the incentives offered by under the new guidelines. Revenues the NFIP/CRS, the state and counties of from the resale would infuse the Coastal Hawaii may wish to consider providing Lands Program to purchase additional incentives to communities of lands either adjacent to the resold homeowners located in erosion hazard properties or in other coastal hotspots areas. This could include efforts along under the same strategy. the lines of the CRS and/or FMA and/or alternative incentives to reduce hazard e) Pre-arrange for participation of the exposure and promote beach and dune commercial development market. restoration and conservation. Ideally Ho’opono Kahakai would function as a partnership program under 9. Establish a Fund for Land Acquisition – state and county agreement. Ho’opono Kahakai. Create a coastal land acquisition fund based upon negotiated f) Ho’opono Kahakai may have other purchase and willing-seller concepts. This characteristics to promote conservation fund will focus on restoring degraded and hazard mitigation goals. Regulators coastlines to a high level of health and may wish to fund the program with sustainability, hence the fund can be called bond issuances. Also, negotiated “Ho’opono Kahakai” (literally, to make purchases may result in the state simply right the beaches). One aspect of this fund holding acquired lands without resale, can be a focus on redevelopment as a tool perhaps used to increase shoreline for implementing strategic improvements at access. The program may also wish to erosion hotspots in the following manner. utilize “less-than-fee-simple” title to parcels in order to achieve erosion a) The CLP would use revolving funds of management objectives. Ho’opono Kahakai to negotiate a willing-seller purchase of private 10. General Permit for Restoration. It would developed lands in an erosion hotspot, be in the best interest of facilitating the use and then resell them to the development of restoration as a viable option, and sector under a new management regime. reducing the workload of agencies, to coordinate and identify areas of overlapping b) The new beach management regime effort such that the permitting process can would require that all residential be made more efficient without sacrificing development is sited landward of a 30

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the present high level of environmental and it does buy time to plan for the future, and ecological safeguards. the wise among us will use that time effectively to plan for the future of all a) One approach to realize this goal is to coastal dependents. define a single “General Permit” such as the Department of the Army State 12. Adopt, or alter for adoption, the Program General Permit (SPGP, environmental assessment guidelines of administered by the Corps of Engineers) the DOH-OEQC that were submitted for that defines guidelines for activities public commentary in the November 23, seaward of the certified shoreline, 1995 OEQC Environmental Notice. The identifying state or federal jurisdiction. guidelines were also aired in the form of a Such activities could include integrated major news story such that they gained conservation and hazard mitigation significant public exposure. Modifications projects, such as small-scale beach may be appropriate based on an analysis of restoration. responses and reconsideration of issues. b) One General Permit applicable under These guidelines are presented in Technical state or federal jurisdiction, Supplement, Part D (pg. 79). administered by a single lead agency, a) It is appropriate for additional state that defines guidelines for Best agencies, specifically the DLNR and the Management Practices to achieve DBEDT to adopt these guidelines in integrated conservation and hazard their application review process so that mitigation along the shoreline, would there become established, clear and provide efficiency and economy to the consistent standards for decision-making effort to restore lost beaches. That lead along the shoreline. County authorities agency should be the Coastal Lands should be involved in the adoption of Program at DLNR. the final guidelines so that there is consistency, ownership, and application 11. Restoration is not a Permanent Solution – to the guidelines and the review of Plan for Renourishment and shoreline projects. Redevelopment. Planning for post- restoration realities must proceed on a 13. Focus Regulatory Efforts, build local parallel track, and integrated with, any awareness among agency personnel. If we restoration project. If the source and cause are to improve the erosion management of erosion is not rectified, then any regime in Hawaii, energy and effort must be restoration effort will experience erosion. focused on those localities where there is There will be shorelines where erosion beach degradation and where active causes are not well understood, and where permitting issues arise. sea-level rise may be an important driving a) Beaches that remain viable for the force behind shoreline retreat. Whether the purposes of recreation, ocean access, restoration offers hazard mitigation for 1 hazard mitigation, scenic beauty, and year or 20 years, it will eventually need function as a healthy ecosystem are not renourishment. How long can renourishment an immediate management concern— continue? Regulators, planners, and even if the adjacent back-beach area is communities of users must honestly and heavily armored. Armoring, in and of openly explore future socio-economic itself, is not a concern unless it scenarios. These may consist of continued compromises or poses a threat to one of erosion, accelerated sea-level rise, expanded the above mentioned parameters. development and population growth, exhausted sand supplies, and storms that b) All beaches should be monitored to damage the restoration project. The process establish their continued health and of planning must not stop when the last yard viability, but initial concerns should of sand is placed on a restored shoreline. focus on restoration, hazard mitigation, Restoration is not a permanent solution, but and interagency coordination.

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c) As a rule, coasts undergoing long-term data on erosion patterns and rates around the retreat and chronic erosion constitute the state. The scope and characteristics of the greatest management concern. Hence, it erosion problem need to be factually is important to have scientific data on determined at a high resolution, at least to historical patterns of coastal change. the parcel scale. d) Political realities in Hawaii dictate that a) A series of erosion risk maps at 1:2000 the State Legislature will be more likely scale using color aerial photography to fund and legislatively implement a should be created showing detailed rates new erosion management regime if it of shoreline change, including rates of has the support and backing of the volume change, on every coastal parcel counties. A review of other states or every 20 m along the coast. These experiences in wrestling with the similar data will improve understanding of need to revamp their erosion sediment budgets, and shoreline management program strongly indicates changes. The ERM series should be the need for a “grassroots” movement distributed throughout the state to that convinces the legislative body that agencies and government offices with the need for change is immediate and coastal decision-making authority. the desire for change is strong. ERMs must also be updated on a regular basis. Users will need the data available 14. Decision-making Criteria. Decision- in GIS format, on CD ROM, as mapped making authorities and regulators need clear products, and on-line. and unambiguous information on littoral processes, sand resources, historical erosion b) Define Statewide Erosion Hazard and accretion rates and projected future Zones and map BFE’s. Managers and patterns, development patterns, land decision-makers need to have detailed ownership histories, land-use trends, information on the pattern and history of structure permitting histories, and other erosion along our coastline. This scientific and socio-economic trends and information can be integrated with the patterns at areas where erosion management FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps that decisions must be made. Regulatory set Base Flood Elevations for housing decisions are complex and require construction in coastal flood zones. This evaluation and analysis of numerous and data can be established in a variety of interdependent factors in order to carry out media including digital layers on the letter of the law. various GIS systems, CD ROMS for desk-top viewing in PC or Mac formats, a) To achieve the goal of providing an downloaded or viewed interactively informed framework for decision- from on-line sites, and as hard-copy map making, it is important to conduct products. This recommendation can be regional analyses of physical combined with recommendation a) environmental and socio-economic (above) to improve the scientific patterns at the scale of the littoral cell. framework for regulatory and planning These analyses should provide decision-making. regulators with recommendations in the form of general developmental, i) Large-scale aerial photographs sociological, infrastructural, and (1:2000) enlarged to poster size environmental targets that establish a offer a mapping surface on which decision-framework for permitting, this information can be provided in zoning, and otherwise guiding land-use. the context of existing land-use trends. Aerial photo-maps can 15. Create a system of Research Products display the present erosion rate, resulting from technical studies of coastal projections of the future 30 year processes and sand resources. Coastal erosion hazard zone, FEMA BFE’s, managers and administrators need improved the contemporaneous vegetation

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line, and the upper debris line all period 1949 to 1996. There is also a clearly superimposed upon the 1912 mean high water line, mapped photographic background showing by federal surveyors, that can be development, land use, and geologic compared to the photographic features of the shoreline. A series of evidence for a total of 86 years of these reference photomaps will shoreline history. One may use a greatly enhance the ability of number of techniques to determine a managers to assess the potential rate of shoreline change through impacts of actions in a physical time: end-point analysis, linear setting and with knowledge of regression of shoreline positions, shoreline change patterns. These least median of squares regression, data can be established as a map- jackknifing, average of rates, and series showing the statewide erosion minimum description length hazard zones. Managers may also criterion are all published statistical wish to include the 60 year, and 90 methodologies for determining year erosion hazard zones, although rates of shoreline change each with the current database of past their own attributes and limitations. shoreline positions does not support iii) These data can be used to significant projection accuracy identify areas of management beyond the 60 year level (1912 concern and potential community- NOAA “T-sheets” are the earliest based performance standards for accurate shoreline position available hazard mitigation and resource for Hawaii). The database for this restoration. A rate-based setback process needs to be created and system can also be established using periodically updated using a such data for undeveloped regions combination of high-resolution where avoidance is the primary aerial photogrammetry and a management target to mitigate network of beach profiles. future hazards. ii) Erosion rates and BFE’s should iv) Lands falling within a particular be delineated at a high density along erosion hazard area would be the coastline. Current research at the subject to specific construction and UH indicates a spacing of land-use guidelines. FEMA has approximately 20 m alongshore is already proposed the framework for sufficient to determine the erosion such a system, and it can be easily rate pattern on nearly all developed modified and adopted by the state parcels and to determine the large- and county administrations to meet scale coastal behavior (i.e., dynamic local needs. shoreline meanders through time) that control patterns of change74. v) Erosion rate data are necessary Managers may wish to consult for: evaluating and enhancing the technical sources to determine the setback regime; identifying favored statistical technique for management decision criteria on establishing erosion rates. Along shoreline stability; defining much of the Hawaiian shoreline community performance standards; there are approximately 5 to 8 aerial guiding the planning and application photographs available over the time of negotiated purchase (willing seller) coastal land acquisition programs; identifying areas of 74 Coyne, M.A., Fletcher, C.H., and Richmond, B.M., present and future management (in press) Mapping erosion hazard areas in Hawaii: concern where resources and efforts Observations and Errors. Journal of Coastal will need to be concentrated; Research. assisting the real estate and

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development sectors; and otherwise beaches such that their ability to providing a scientific framework for respond to seasonal wave and developing improved management current events, and sea-level rise, tools and options on a site-specific may be reduced. Agencies, then, basis. should become familiar with technical aspects of monitoring so c) Use aerial photography, ground-based that proper permit conditions can be surveys, and other survey techniques to provided, and that monitoring monitor beaches. This will improve results can be interpreted by agency understanding of short and long-term personnel. changes in the shape and position of beaches in response to sea-level rise, d) Land management and disaster wave and current processes, and mitigation agencies should support sediment deficiencies. development of numerical wave run-up and storm-surge models (and their i) The most common of these, and field verification) to predict and improve the easiest to implement, is a understanding of wave impacts, flooding ground-based monitoring effort patterns, coastal processes, and to using traditional survey techniques augment the shoreline certification that provide a time-series of process. measured beach cross-sections, known as “beach profiling.” i) Numerical modeling can be a valuable source of information for ii) A beach monitoring system will formulating guidelines for the safe provide valuable information for siting of coastal development, determining the potential impacts of defining BFE’s for building codes, coastal developmental uses, storms, and for improving the evaluation of sea-level rise, tsunami, and various the certified shoreline and the environmental influences. Beaches appropriateness of the existing also need to be monitored to setback regime in Hawaii. Surge and distinguish short-term changes from run-up models can be used to long-term trends. Monitoring improve understanding of adequate programs can identify human Base Flood Elevations for currently impacts causing sediment unmapped regions of the coast in deficiencies, and provide a technical Hawaii where the FEMA does not framework for improving coastal offer guidance on site elevations for management practices that damage buildings. Models should address beaches. Florida, South Carolina, run-up characteristics (magnitude, Texas, and other states have recurrence interval, elevation) of monitoring programs in place. tsunami, storm surge, swell, and iii) The University of Hawaii has locally generated wind waves. maintained a network of ~80 beach ii) Run-up models also have the profile monitoring stations on potential to improve the Kauai, Maui, and Oahu since 1994. identification of the certified This time series should be extended shoreline in Hawaii so that it can be and supported and the data provided less subject to equivocal to agencies with erosion interpretation of sparse natural management authority. evidence. iv) Beach profile monitoring should e) Scientific understanding of the be implemented as a permit occurrence and magnitude of condition for activities that have the hurricanes and tsunami in Hawaiian potential to cause sand deficiencies, waters, and their coastal inundation or alterations to the morphology of

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patterns can be improved and should be be the focus of restoration and the subject of enhanced research mitigation efforts and enhanced supported by agencies with coastal management tools. Stable cells can jurisdiction. High wind storms of less be the focus of conservation, than hurricane strength, and the waves monitoring, avoidance, and they generate are also of concern to proactive management practices. coastal land managers and owners. g) Research indicates the presence of Tsunami generated by the sudden offshore reserves of sand that may movement of the sea floor pose a support restoration as a regular continuous threat to the Hawaiian management option. The existing Islands. practice of mining sand from active i) It is vitally important that dunes and dune fields should be viewed research continue to improve as a limited resource that has attendant understanding of these and other environmental and cultural impacts that meteorological and geophysical are negative. On-land sand resources hazards along the coastline so that other than active dune fields should be enhanced mitigation can be explored as potential resources. It is achieved in a framework of important to closely examine the water environmental sustainability. quality and ecological impacts that may result from the use of sands with high ii) Public education and awareness fine sediment content for beach should be a high-level goal in these restoration. research efforts so that the populace of Hawaii can react accordingly i) The Mana Plain on Kauai when a hurricane or tsunami consists of regions composed of threatens our shore. unlithified, or lightly lithified carbonate sand that may provide a f) Wave and current patterns and other sand resource option for coastal littoral characteristics, and sediment restoration. Many states have transport in coastal waters are poorly utilized “borrow pits” for sand and understood, yet they are a critical force gravel resources. The Mana Plain in the seasonal and inter-annual cycle of should be assessed and mapped as a beach fluctuations. They also influence potential sand resource for coastal the management of sustainable coastal restoration. A mapping exploration water quality. With improved effort should be directed at the knowledge of littoral characteristics on a Mana Plain to identify levels of sector by sector basis will come the dune activity, cementation and ability to establish viable and realistic lithification history, thickness and planning goals on behalf of regulatory lateral extent, statistical agencies. sedimentological characteristics, and i) The number and quality of an assessment of potential use for circulation studies and sediment coastal restoration should be transport analyses should be determined. Other cuspate increased and funding encouraged forelands, of similar origin and from federal sources and research- geologic history, should also be oriented state sources. assessed for this purpose. ii) County and state authorities ii) As the mining of active dune need information on the stability fields faces future restrictions and and seasonal dynamics of particular depletion, and offshore or littoral cells. Those that are alternative onshore carbonate sand identified as unstable, and where mining comes on-line, it will be erosion hotspots are delineated, can important for agencies to develop

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accessible stockpiles of beach-grade (5) How long will sand mining sand that can be utilized by offer a solution for erosion permittees seeking erosion management? Dade County, mitigation under the Small-Scale Florida is reportedly facing Nourishment Program of the DLNR depleted offshore sand resources (see Recommendation 11, below) after 20 years of mining for restoration. iii) Sand nourishment is the strongest technical option presently (6) Is offshore sand silt-free, and available to both protect eroding does it have the proper grain coastal lands and sustain and restore size and grain color for beach public dunes and beaches. The restoration? Hawaiian coast has many features (7) Do marine sand fields and sand- that promote successful filled channels contain faunal nourishment, including widespread communities that can be fringing reefs that dissipate wave impacted by mining without energy, short and embayed beaches causing impacts to related with prominent headlands that communities? stabilize and isolate the sediment budget of a littoral cell, and a (8) Will offshore mining lead to predictable seasonal wave field. A turbidity problems in the water study released by the National column? Research Council offers guidance i) All nourishment projects should be on this issue. monitored by a state coastal surveying h) There are, nonetheless, significant team in order to establish a database to problems associated with beach and augment and improve beach fill design dune restoration that need further strategies. It is already apparent that research and delineation. beaches in Hawaii are being nourished with sand by local owner groups, and (1) Do offshore sand resources exist the resulting morphological changes and in sufficient quantity and sand flux patterns are not monitored appropriate quality to support with a standardized methodology. restoration? Neither do many of these existing (2) What are the attendant efforts restore the role of dunes as environmental impacts to storehouses of sand for profile recovery marine dredging and sand from wave impacts, rather they focus on mining and are they acceptable beach restoration alone. These are lost given the goals of coastal land opportunities for learning. Additionally, conservation? conflicts are arising in the area of permitting and open communication (3) Where will the money come between multiple user groups regarding from to pay for beach and dune the success and legality of these efforts. restoration, and how will the costs be shared? i) All restoration projects must have clearly identified performance (4) What are acceptable benefit/cost criteria so that public understanding ratios to restoration, and is it a of the technique can be based upon sustainable management realistic expectations. For instance, alternative in a future of there are no criteria for evaluating increased population growth, fill sand from the standpoint of greater development pressure resulting turbidity. Schedules for and predicted higher sea levels? renourishment should be identified and modified as experience dictates,

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and cost ratios shared among environmental impacts of mining, stakeholders should be shifted to turbidity effects, ecological/faunal match sustainable and socially impacts, sand suitability, and the responsible sources of funding. sustainability of offshore sand flats. Public expectations of long-term dry Sea Engineering, Inc., the UH beach width must be evaluated and Coastal Geology Group, the Marine engineering realities must be made Minerals Technology Center, and public. the US Geological Survey are four research organizations with the j) Despite its great promise, nourishment expertise and interest to support the is expensive and there is a significant development of this lack of knowledge pertaining to offshore recommendation. sand quality and quantity, appropriate beach design, renourishment schedules, ii) An onshore component of this extraction and delivery techniques, effort should focus on coastal plain impacts on water quality and sand field sand resources, such as those faunal communities, and the located on cuspate forelands and sustainability of the sand resources in other geological accretion plains, Hawaii. that exhibit high potential as sand reserves. Environmental, social, k) The existence of these potential barriers ecological, riparian and groundwater to beach nourishment make it imperative hydrological impacts must be that a successful pilot project be carefully assessed. conceived and implemented in the immediate future in order to evaluate the 16. Small-scale Nourishment Projects. The full and long-term potential of Coastal Lands Program (CLP) at DLNR has nourishment as a viable management proposed to establish a Small-Scale Beach alternative. As part of the pilot project, a Nourishment Program pursuant to the GIS database of sand reserves and CDUP process and in collaboration with the sedimentary characteristics should be COE State Program General Permit (SPGP) constructed using all available for expediting small-scale beach information and improved with a nourishment projects and information directed sand reserve research program. gathering. l) Create and fund a sand reserve a) This program, which is still under research program to delve into development, tentatively proposes a relevant aspects and issues pertaining to permit ceiling of 25,000 yd3 as the offshore sands, as well as selected maximum allowable fill size for onshore sand resources. A sand research restoration under the SPGP. This program is necessary in order to number represents a reasonable limit establish the viability of marine sand based on studies of beach and dune sand extraction and beach restoration as a volume along windward Oahu. Four realistic alternative for coastal years of beach profile monitoring by the management. This would be best framed Coastal Geology Group at UH offers within a pilot restoration effort (see guidance on nourishment volumes. At Recommendation 3, above) directed at a Kailua Beach, for example, possessing well understood littoral cell. A funding an apparently healthy and viable sand structure should be established volume budget, for every 100 ft emphasizing cost-sharing among alongshore distance, there exists an federal, state, county, and landowner average beach profile volume of 7,220 stakeholders. yd3 (72.2 +57.4 yd3/ft) of sand between i) Sand reserve research should the vegetation line and the offshore include assessments of the depth of closure (the marine limit of beach sand). When measured from the

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mauka toe of the frontal dune to the resistance, color, and sorting depth of closure, the average volume thresholds for sand fill and beach increases to 10,800 yd3 (108 +66.0 stability. 3 yd /ft). Notice the significant variance ii) There is a need to define fill around the average, indicating that the placement construction practices beach sand volume has a wide range of including siltation control, values even for this one littoral system. permitting for fill placement, and Hence, two large housing lots with a beach design. combined ~200 ft frontage length, and perhaps as many as three or four iii) There is a need to define medium-size lots, could accommodate a conditions of success or failure of healthy beach and dune restoration small-scale projects, and the project to mitigate the erosion hazard75 permitted schedule of under this program. Because most renourishment. For instance, permit applications are from single landowners will not utilize fill for homeowners, or small groups of 2 or 3 mitigation if placed sand is rapidly homeowners, 25,000 yd3 provides a eroded and there is no condition for reasonable and flexible estimate of renourishing or otherwise protecting “small-scale nourishment.” threatened land. b) This effort is important and should be iv) There is a need to define a encouraged, continued, and extended. methodology of Hawaiian beach However, there is an immediate need to design that is based on parameters conduct supporting research to better developed with field data from the identify the Best Management Practices Hawaiian shoreline. This effort guiding this program. This research could conduct sensitivity analyses could be funded through the CLP or the of mainland design practices using CZM program. For instance, Hawaiian field scenarios to establish 76 the viability of concepts and i) Past research in Hawaii has methodologies. recommended that sand used for beach restoration should have a c) The program description highlights typical grain-size distribution of 2 – monitoring all fill activities as a critical 0.15 mm with <10 per cent finer need, this is consistent with federal than 0.15 mm. There is a need to practices. As this program achieves substantiate or redefine these criteria success and becomes viewed by for fill sand acceptability including consultants as a viable alternative for a review of existing federal and state their clientele, there will develop an experiences, determinations of increased demand for sand resources. sand/mud thresholds and resulting Hence, it will become increasingly turbidity, definition of ambient important to monitor performance in turbidity in coastal waters, and order to determine the suitability of evaluations of grain size, abrasion various sand resources for this program, including: dune sand, coastal plain sand,

75 offshore sand, sand from boat basins, Beach volume measurements vary from 14.8 to harbor mouths and dredged channels. 129.8 yd3 per ft (alongshore) when measured from the vegetation line, and 26.3 to 184.7 yd3 per ft when 17. Interim Controls. Coastal erosion is an measured from the mauka toe of the frontal dune. active and dynamic agent on our shorelines 76 Hampton, M.A. (1998) Offshore Sand Research. even during the current period of increasing Comments made during a briefing of current research well-defined and viable management on the marine sand resources of Hawaii. DLNR options. Hence, there is an immediate need Board Room, members of MACZMAG to provide a management response to Subcommittee on Coastal Erosion, August 28, 1998, Honolulu. emergency situations confronting private

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and commercial landowners. It is important scale sand nourishment. In certain to develop a technical approach to control settings a small groin or the use of interim coastal erosion on residential lands detached breakwaters may be desirable where a short-term or seasonal wave-related to stabilize the fill. Landowners should erosion hazard exists, and where long-term be prepared to renourish the fronting erosion trends have created user conflicts. beach as long as the sea bags remain. Maintaining public access, and the a) Both Conservation District Rules and ecological characteristics of the beach, the County Special Management Area should be given high priority. Rules provide for emergency permits. A consistent and uniform set of technical d) Seabag revetments present advantages options, with components that can be over the traditional use of placed armor tailored to the personality of the target stone in that they are more easily shoreline, should be developed to fulfill reconfigured to accommodate changing the need for emergency protection. The conditions and they are easily removed term “emergency” should guide the when a more permanent solution is selection of applicable and appropriate implemented. They are also less technology. In the past, in both Maui hazardous for public usage, and enjoy County and the City and County of increased public acceptance because Honolulu, rock seawalls and/or they are clearly an “interim” rather than revetments have been constructed under permanent installation. Disadvantages emergency permits. A rock revetment or include reports of high expense, and seawall is not an emergency solution – it high wave reflectivity. Seabags differ is a permanent solution, and on a little from armor stone in terms of chronically eroding shoreline it is an coastal hardening, but their presence is a environmentally damaging solution. An reminder that the job of mitigation and interim erosion control technology conservation is not finished and should be effective, removable stakeholders must continue to work (temporary), and “tunable.” That is, it toward longer-term solutions. should be easily reconfigured to 18. Implement an “Erosion Control” accommodate changing conditions and approach where feasible. This could lessons learned. It also needs to have include offshore breakwaters, and certain characteristics that will permit it to be types of attached structures (T-head groins) integrated into future management used in combination with nourishment to options that come online at a later date. stabilize particularly dynamic beach b) If a permanent solution is requested, it segments where erosion would be controlled should be evaluated with full effectively without negative impacts to consideration given to all long-term adjoining beaches, or the sediment budget of solutions (i.e., Pope’s articulation, sect. a littoral cell. Managers must keep in mind II.B.5), and should not be applied for that the purpose of the structures is to under the auspices of “emergency” control the erosion of placed sand fill, and permitting. that good erosion control projects use sand and structures together as a system, not c) Two technical approaches have potential alone. The design and specifications of this to fulfill emergency needs: large, approach should be conducted by protective sand bags, and small-scale professionals in coastal engineering with an sand nourishment (see Recommendation established record of successful use. 11, above). Large 1 ton sand-filled “sea Permitting authorities may wish to adopt the bags” are being used successfully to PE Seal (Professional Engineer) as one protect property on Oahu, Maui, criteria for accepting permit applications for Molokai, and Kauai. These projects erosion control projects. utilize seabag revetments constructed at a low slope, ideally attended by small-

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19. Analysis of Economic Factors. The coast. High winds and associated marine economic factors governing the flooding, tsunami flooding, sea-level rise, implementation and feasibility of various seasonal high waves, stream flooding on coastal management alternatives is poorly coastal plains, landslides, and seismic and understood in Hawaii. Economic data volcanic hazards all increase the risk designed to identify the necessary funding exposure along developed coastal lands. and benefit/cost rationale of management a) Agency efforts to manage coastal options will be critical to establishing a erosion must include a scientific basis framework for implementing a new for integrating the multiple hazards of paradigm of coastal management in Hawaii. the coastal zone in order to reduce risks a) Economic arguments for and against to coastal populations. Beach certain management options should be preservation and land loss should not be combined with considerations of isolated as the only land management environmental sustainability when issues on our shorelines. However, deciding upon a course of action. because coastal erosion management Presently, there is little economic and beach preservation are high profile information available to guide decision- issues, and they are chronic and making. In the end, economic data may widespread, they do provide a be the most compelling factor when framework for establishing broader risk- conceiving and implementing a program reduction practices in the coastal zone. of management on the coast of Hawaii. b) Likewise, Hawaiian beaches are not Utilize GIS tools to implement this isolated environments. They are recommendation. intimately connected to adjoining b) Beach user surveys, neighborhood marine and terrestrial ecosystems that surveys, willing payer surveys, constitute a seamless system of natural assembled valuation criteria from a environments along the coast. These diverse population of beach users and include reefs that are the sand factories, stakeholders can all be used to define the dunes that are sand repositories, the the economy of various management coastal streams and wetlands that offer options. If beach and dune restoration is aquatic refugia and are a source of planned, it must rest upon a solid nutrients, and the coastal marine water cost/benefit rationale. column and its vertical ecological strata. Our beaches are dependent upon the c) The cost of exploration, recovery, health and viability of these neighboring delivery and construction of beach geologic, aquatic, and oceanographic restoration efforts is at a low level of systems. Agency efforts to establish a understanding. All financial aspects of system of beach preservation and coastal restoration should be quantified for management must recognize the proper planning and feasibility analysis. interdependent ecologies of the coastal d) The economy of land acquisition should zone and practices must be defined that be investigated such that random and will enhance the sustainability of the potentially wasteful acquisition entire environmental system of the procedures do not come to characterize coastal zone. this potentially valuable approach to

conservation and hazard mitigation. How should a land acquisition program C. INITIAL IMPLEMENTING be funded, managed, and planned? ACTIONS 20. Integrate Hazard Mitigation and Coastal 1. Establish, empower, and fund the Coastal Conservation. Erosion is only one of Lands Program and the creation of new several natural hazards that present erosion management, beach conservation, management challenges along the Hawaiian and hazard mitigation programs, such as,

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a) a small-scale nourishment program, understanding of coastal processes and reducing the costs associated with data b) a large-scale coastal restoration acquisition. program, 4. Introduce legislation to fund and support c) a system of management based on the necessary statutory and rule changes avoidance, minimization, and and program operations that will implement compensatory mitigation, the concepts and approach embodied in d) a willing-seller land acquisition program COEMAP, and consistent with aspects of with a component emphasizing strategic Chapter 205-A and derivative efforts. redevelopment and resource restoration Workers should consider the following: (Ho’opono Kahakai), a) Repealing or modifying the accreted e) a community-based performance land law, standards program emphasizing hazard b) Establish a monument program for the mitigation and resource restoration Shoreline Certification process and (Ho’olaulima), redefine the shoreline to a cadastral f) provide assistance to enhance county datum, that is, an elevation, such that it efforts to integrate historical erosion continuously incorporates erosion trends and coastal hazard vulnerability history. The elevation could be based at the zoning and subdivision stages of upon numerically modeled seasonal development, high wave run-up characteristics (which differ on every shore), or upon the g) formulate and implement a public height of the frontal dune, or other awareness and education campaign, measurable feature with unequivocal h) review and amend the Shoreline characteristics, Certification process. c) Clarify and strengthen enforcement 2. Enhance interagency collaboration, build efforts and programs, an organized and consistent system of d) Identify coastal lots where the 20 foot erosion management among CZM, CLP, (or less) setback accommodation may OEQC/DOH, and the counties and federal lead to future erosion hazards and COE; potentially impact the beach a) CZM and/or CLP should continue the environment. dialogue and issue discussion of the e) Identify minimum buildable area criteria MACZMAG Erosion Subcommittee as for coastal lots in areas with histories of it promotes a common level of chronic or episodic erosion such that understanding of the issues and development may lead to future erosion awareness of concerns among the hazards and potentially impact the beach public, commercial, and agency sectors; environment. adopt OEQC permit guidelines, and work to improve the level of technical f) Prohibit seaward shifts in the certified analysis in EA’s for coastal projects shoreline, including site-specific descriptions g) Identify littoral cells without current identifying coastal stability, littoral cell armoring and establish a prohibition characteristics, erosion patterns, and against any future armoring, establish an sand resources. abandonment policy in these areas, 3. Institutionalize a source of high-quality perhaps with a temporary protection data and research products at the UH- clause (~1 yr) and a relocation SOEST that would be available to all public assistance program, to mitigate the and private entities (government sector and erosion hazard and to conserve beaches, commercial sector) for improving

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h) Implement a “Master CDUP” concept to select options that are less environmentally for large scale restoration programs, friendly.” i) Amend Chapter 183 HRS and Title 13 6. Implement an improved technical basis Chapter 2 HAR to create a new subzone for decision-making as outlined in earlier in the Conservation District for all recommendations. This should be the goal submerged lands and beaches, include a of all agencies concerned with coastal distinct set of objectives and policies for management in Hawaii. conservation and work with federal and a) establish and enhance scientific and county agencies to establish consistency engineering research for the purpose of through the CZMP, gathering data on shoreline change and j) Improve education with videos, related processes, including monitoring pamphlets, and 90 sec. Radio and TV beaches; spots, b) identify sand resources and extraction k) Investigate sand resources for technologies for beach nourishment; restoration including developing a c) define nourishment characteristics and definitive understanding of the criteria; biological impacts of dredging and the viability of marine sand fields and d) create GIS layers of existing and new channels, and the development of a data; “borrow pit” system for coastal plain e) instigate economic analysis to develop sands. economic policies;

f) identify and rank erosion hotspots where there are critical management concerns, and delineate the appropriate technical

approach to their improved 5. Simplify and streamline the regulatory management; and permitting system of the coastal zone. 7. No-Tolerance Policy. The DLNR should This point is especially critical. Attorney Dennis announce a policy of no tolerance toward Hwang has written, new encroaching coastal construction of all types. The policy of no tolerance means that “Nowhere is the need for increased coordination all structures that encroach on Conservation more important than in dealing with the layers of District beaches that are illegally built or regulations along the coast. For a landowner to illegally repaired following the obtain permission for a seawall, only one or two announcement date will be torn down or a permits may be required. However, for a less form of compensatory mitigation will be environmentally harmful alternative, such as applied. sand replenishment and a containing structure such as a groin, the applicant may need a 8. Fines and Revocable Easements. DLNR Shoreline Certification, Shoreline Setback should establish a system of fines and the Variance, Shoreline Management Area permit, provision for short-term, revocable Conservation Direct Use Application, Clean easements at illegal encroachments. DLNR Water Act dredge and fill permit, NPDES Land Division staff should build a list of permit, Water Quality Certification, Coastal encroachments, and a GIS layer, that will be Zone Management consistency certification, targeted for fines, fees, and revocable Right-of-Entry Authorization, and an easements in the immediate future. Parties in Environmental Assessment or Environmental violation of the Conservation District Rules Impact Statement at the state and federal level. will be given the option of paying the levied The regulatory scheme designed to protect the fine, and a schedule of fees and accepting a environment creates an incentive for landowners short-term revocable easement, or having the offending structure (or portion)

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removed. One avenue for developing a fine 14. Distribution of Report. Circulate this and fee schedule can be the use of estimates document to county and other state of avoided cost on the part of the landowner. authorities for comment. 9. Build Consensus. Collected fines should be 15. Public Awareness Campaign. Develop and used to fund the implementation of CLP initiate a public awareness campaign, programs by paying costs related to bringing including—a poster for display at libraries together officials, and parties from all levels and schools; a teaching module for of Hawaii with overlapping concerns in the elementary and high school science classes; coastal zone, to reach consensus on a future seminars to legislative committees and the administrative direction within the general general legislative membership; a short framework of the CLP. Parties that video (5-15 minutes) for use by participate in this process should expect to neighborhood boards and citizens groups; assist in the creation of a legislative package media field trips. establishing an erosion management system 16. Community Input. Specifically approach as outlined in COEMAP. At a minimum, the land owner groups, community groups, CLP should be staffed with three planners coastal user groups, and the commercial with overlapping responsibility for permit development sector with education processing, but who collectively possess materials, and a request for input/assistance expertise in law, in science/engineering, and in developing solutions. in land management. Existing staffing levels in the Land Management Division of DLNR 17. Interim Coastal Lands Protection System. are overburdened and should be augmented In order to meet the needs of landowners with additional positions for CLP efforts. with legitimate fears of erosional losses, a temporary protection system must be 10. Special Fund for CLP Programs. Create a established with an assessment of the level Special Fund for revenues so that they may and immediacy of need, an evaluation of the be used to implement COEMAP costs associated with no action, an analysis recommendations and CLP plans and of the comparative benefits of preserving the objectives. public resource against the benefits of the 11. Publicize the New Policy. The policy of no landowner. These judgements should be tolerance, the policy of fines and revocable framed within the OEQC EA criteria. If it is easements, the distribution of this report, determined that erosion mitigation is the and the solicitation of federal, county and preferred alternative, then a system of community group involvement in the temporary components, accompanied by planning process and the creation of a dune and beach restoration using sand legislative package, should occur nourishment, will be developed. Sand simultaneously in the form of a press release nourishment is for the purpose of enhancing and press conference. or protecting and preserving public access, marine ecology, and view planes of the 12. Identify Federal Funding Sources. coast, as well as countering the incidence of Identify sources of Federal money that can short-term, event-related erosion. be utilized to improve beach and dune Landowners will need to design the interim conservation and restoration, and hazard protection using site-specific factors and reduction in Hawaii. Specifically, monies professional assistance, as well as submit an that can be applied to beach nourishment EA or CDUA (perhaps following emergency and/or coastal land acquisition. rules if necessary). OEQC guidelines EA 13. Review Management Plans. Review all content should be adopted. Fill for the state and county beach parks and assess system should be sand with native management plans at those sites. characteristics with a low percentage of fines. Preferably, administrative conditions for offshore, or coastal plain sand mining

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can be implemented for these purposes in response to emergency requests. 18. Implementing Beach Nourishment. Plans. Conditions, directions, and plans should be made for moving forward with a pilot beach nourishment project that has a high probability of success. Beach nourishment projects should be accompanied by planning studies that identify future alternatives for continued hazard reduction and beach and dune preservation under realistic scenarios of erosion trends, sea level rise and upland development. 19. Small-Scale Nourishment. Implement a small-scale beach and dune restoration program under CDUA authority and through the COE – SPGP. 20. Evaluate Viability of Concepts. A planning analysis should be conducted at an erosion hotspot to evaluate the viability of concepts described in this report as a means of erosion management on the Hawaiian coast. The analysis should focus on TMK- GIS applications of the Ho’opono Kahakai concept and creating community-based performance standards (Ho’olaulima). The analysis should specifically assess technical and policy applications of these concepts. 21. Plan the creation of a Technical Guidance Manual for eventual use by all coastal stakeholders including agencies and NGO’s to improve our system of erosion and coastal hazard management.

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Technical Supplement, Part A

THE HAWAII COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM BEACH MANAGEMENT EFFORT

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THE HAWAII COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT PROGRAM HAWAII CZM PROGRAM BEACH MANAGEMENT PROJECTS BEACH MANAGEMENT EFFORT Beach Changes on Oahu as Revealed By February, 1994 Aerial Photographs, prepared by Dennis Hwang for the Department of Planning and INTRODUCTION Economic Development and the Hawaii Beaches are one of Hawaii’s most important Institute of Geophysics, University of Hawaii, resources. They are precious natural features 1981. that provide recreational opportunities and This report analyzes aerial photographs of the scenic beauty. Hawaii’s beaches are critical for beaches of Oahu taken over a period of up to 50 tourism, the primary industry of the State, and years. To determine whether accretion or are culturally important to the residents of erosion had taken place, changes in the beach Hawaii. Furthermore, beaches, dunes, and vegetation line at designated transects are offshore sandbars help minimize risks from recorded. Transects are conducted at coastal hazards by dissipating wave energy approximately 1,000-foot intervals. The which may otherwise damage inland property. vegetation lines of sequential photographs are Beaches are also important as habitats for then compared to determine the net movement seabirds, turtles, seals, and other animals and of sand. plants. To characterize the sandy shore of Oahu, the One of the themes heard most often at coastal report develops 5 classifications: hazard area, zone management public meetings is a concern chronic erosion area, unstable beach area, stable about the “loss of beaches”. Clearly, “loss of beach area, and accreting beach areas. It notes beaches” means different things to different that areas classified as hazard, chronic erosion, individuals and communities. Some are talking and unstable should be areas of greatest concern about the literal loss of beaches by means of to coastal managers. Also, the report indicates erosion that in many cases has already reduced there are too many hard control structures on recreational areas and threatened property. In Oahu, and many buildings have been placed in this context, erosion, and legal and illegal areas extremely vulnerable to large wave erosion control structures, such as seawalls, are a inundation. concern. Others are referring to a continuing loss of coastal open space that they associate Recommendations with particular beaches or the construction of Hazard areas homes and hotels that block views along the shorelines. Loss of beaches also connotes 1. Establish a minimum 80-foot setback from reduced access to popular beaches because of the vegetation line for all new construction. new construction, leasehold conversion, reduced 2. Prohibit new houses within the new 80-foot parking or other impediments. It also means zone. increased competition among residents and visitors for limited beach space and competition 3. Carefully analyze reconstruction after among different types of recreational activities. destruction of previous structures and buildings. Some of these problems are addressed by the shoreline setback and special management area 4. Discourage the reduction of dunes or berms provisions of the Coastal Zone Management for vista creation because of their role in (CZM) Program. However, to increase our protecting backshore areas from large understanding of the problems and issues and to waves. develop mechanisms to improve beach Chronic erosion areas management, a number of beach management studies have been conducted. 1. To determine rate of retreat, conduct periodic field or aerial surveys.

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2. Prohibit new subdivisions in these areas. proposed structure. 3. Determine the extent of setback using local erosion rates and the life expectancy of Unstable beach areas Recommendations 1. Avoid development in accretion areas to 1. Develop a statewide approach to funding, avoid destruction during the erosional phase planning, and designing appropriate of the cycle characteristic of these areas. shoreline erosion counter-measures in Hawaii. (CZM Office - preliminary role) 2. Obtain appropriate setback for unstable beach areas by adding the historic range of the vegetation line position and a buffer of 2. Coordinate the counties in the development 40 ft. of a on-going system for beach erosion Accreting beach areas monitoring. This includes routine data collection, aerial photography, computer 1. Generally, in accreting beach areas, there are mapping, and erosion rate projections. no major problems. However, ownership of (CZM Office – lead role) accreted land may be a concern. 3. Monitor and enforce erosion management Stable beach areas regulations. (Counties lead role) 1. No major problems exist in these areas, 4. Classify littoral cells as stable or unstable except for tsunami and storm damage through a program of data collection and possibilities. analysis and then determine appropriate shoreline setbacks, considering land use and erosion rates. Hawaii Erosion Management Study, prepared by Edward K. Noda and Associates, 5. First, develop long-term erosion plans for Inc., and DHM Inc., for Hawaii Coastal Zone critical, unstable, and erosion-prone areas Management Program, 1989. involving combinations of structural and non-structural remedies. Second, develop The study provides a comprehensive overview site-specific management plans for these of erosion and erosion management in Hawaii as areas. an initial step towards the development of a uniform method or regulatory process for the 6. Littoral cell erosion management plans implementation of non-structural and structural should include policies and programs for measures. alternative management and financing of physical structures that benefit private Numerous factors affecting shoreline erosion property owners. control are discussed, including coastal processes, probable long-term erosion trends, 7. Streamline the permit process and clarify methods for estimating long-term shoreline erosion policy objectives in federal, state, change, shoreline protection/stabilization, and and local permits. erosion management and regulation. Specific 8. Develop in-house expertise and knowledge case study sites apply these factors. In addition, of coastal processes and engineering reviews of states with more advanced erosion principles in government agencies with management systems (i.e. Florida and North management and regulatory responsibilities. Carolina) are included.

Alternative shoreline stabilization mechanisms, fitting of shoreline stabilization alternatives to Oahu Shoreline Study, Part I. Data on Beach various geological, land use and development Changes (1988) prepared by Sea scenarios, and benefit/cost analyses are Engineering, Inc., for the City and County of discussed. A proposed system to improve Honolulu. erosion management in Hawaii is developed.

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The study produced two products. The first is a conducting shoreline aerial photography collection of 1988 aerial shoreline photographs every two to four years. and computer-generated images from these 7. Implement the shoreline setback provisions photographs which depict recent shoreline with close coordination between the DLU changes. The second product is an update of and the State Department of Land and Dennis Hwang's previous study, Beach Changes Natural Resource (DLNR). on Oahu as Revealed by Aerial photographs (1981). The 1988 changes are measured and Beach-specific management policies summarized in tables that include the results the 1. Set examples of shoreline preservation with of 1981 report. City and County beach parks.

2. Establish public rights-of-way to all beaches to ensure public access. 3. Update the data in this report every eight to ten years. Oahu Shoreline Study, Part 2. Management Strategies, prepared by Sea Engineering, Inc., for the City and County of Honolulu, 1989.

Shoreline setback and management recommendations are provided for each beach sector studied on Oahu. The management Erosion Management Program strategies are developed by integrating the beach Recommendations for Hawaii, prepared by change data with existing land use data, the Oceanit Laboratories, Inc., for Hawaii extent and conditions of existing shore Coastal Zone Management Program, 1990. protection, existing beach conditions, and The report proposes the development of a qualitative and quantitative knowledge of comprehensive database on erosion, based on continuing beach processes. the analysis of aerial photography using Beach-specific setback recommendations computerized methods for calculating historic rates of beach recession. Guidelines for 1. Extend shoreline setbacks to comply with evaluating and recommending solutions to recommendations of this report (primary erosion problems are also proposed. A list of recommendation). information requirements and a set of questions 2. Review zoning along Oahu's shoreline that should to be raised in dealing with site- within the context of existing and specific erosion problems is included. Other recommended setback provisions. recommendations are to develop a 3. Investigate the establishment of "beach comprehensive erosion plan and create an Office improvement districts." of Beaches. In addition, a proposed mission statement, guidelines, goals, and objectives for 4. Review the provisions of the Shoreline the erosion management program are discussed. Setback Rules. Recommendations 5. Focus shoreline setback provisions prohibiting development in the shoreline Informational Recommendations sectors on habitable, protective, and other 1. Establish a database for the coastal zone of structures that might impede natural Hawaii, including oceanographic, shoreline processes. topographic, land and water uses. 6. Monitor the shoreline more closely for 2. Use aerial surveys and a computer-aided illegal shoreline construction. Amend the digitizing method for monitoring the total Shoreline Setback Rules to establish fines coastline of Hawaii, supplemented with for setback violations. Institute a program shoreline surveys at selected high-risk for monitoring setback violations by locations.

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3. Coordinate federal, state, and county erosion Tam & Yuen for Hawaii Coastal Zone management funding to develop a Management Program, 1990. comprehensive database for coastal areas. The study develops appropriate management Planning Recommendations recommendations for Kauai shoreline areas, analyzes the impacts of these recommendations, 1. Define the certified shoreline and tie it into and develops specific shoreline erosion survey monuments. Revise the line management plans for selected areas of Kauai. continuously to account for erosion. Aerial photographs were used to evaluate 2. Simplify the permit process and inform historic shoreline movements. Beach vegetation coastal land users of permit requirements in lines, waterlines, and selected features in their areas. Hanalei Bay and the Haena-Wainiha area were digitized into a computer- aided drafting (CAD) 3. Create a master plan for state erosion system. The long-term shoreline change data management addressing the nature and cause are used to develop shoreline management of erosion problems, problem assessment, recommendations. and immediate, medium, and long-term mitigative activities. Legal, social, and economic impacts of both the recommended regulatory changes to shoreline 4. Develop a comprehensive State coastal setbacks and the adoption of Shore Districts as erosion plan as part of a shoreline plan. an erosion management tool are discussed. 5. Consolidate jurisdiction and regulatory Shore Districts allow the Kauai County Planning powers of the shoreline area into one Department discretion in establishing shoreline agency. Establish a separate division within setbacks in these areas. Possible implementation an existing agency responsible for handling mechanisms for the recommendations are these matters. The division would be included. responsible for: Recommendations a) periodic updates of coastal database; 1. Give non-structural remedies preference b) regulating shoreline uses in accordance over structural remedies for shoreline with the coastal erosion plan; management on Kauai. c) conducting enforcement matters relative 2. Remove illegal shoreline structures. to illegal uses or structures; and 3. Enforce more strictly all regulations d) implementing beach renourishment or affecting coastal development and beach shore protection measures when preservation. necessary. 4. Establish setbacks of no less than 60 feet for Resource Management Recommendations Haena area and 75 feet for Hanalei Bay. 1. Clarify and strengthen enforcement power 5. Develop and update a shoreline structure over the actions and results of coastal area inventory. construction. 6. Create overlay Shoreline Special Districts as 2. Delineate areas susceptible to erosion specified in the Kauai Comprehensive damage from storm waves, surge and' Zoning Ordinance for the Hanalei, Haena- inundation. Wainiha, and Poipu areas. 3. Create maps of the hazard areas and inform 7. Develop a Shoreline Special Treatment public of restrictions on protecting Zone Plan for adoption by the properties in these areas. 8. Establish a 80-foot shoreline setback for the Poipu Beach Park area. Kauai Shoreline Erosion Management Study, prepared by DHM Inc., Edward K. Noda & Associates, Inc., and Moon, O 'Connor,

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Aerial Photograph Analysis of Coastal Honolulu Department of Land Utilization, Erosion on the Islands of Kauai, Molokai, 1991. Lanai, Maui and Hawaii, prepared by Makai The report focuses on 31 miles of sandy beaches Ocean Engineering, Inc., and Sea on Oahu that 1) are being developed primarily Engineering, Inc., for the State of Hawaii for residential use, 2) are high-quality Office of State Planning Coastal Zone recreational beaches that should be preserved for Management Program, 1991. public use, and 3) were recommended in Part 2 Approximately 66.2 miles of sandy shoreline are of the Oahu Shoreline Study for increased included in the study. Aerial photographs from shoreline setbacks. The study different years are analyzed for each area 1) identifies natural beach sectors that are selected to determine historical changes in high-quality public recreational resources; shoreline positioning. To determine erosion and accretion rates, photographs were digitized, 2) develops alternative strategies to preserve corrected, and compared. This report is in atlas beaches; form with a description of the coastal 3) examines potential impacts of alternative characteristics, beach history, backshore strategies on existing residences and other development, shoreline processes, and beach private land abutting the shoreline; and usage; graphs depicting erosion and accretion rates between photographic dates; and a diagram 4) recommends government regulations and of each shoreline area. The diagram of each other actions to implement a plan encompassing shoreline area includes shoreline protection the most promising strategies. structures, 1988 water and vegetation lines, Digitized maps showing all major features were roads and buildings, and the transect lines used created for the 13 miles of residential shoreline for the analysis. properties were created. This study predicts Recommendations future shoreline positions and provides information on the statistical variability of the 1. For future monitoring efforts, focus on areas prediction. that are not already committed to shoreline protection structures. 2. Develop and implement a program to select beaches needing more frequent and/or detailed monitoring.

3. For the monitoring program, select beaches that are eroding, slated for future Recommendations development, or already have shoreline Short-term, cost-effective, low impact protection that might affect the beach. strategies 4. For every monitored beach, take a complete 1. Eliminate the 20-foot shoreline setback set of overlapping vertical and low-level permitted under certain conditions. oblique color aerial photographs every five years. The low-level oblique photographs 2. Require a minimum area of 3,000 square will help interpret the vertical photographs feet buildable lot area for residential and document further beach dynamics. beachfront properties. 5. Add new data on shoreline change to the 3. Prohibit shoreline setback credit for property existing digital database. owners who acquire, through land court and/or consolidation and resubdivision, accreted shorefront land. 1991 Oahu Shoreline Management Plan, 4. Require a minimum setback of 60 feet for prepared by Sea Engineering, Inc., and new developments on vacant land, or Barbara Moon for The City and County of redevelopments resulting in a higher unit count.

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5. Create a mechanism to grandfather illegal preservation of sandy beaches and public access shoreline protection structures that meet to and along the shoreline; and 2) the protection criteria established by technical engineering of private and public property from flood and design standards. hazards and wave damage. Policies and implementing actions are also included. The 6. Prohibit the use of vertical seawall structures policies are listed below: in areas where this form of protection is not wide-spread and where future seawall 1. Establish and maintain a comprehensive requests are likely. Require buried coastal shoreline survey, database, and other revetments or similar form of private research. property protection, if necessary, without 2. Coordinate County, State and Federal complex permitting requirements. erosion and beach-management efforts. 7. Strengthen criteria for granting shoreline 3. Exercise greater enforcement of laws and setback variances by stricter standards for regulations, proving "hardship" 4. Ensure the continued natural production of 8. Apply established administrative sand and assess the potential for using beach enforcement procedures to violations within replenishment. the shoreline setback area. 5. Promote an erosion-control structure Long Term Strategies limitation strategy. 1. Amend the City and County of Honolulu 6. Develop an active public participation and Land Use Ordinance (Article7) or the education program to preserve and protect Special Management Ordinance to create a beaches. Beach Preservation District to manage beach sectors subject to chronic long- term erosion 7. Maintain and develop access to beaches and or episodic and severe erosion. along the shoreline. 2. Establish objectives for each District sector 8. Assure adequate funding resources and and develop specific regulatory personnel. requirements for problems specific to the 9. Plan for climate change, sea-level rise, and sector. emerging issues. 3. Adapt the existing Improvement District

approach to vulnerable beach sectors necessitating public/private cost-sharing. Beach Management Plan with Beach Management Districts, prepared by Dennis 4. Establish and fund a recruitment and Hwang and Charles Fletcher for Hawaii’s training program for professional monitoring Coastal Zone Management Program, 1992. and enforcement staff. The purposes of the study were to develop a The Hawaii Ocean Resources Management comprehensive and coordinated management Plan, Hawaii Ocean and Marine Resources plan to preserve pristine beaches while allowing Council, January 1991. for "intelligent and safe" development along the The Office of State Planning, as a member of the shore and to address the erosion problems of Hawaii Ocean and Marine Resources Council, currently-developed sections of the coast. The was involved in the development of the Hawaii report found that, since 1928, approximately 8 to Ocean Resources Management Plan. This Plan 9 miles (or close to 15%) of the sandy shorelines addresses broad ocean management issues as studied on Oahu have disappeared or been well as specific ocean management sectors, negatively impacted by shoreline stabilization including beaches and coastal erosion. The structures. The loss of beaches is also occurring stated objective for beaches and coastal erosion on Hawaii's other islands. Beach loss has is to develop an integrated State erosion accelerated due to a combination of factors such management system that ensures: 1) the as sea-level rise and hardening of the shoreline. The report notes that beach loss is likely to

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accelerate unless there is a fundamental change associated with offshore sand mining and beach in beach resource management. nourishment are reviewed. Options are presented to adjust Hawaii's management Beach Management Districts (BMDs) are framework to facilitate rather than discourage recommended as an alternative to hard control beach nourishment by casting regulatory structures. The three general forms of BMDs requirements in a more supporting role. In finance the study and implementation of addition, the report reviews previous possible erosion control alternatives. Other investigations of Oahu's offshore sand resources, states, such as Florida and Maryland, have synthesizes and presents the useful data, successfully implemented BMDs. describes an unsuccessful effort to profile an Recommendations: offshore sand deposit, and outlines a future work plan for sub-bottom profiling 1. Establish an agency responsible for the administration and management of beaches. Recommendations: 2. Establish improvement and overlay districts 1. Establish an office of beaches within the to help in the management of Hawaii's Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation, beaches. DLNR. 3. Promote erosion control devices other than 2. Establish a Department of Environmental traditional hard control structures through Protection to facilitate more effective Beach Management Districts. administration of water quality regulations relative to beach nourishment projects. 4. Distribute the cost of preventive erosion measures between the State, counties, and 3. Repeal the section of Chapter 205A, HRS, coastal landowners. that enables the counties to prepare beach management plans and extend their 5. Develop an education program to convey jurisdiction makai to the high water line, the problems of beach loss, erosion, and sea- providing instead that the new state office of level rise to the public. beaches be the lead agency for beach 6. Enable the modification of shoreline setback management. regulations through new legislation. 4. Amend Chapter 183, HRS, and Title 13, 7. Concentrate further research on the Chapter 2, HAR, to create a new subzone in monitorisng of beaches with aerial the Conservation District for all submerged photographs and beach profile surveys to lands and beaches. Include a distinct set of facilitate proper beach management objectives for the conservation of ocean and decisions. beach resources, and regulations to facilitate non-structural approaches to shoreline 8. Investigate the prospect of using offshore protection. sand deposits as a cheap source for renourishment projects. 5. Implement the "master CDUA" concept for beach nourishment activities. Also,

delegate the BLNR's decision-making authority to DLNR's Office of Conservation and Environmental Affairs. 6. Continue the research in shoreline erosion Beach Nourishment Viability Study, and beach management issues through the conducted by Sea Engineering, Inc. and CZM Program, but transfer the lead role for Lacayo Planning for the Hawaii Coastal Zone research to the proposed office of beaches. Management Program, 1993. 7. Request the State Legislature to establish a This study explores the viability of beach dedicated fund for shoreline research and nourishment from offshore sand sources. beach management activities, into which Hawaii’s, and other states’, procedures, permits, revenues from fines, licenses, damage and environmental assessment requirements awards, and permit application fees for

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shoreline-related activities shall be Hawaii. Bills being considered in 1994 may deposited. make revisions persuant to recommendations in a number of the consultant reports. The fate of 8. Charge the proposed office on beaches with the proposed legislation will not be known until responsibility for preparing beach June 1994. management plans.

9. Charge counties with responsibility for establishing and administering assessment Section 309 Strategy districts for private shoreline properties that The Hawaii CZM Program's Strategy for the benefit from shore protection projects. Section 309 Enhancement Grants Program includes a multi-year effort specific to coastal hazards, including erosion. The proposed RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND PLANNED program change is the amendment of Chapter PROJECTS 205A, Hawaii revised Statutes, to incorporate Legislative Proposals changes to the objectives and policies related to beach management, and shoreline setback In 1990, a review and assessment of the CZM provisions that were proposed in the Program was conducted. Through extensive Recommendations for Improving the Hawaii public and agency participation, the CZM Coastal Zone Management Program. Work on Program developed the Recommendations for this multi-year effort was initiated in FY '92. Improving the Hawaii Coastal Zone The program change is scheduled for completion Management Program (1991). This report was in FY '94. sent to the Governor and the Legislature. Although an administrative bill was introduced Another proposed program change focused on to the Legislature in 1991, no action was taken. public access will also benefit beach A revised version of this earlier bill was management efforts. The program change will considered by the 1993 Legislature. The be a new acquisition program that will improve resulting legislation amended the enforceable Hawaii's ability to acquire coastal lands, CZM objectives and policies to include the including those areas which should not be following objective and policies for beach developed due to risks from coastal hazards, protection. including erosion. This project will be initiated in FY '93 and will be completed in FY '95. Objective:Protect public beaches for public use and recreation. Policies Shoreline Certification Issues (A) Locate new structures inland from the Legal research on the requirements for shoreline shoreline setback to conserve open space and to delineation in Hawaii for construction setback minimize loss of improvements due to erosion; purposes and to demarcate the boundaries (B) Prohibit construction of private erosion- between private and public property is currently protection structures seaward of the shoreline, underway. The effects of natural erosion and except when they result in improved aesthetic accretion, natural and human-induced vegetative and engineering solutions to erosion at the sites growth, and other human-induced changes on and do not interfere with existing recreation and the legal shoreline is also being studied. The waterline activities; and study will conclude with recommendations for amending existing State statutes, and county (C) Minimize the construction of public erosion- regulations if necessary, to alleviate the existing protection structures seaward of the shoreline. confusion and frustration that occurs during the shoreline certification process. The legislation also made other revisions to Chapter 205A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, that will help resolve beach management issues in

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FUTURE DIRECTIONS The CZM Program studies have investigated erosion trends, coastal processes, regulatory options and jurisdictional improvements. A number of recommendations have been developed to improve the management of Hawaii's beaches. Further, the Hawaii Ocean Resources Management Plan objective, policies and implementing actions for beaches and coastal erosion provide a structure for future beach management efforts. Hawaii's agencies involved in beach management need to review and digest the results and recommendations of the previous beach responsibilities. Such work has already been initiated. Through the Coastal and Ocean Management Policy Advisory Group (COMPAG), the CZM Program is leading an effort to coordinate and prioritize the State's beach management efforts. Both State and County agencies are involved in this effort. For effective beach management, a single agency should be assigned as lead with statutory responsibility. This will prevent erosion management from stalling at the policy level with no implementation. Also, a strategy for management needs to be worked out with goals, approaches, and time frames. Until this coordination, prioritization, responsibility assignment, and strategy formulation effort is complete, we do not anticipate further beach management projects. However, in the interim, the CZM Program expects to continue monitoring beach changes on a periodic basis through aerial photography and perhaps beach profiling. In addition, the CZM program will continue to monitor and push for enforcement of and compliance with existing laws and rules relating to beach management.

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Technical Supplement, Part B

Coastal Erosion and Beach Loss in Hawaii: Facts about beach erosion and the new Coastal Lands Program at DLNR

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Technical Supplement, Part C

Causes of Coastal Erosion and Beach Loss in Hawaii

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INTRODUCTION The Big Island, because it is young and still growing, has not achieved an equilibrium In broad terms, it is thought that the erosion of balance with the underlying layers of Earth that coastal lands is caused either singly or in support it. Hence, it is slowly sinking in a combination by sea-level rise, wave and current process known as lithospheric flexure. The action, or sediment deficiencies. These each are resulting relative sea-level rise there is quite discussed below with regard to Hawaii. rapid, ~1.5 in/decade (3.8 - 4.0 mm/yr on the Hilo Harbor tide gauge). A. SEA-LEVEL RISE Maui, because it lies near the Big Island, and due also to the youthful age of Haleakala, is 1. Global Sea-Level Rise In recent years many probably also experiencing flexure. Relative sea studies using data from satellites and tide gauges level there is rising ~1.2 in/decade (~2.4 mm/yr around the world have examined the questions at Kahului Harbor). “Is global sea level changing and why? At what rate is it changing?“ The answer to these Oahu and Kauai lie outside the area of questions is of significant interest to all coastal subsidence and have lesser rates of rise, ~0.6 communities. In the ensuing scientific in/decade (1.5 - 1.8 mm/yr at Honolulu Harbor, discussion over this issue a few widely accepted Kaneohe Bay, and Nawiliwili Harbor). Of opinions are emerging: interest, Oahu is actually slightly rising, although not fast enough to outpace global sea- 77 a. Global sea level is rising . This trend may level rise. Oahu is rising because it is passing or may not be seen at a particular coast over a flexural bulge in the crust that surrounds because the land on most shorelines is itself the subsiding area around Maui and the Big either rising or sinking due to geophysical Island79. and tectonic processes. This has the effect of increasing or reducing the sea-level trend on 3. Global Warming & Future Sea Level Sea- specific shorelines, a process known as level rise, considered alone, is not presently a “relative” sea-level change. cause for concern in Hawaii. Worries regarding accelerations in the future rate of rise resulting b. Global sea level is rising in the range 1.8 to from an enhanced global greenhouse effect (that 78 2.4 mm/yr (nearly 1 inch per decade) . This is, global warming) have been expressed by global trend is influenced by many factors, scientists, planners, and policymakers including the El Nino phenomenon, human throughout the decades of the 1980's and 1990's. water-use patterns on a global scale, global Scientific consensus has been revised several climate change, thermal expansion due to times over this period regarding how high sea- warming of the upper ocean, and the growth level may rise during the next century. The most or decay of glaciers around the world. up-to-date projection80 of future sea level 2. Sea-Level in Hawaii Hawaii has a system of indicates a 50 cm (20 in) rise higher than today tide gauges located on the islands of Kauai, by the year 2100, with a range of uncertainty of Oahu, Maui, and Hawaii that record fluctuations 20-86 cm. This estimate assumes that most of in sea-level. The tide gauge system is the rise will be due to the thermal expansion of maintained and operated by the UH Sea Level sea water resulting from radiative forcing Center. Analysis of these records, provide rates of sea-level rise around the state over the last 79 Muhs, D.R. and Szabo, B.J. (1994) New uranium- several decades. A fascinating result is that each series ages of the Waimanalo Limestone, Oahu, island has its own rate of rising sea level. Hawaii: Implications for sea level during the last interglacial period. Marine Geology, v. 118, p. 315- 326. 77 Nerem, R.S., Haines, B.J., Hendricks, J., Minister, 80 Warrick, R.A., Provost, C. Le, Meier, M.F., J.F., Mitchum, G.T., and White, W.B. (1997) Oerlemans, J., and Woodworth, P.L. (1996) Changes Improved determination of global mean sea level in Sea Level. Chapter 7, in Climate Change 1995, variations using TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data: The Science of Climate Change: Published for the Geophysical Research Letters, v. 24, p. 1331-1334. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 78 Id. Cambridge University Press, p. 359 - 405.

80 Department of Land and Natural Resources, Coastal Erosion Management Plan - COEMAP

(atmospheric warming), followed by increased the background erosion rate due to sea-level rise melting of glaciers and ice caps. The authors of when additional processes of coastal sediment the same study go on to suggest that much of the transport are not influencing shoreline rise in sea level over the next century, especially fluctuations. This general rate of retreat is found the first half of next century, has been set in along many coasts of Oahu86 using aerial motion by the dumping of pollutants in our photographic measurements that show coastal atmosphere by industrial activities that have erosion occurring in the range of ~0.1 to 0.2 already occurred. m/yr along much of the shoreline. Examples include Sunset Beach (mean erosion rate = 0.22 4. Impact on Beaches Despite the uncertainties m/yr), central Ewa Beach (mean erosion rate = of predicting future sea levels, it is felt by some 0.11 m/yr) and the Oneula shoreline (mean researchers that the present rate of rise is erosion rate = 0.12 m/yr). However, a nearly sufficiently rapid to cause coastal retreat at equal length of shoreline on Oahu shows significant rates81. One engineering study82 accretion. Indeed the entire coastline of Kailua suggests from 53% to 88% of the total erosion Beach has a history of long-term accretion (1.7 to 5.5 m/yr) experienced on some interrupted only by erosion events of limited continental shores can be attributed to sea-level duration. rise, and the remainder to net sand losses from the site. At present, coastal researchers are not able to isolate the effects of long-term sea-level rise on However, along many coastlines other factors the stability and dynamics of the Hawaiian exert more of a control on erosion and accretion shoreline. It does appear that the rather moderate patterns than sea level alone. Beaches are rates of coastal erosion observed on large subject to continuing processes that tend to portions of the Oahu shoreline are consistent remove material, if these processes are not with the influence of recorded sea level as matched or exceeded by supply processes, predicted by the Bruun Rule. erosion is inevitable regardless of sea-level change. Hence, sea-level rise is just one of many In their historical shoreline analysis of long-term factors impacting beach behavior and, as an trends on Oahu, Coyne et al.87 compiled isolated process, its relative importance on statistics for 20 km (13 miles) of beach length beaches can be difficult to ascertain because of showing net erosion or accretion over ~45 yr dramatic near-term fluctuations caused by other period ending in 1996. Measurements at 873 physical forces83. sites, spaced 20 m apart along beaches on all shores of Oahu, reveal a mean rate of change of Using the local tide gauge trends, the commonly 0 m/yr, a mode (most frequent rate) of -0.1 m/yr used "Bruun Rule84" (relating beach retreat to (erosion), and a standard deviation of 0.4 m/yr. sea-level rise) predicts a retreat of ~0.12 to 0.15 Approximately 47.5 percent of the shoreline is m/yr (~0.4 to 0.5 ft/yr) on Oahu and Kauai85. eroding at a mean rate of 0.27 m/yr and 52.4 This perhaps, may be taken as one estimate of percent is accreting at a mean rate of 0.23 m/yr. Although the study only examined the beaches 81 National Research Council (1995) Beach at Lanikai, Kailua, Sunset, Oneula, Ewa, and Nourishment and Protection. National Academy Iroquois Point, the number of eroding and Press, Washington, D.C., 334p. accreting sites was nearly normally distributed. 82 Everts, C.H. (1985) Sea level rise effects on Hence, these data indicate that although sea shoreline position. Journal of Waterway, Port, level is rising around Oahu, either it is not Coastal and Ocean Engineering, v. 111.6, p. 985-999. 83 eliciting a uniform response in the sandy Id. beaches, and/or there are other processes that are 84 Bruun, P. (1962) Sea-level rise as a cause of shore dominant in determining the spatial distribution erosion. Journal of Waterays and Harbors division, American Society of Civil Engineers, v. 88, p. 117- 130. 86 Coyne, M.A., Fletcher, C.H., and Richmond, B.M. 85 Hwang, D.J., and Fletcher, C.H. (1992) Beach (in press) Mapping coastal erosion hazard areas in management plan with beach management districts. Hawaii: Observations and errors. Journal of Coastal Report for the Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Research. Program, Honolulu, 192p. 87 Id.

81 Department of Land and Natural Resources, Coastal Erosion Management Plan - COEMAP

of eroding and accreting sites. These other this process. Beaches benefit from this source of process most likely include, wave and current sand so that they remain wide and healthy even action and/or sediment deficiencies. as the land behind them erodes. Chronic erosion, then, causes land loss but not beach loss. Studies

are underway at the University of Hawaii to more exactly quantify the source and variation of beach sands90. Nonetheless, it is apparent that

the process of land loss by erosion can be an B. WAVE AND CURRENT ACTION important source of sand to many beaches. Beaches change their shape in response to wave Armoring, to stop chronic coastal land loss, and current forces, and to sand availability. To refocuses wave forces onto the beach in front of improve understanding of beach dynamics, a wall or revetment. Beach erosion ensues, scientists and engineers track these changes by leading to a volumetric loss of sand that measuring the profile, or cross-section, of the produces beach narrowing, and eventually beach beach88. loss. 1. Seasonal Profile Changes Beaches get sand 3. Local Variability Waves are the key players from both the ocean and the land. Ocean in the process of coastal retreat currents can move sand along the coast to build beaches. Dunes and other landward sand deposits give sand to a beach in response to the forces of wind and waves. High waves will cause a beach to change its shape, or profile, by redistributing sands across the shoreline (see diagram). To absorb high wave energy, beaches and dunes give up sand to the waves which carry it seaward and drop it on the bottom. This raises the seafloor and flattens the overall profile of the beach. Waves then shoal and break further offshore, minimizing their erosive impact. This typically happens in response to seasonal shifts in wave energy. Beaches recover from these natural changes when smaller waves move the sand back onto the beach89 and winds blow it into the dunes to be captured by coastal vegetation. 2. Chronic Erosion Erosion caused by repeated episodes of high wave attack is typically focused on the upland immediately behind the beach, constantly drawing upon sand stores there to feed the profile changes occurring. Along most Hawaiian shores, sands stored in dunes and fossil shorelines are moved onto the beach by

88 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Coastal Engineering Technical Notes II-2, II-8, II-13, II-16, II-20, II-26, II-30, II-31, II-38, II-39, II-40. Coastal 90 Harney, J.N., and Fletcher, C.H. (1998) and Hydraulics Laboratory, Vicksburg. Composition, and distribution of sediments in Kailua 89 Dail, H.J., Merrifield, M.A., and Bevis, M. Bay, Oahu, Hawaii. First Regional Conference on (manuscript) Steep beach morphology changes due to Coastal Erosion Management in Hawaii and other energetic wave forcing: Waimea Bay, Oahu, UH Pacific Islands. Abstracts with Programs, University Department of Oceanography, 31p. of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program.

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Seasonal beach profile channels, the orientation of the coast to the prevailing winds and the approach of distant adjustments waves, the offshore depth variability, and short- term weather systems that drive wave-generating Dunes Normal beach profile winds in unusual ways. Waves that approach our shores from an angle are capable of causing Beach currents that flow along the coast, known as Coastal dunes and beach “longshore currents.” These can move sand from store sand one end of a beach to another.







Sometimes it is local winds that generate waves which in turn drive longshore currents. For Adjustment for large waves instance, in Kailua Bay, the passage of cold fronts in the winter can drive strong winds from

Dunes

the north that cause sand accretion along the



and beach release sand southern end of Kailua Beach. The beaches of south Maui are influenced by tradewind-driven Sand moves flow so that sand typically moves to the south. offshore But when intense “Kona storms” from the south and west occur there, sands are driven to the



New dunes Recovery north in large quantities. Alternatively, the beaches of the Waianae coast on Oahu experience longshore currents to the southeast driven by waves, not winds, approaching from Sand returns to beach the north in the winter, and reversing currents to

the north, driven by southerly waves in the summer.

Large waves, which tend to occur seasonally 4. Improved Understanding Studies of these in Hawaii, cause a beach to temporarily highly variable local patterns of wind and wave 91 change its profile. dynamics can be important keys to dispelling



misunderstandings of beach processes, and unlocking effective management tools for because they are able to reach high onto the coastal land conservation and beach beach and into the dunes during certain seasons preservation. In the myriad coastal settings of of the year when they are at their maximum Hawaii, any knowledge that increases our height. insight to sand movement caused by wave and On the north shores of the islands, waves are current action along the shoreline can also play a highest in the winter because they are generated significant role in consensus building for by distant storms in the Northern Pacific. On the community decision-making. Analysis of littoral south shores they are highest in the summer cell sediment processes and budgets is also because they are generated by storms in the critical to implementing a sustainable program Southern Hemisphere. On the windward shores, of dune and beach restoration and high waves are generated by strong tradewinds nourishment92. and by a mix of tradewinds and large north or

south waves that wrap around the coastline. The 91 leeward shores are typically hidden from for example, Noda, E.K. (1989) Hawaii Erosion Management Study, for Coastal Zone Management tradewinds, but can experience the wrap around Program, 1989; Noda, E.K., Moon, O 'Connor, Tam of both south and north waves in their respective & Yuen (1990) Kauai Shoreline Erosion seasons. Management Study, for Coastal Zone Management Program. Many local features combine to determine the 92 pattern and process of wave action on our National Research Council (1995) Beach Nourishment and Protection. National Academy shores: the presence of reefs and offshore Press, Washington, D.C., 334p.

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perceived as being of low socioeconomic value and high sand volume. C. SEDIMENT DEFICIENCIES 2. Sand Behind Walls Sediment impoundment There are situations that call for human accompanies coastal armoring94. Sands that interference with patterns of sand flow and would normally be released into coastal waters accumulation. These include clearing storm during high wave events and with seasonal drainage channel mouths, dredging harbors and profile fluctuations are trapped behind walls and boat basins, widening harbors or extending revetments and prevented from adding to the breakwaters, crossing the shoreline with outfall beach sediment budget. One wall may have pipes, or cutting new channels. These and other minimal impact, but along many Hawaiian activities that are common on the Hawaiian coastlines a myriad of armoring types combine shoreline have the potential to cause sediment to reduce sand availability to nearly zero. deficiencies along adjacent beaches. It is Natural coastal erosion does not damage beaches important to conduct a careful assessment of that have access to a robust sediment budget. dynamics and patterns on the shoreline in Beaches on chronically eroding coasts that are question in order to minimize impacts to coastal not armored remain healthy even during resources. Moderate erosion trends can be shoreline retreat because sands are released from exacerbated, and accreting coastlines caused to eroding coastal lands that nourish the adjoining erode, by poorly conceived civil works projects beach. Armoring traps those sands and a on the coast that trap sand or alter it’s sediment deficiency develops such that the movement. beach does not withstand seasonal wave stresses 1. Past Sand Mining In the past, Hawaii’s and begins to narrow with time. Chronic beach beaches have been subjected to sand mining for erosion and beach loss eventually results. Many lime processing. The calcareous sand (CaCO3) is beaches disappear simply because they are baked to release carbon dioxide and produce starved of sand. simple lime (CaO) for use as a building material. 3. Dune Grading Studies show Hawaiian beach Past mining sites include Baldwin Beach Park sands are composed of fossil material95, and and Sugar Cove on Maui, and Kahuku beach have been stored in coastal sediment reservoirs and Waimea Bay on Oahu. Old photographs of for a period of time prior to moving onto the the beach at Waimea Bay show the popular active beachface. “jump rock” completely surrounded by sand where today it is offshore of the beach in One of the most important storage sites for sand moderately shallow water. Sand mining that is the frontal dune system that lines many ended there in 1965 is in large part responsible shores. As already mentioned, armoring traps for the retreat of both the vegetation line and the these sands. Additionally, the leveling and beach foreshore over recent decades. With the grading with topsoil that accompanies housing end of sand mining, the beach is now stable, construction on beachfront lots is one of the although it does experience dramatic seasonal most destructive practices taking place along the and shorter term profile fluctuations in response Hawaiian coast. Our dune ecologies have been to large winter waves93. Sand mining will result in obvious negative 94 impacts to beaches by decreasing sand volumes, Pope, J. (1997) Responding to coastal erosion and steepening the morphology of the shoreline, and flooding damages. Journal of Coastal Research, v. reducing the ability of profiles to respond to 13, p. 704-710. 95 Grossman, E.E., and Fletcher, C.H. (1998) Sea seasonal wave stresses. Although presently level 3500 years ago on the Northern Main Hawaiian outlawed in Hawaii, there are occasional Islands. Geology, April, v. 26, no. 4, p. 363-366; and requests to mine remote beaches that are Harney, J.N., and Fletcher, C.H. (1998) Composition, and distribution of sediments in Kailua Bay, Oahu, 93 Dail, H.J., Merrifield, M.A., and Bevis, M. Hawaii. First Regional Conference on Coastal (manuscript) Steep beach morphology changes due to Erosion Management in Hawaii and other Pacific energetic wave forcing: Waimea Bay, Oahu, UH Islands. Abstracts with Programs, University of Department of Oceanography, 31p. Hawaii Sea Grant College Program.

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decimated by common landscaping practices96 In placing cleared sands onto adjacent beaches it that do not seek enhancement of the endemic is important to be aware of prevailing sediment environment, do not recognize the value of salt transport patterns so that returned sand can tolerant vegetation as a tool for beach and dune function in a manner that will provide preservation, and do not establish dune nourishment. To ensure this, it will be necessary conservation as a goal of the landscaping effort. to conduct a review of the ambient littoral processes and develop schedules of transport Soil filling to support short-grass lawns is a direction around each channel mouth, with source of siltation to coastal waters during guidelines on the placement of returned sand. erosion events, and acts to compact and trap dune sands such that the adjacent beach experiences “deflation,” or a lowering of elevation due to sand removal by waves without D. HUMAN INFLUENCE replacement by dune sand. Deflated beaches Perhaps more than any other cause, it is human fronting filled dunes provide poor erosion interference with natural sand transport buffering capabilities and are themselves a processes that underlies much of the chronic degraded environment with little to offer the erosion plaguing portions of the Hawaiian normal coastal ecosystem and its host of shoreline. organisms with beach-dependent lifestages (turtles, various marine larvae, certain reef Localized reef degradation, water quality fishes). deterioration that impacts sand generating ecosystems, sand impoundment, mining, and 4. Channelization Many streams that flow dune grading are all activities that are still intermittently from our mountains to the coast prevalent in our coastal zone although their true are subject to flash-flooding during heavy impacts are often not recognized. rainfall events. To prevent coastal zone flooding, the most hazardous of these streams have been It is critically important that all individuals and channelized into concrete canals or gutters so agencies that use or manage the coast conduct an that flooding is contained. audit and assessment of their assumptions, rules, and protocols so that potential impacts of which Where these open onto the coastal zone, the they are not aware can be brought to light, and channel mouths tend to trap sand that is moving better management practices defined and along the shoreline. The buildup of sand within brought on line. the channel mouths increases the upstream flood hazard and creates a sand deficiency on the The beaches of Hawaii are vital economic, adjacent beach. environmental, and cultural resources. The beach environment provides habitat for marine Public works departments often clear these and terrestrial organisms with beach-dependent accumulations and dispose of the sand in various life-stages and is home to species of indigenous, ways, including trucking it off-site to be used endemic Hawaiian plants. A sandy beach elsewhere (i.e., golf courses). Unless these sands provides protection from the effects of storm are returned to the immediate beach area, the surge, tsunami flooding, and large wave impacts. long-term dredging and clearing is nothing less Beaches are the focus of traditional and modern than a sand-mining effort, and it will have a religious, cultural, and recreational activities. similar impact on the adjacent beach. This has Beaches also are the basis for an essential visitor the potential to reduce available sand volumes industry that exceeds, by a factor of three, all and create chronic erosion where none other industries combined when providing direct previously existed. income to the State. Tourism supports over one third of all jobs in the state. In Hawaii, the environment is the basis for a healthy economy. 96 Fletcher, C.H. (1997) The Science and As characterized in one national media report, Management of Coastal Erosion. Hawaii Planning, v. “...beaches are Hawaii’s bread and butter...” 18, no. 6, June, 1997, p. 3-10; Fletcher, C.H. (1997) (CNN, June 21, 1996). Landscaping to Preserve Beaches. Hawaii Landscaping, v. 1, no. 4.

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Where there is coastal armoring causing beach loss, there is also reduced public access to the ocean. Walls on narrowed beaches have the effect of privatizing the otherwise publicly accessible shoreline. Under the public trust doctrine the state holds beach resources and access in trust for the public and is constitutionally bound to defend, preserve, protect, maintain, and perpetuate that resource. Because the state owns the beaches, and is the trustee of that resource, it is the state that has the fiducial responsibility to take the lead in beach management. Hence, it is critical to outline the available options to be used as tools in managing coastal erosion.

Waimanalo, Oahu. Sand impoundment behind this revetment at Bellows Airfield creates a local sand deficiency. As a result, it is responsible for ~1000 ft of beach loss and dune destruction, and chronic erosion characterizes the coast to either side of this structure.

86 Department of Land and Natural Resources, Coastal Erosion Management Plan - COEMAP

Technical Supplement, Part D

Office of Environmental Quality Control (OEQC), Department of Health –

Guidelines for Environmental Assessment prepared in conjunction with an application for shoreline alteration and hardening

87 Department of Land and Natural Resources, Coastal Erosion Management Plan - COEMAP

COEMAP makes the following recommendation - It is appropriate for state agencies, specifically the DLNR and the DBEDT to adopt the following guidelines in their application review process so that there become established, clear and consistent standards for decision- making along the shoreline. County authorities should also evaluate these guidelines and consider their adoption so that there is consistency between state and local agencies in the evaluation criteria for shoreline projects.

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT GUIDELINES. Following are amended (Fall, 1998) EA evaluation guidelines. Guidelines for Environmental Assessment prepared in conjunction with an application for shoreline alteration and hardening. It is the policy of the State of Hawaii under HRS Chapter 205A to discourage all shoreline hardening that may affect access to, or the configuration of, our island beaches. Any Environmental Assessment prepared in conjunction with an application to construct a seawall, revetment or similar structure, or an activity that will alter in any way littoral processes affecting the shoreline, should be accompanied by appropriate justification and detailed studies including, but not limited to, the following: 1. Historical shoreline analysis of coastal erosion and accretion rates This should include a description of all movements of the neighboring shoreline over at least the past 30 years. This analysis should be based, at least in part, on aerial photographs available through government agencies and private vendors (Air Surveys Hawaii, Inc.; Towill, R.M., Corp.; City and County of Honolulu, Coastal Lands Program, Department of Planning and Permitting; DBEDT, Office of Planning; and the various planning and permitting departments in each county). The analysis should provide a detailed history of erosion and accretion patterns using all available evidence. This analysis should include descriptions of shoreline erosion rates, a map (with scale, north arrow, and title) showing past positions of the shoreline in the project area, and an analysis of the causes of erosion. It is especially important to describe how the project will mitigate the cause(s) of erosion, and avoid exacerbating erosion on the adjacent shoreline. 2. Shoreline type A description of the nature of the affected shoreline, whether sandy, rocky, mud flats or any other configuration. The history and characteristics of adjoining sand dunes, streams and channels, and reefs should be included. 3. Site maps Submit maps with title, north arrow and scale, and photographs that clearly show the current certified shoreline, previous certified shorelines, the private property line and the location of the proposed structure. Any nearby public access right-of-way should also be depicted. Applicants should also include a color copy of a color vertical aerial photograph (usually can be purchased at reasonable price from Air Surveys Hawaii, Inc.) that shows the project area and the adjacent offshore region. The applicant may wish to identify important components of the project on the color photo. Color aerial photos exist for most of the shoreline area of Hawaii and often clearly show important geologic and geographic features that are critical to fully evaluating the environmental context, and even the likelyhood of success, of a proposed project. Evaluation of an aerial photo of a project site can be an important tool yielding significant information relevant to the applicants planning efforts. 4. Beach profiles Submit beach profiles that extend offshore at appropriate intervals along the beach indicating the width and slope of both the submerged and dry portions of the beach and showing major features of the beach. Profiles should extend from the mauka toe of the primary dune to the offshore depth of closure of profile fluctuations (refer to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Coastal Engineering Technical Notices II-31 (11/93), II-40, 3/98, and other relevant documents for guidance).

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5. Existing walls Submit an analysis of any existing nearby walls or revetments and their cumulative impacts on the shoreline. 6. Description of improvements A description of structures and improvements (such as homes or swimming pools) on the subject property, their distance from the property line and shoreline, how they may be affected by the construction of the proposed hardening project, and the specific feasibility of relocating them as a hazard mitigation activity. 7. Coastal hazard history A coastal hazard analysis for the area in question. This should include any relevant coastal processes such as hazardous currents and seasonal wave patterns, including a description of the recent incidence of damaging high waves, high winds or water levels from storms, vulnerability to tsunami, and the best estimate of Base Flood Elevations and flood zone designation as mapped by the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps. 8. Waves and currents A description of the wave and current regime acting along the shoreline in question, including, a wave refraction analysis (one simple form of this analysis is to describe wave crest patterns as shown in an aerial photograph), a description of littoral currents and their seasonal patterns and the impact of the proposed activity on these patterns. 9. Sediment movement If the proposed activity involves any action that may interfere with the normal pattern of sediment transport along the coast, or alter in any way the morphology of the shoreline or the resident sand volume, applicants must submit a description of these alterations and their impact on shoreline processes including an estimate of the annual volume of sediment in transport and seasonal patterns of transport, and whether these impacts may have any deleterious effects on neighboring shoreline segments. 10. 30 year erosion hazard An analysis that uses annual erosion rate data to project the location of the 30 yr erosion hazard zone as measured from the certified shoreline or vegetation line in the absence of any shoreline stabilization structures. This information should be provided in the form of a mapped line or zone, and accompany text descriptions. The analysis may be combined with items 1 or 3, or submitted independently. 11. Photographs Eye-level (taken by an individual standing on the ground) photos of the site that illustrate past and present conditions and locate the proposed structure. 12. Alternatives All alternatives to shoreline hardening should be thoroughly researched and analyzed. These alternatives should include beach and/or dune restoration using sand replenishment, retreat from the shoreline by moving existing structures inland, and a no action alternative. 13. P.E. Seal The seal of a Professional Engineer (P.E.) with experience in the area of coastal engineering should be included with any technical plans for a shoreline hardening structure that accompany the application. The inclusion of this information will help make an Environmental Assessment complete and meet the requirements of Chapter 343, HRS. Only after thorough study and analysis should any permit for shoreline hardening be considered.

89 Department of Land and Natural Resources, Coastal Erosion Management Plan - COEMAP

Technical Supplement, Part E

Resolution on COEMAP – Maui County Council

Resolution on COEMAP – City and County of Honolulu Council

Resolution on COEMAP – Office of Planning, Marine and Coastal Zone Management Advisory Group

90