Final Report of the Shoreline Change Advisory Committee
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ADAPTING TO SHORELINE CHANGE A Foundation for Improved Management and Planning in South Carolina Final Report of the Shoreline Change Advisory Committee April 2010 South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control Financial assistance provided under Cooperative Agreement NA08NOS4190423 by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, administered by the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The photographs in this report were taken by DHEC staff. The images illustrate South Carolina scenes and people. Aerial photography was provided under DHEC contract by Pictometry International Corp. Preamble The State of South Carolina should be commended for its foresight and early action on beachfront management issues. Recognizing increasing shoreline development and chronic erosion issues, the SC Coastal Council appointed a 25-member Blue Ribbon Committee on Beachfront Management in 1987 to make recommendations for long-term improvements in beach planning and management. Their recommendations created the foundation for the 1988 South Carolina Beachfront Management Act, and a state beach management program that was recognized nationally for its advancement of science-based policies to reduce coastal vulnerabilities and protect sensitive resources. Two decades later, there are now enhanced capacities at the local level, a number of lessons to be learned from policy and regulatory implementation, and growing attention to threats from chronic erosion and storms. We believe that this Committee was formed at the right time, to help our state reflect on two decades of beach management and identify continuing vulnerabilities and conflicts. Our report was intended to help clarify longstanding policy, reduce community vulnerabilities, resolve conflicts, improve public and private planning, save money, enhance key resource protections, reduce liabilities, and improve public access; but more generally, to ensure the long-term health of coastal shorelines and vitality of the coastal economy. The Committee did not perfectly represent all interest groups, but maintained consistent participation of 23 members from academia, resource agencies, the private sector, nonprofit organizations, and the public – not to “vote” on new rules, but to identify common ground and areas of disagreement to help set the context for future policy deliberations. Because shoreline management involves interweaving actions and influences at the federal, state, and local level, the recommendations we present here are targeted not just toward DHEC-OCRM, but are also for consideration by the General Assembly, other state agencies, and local governments. The members of this Committee met in 14 full-day meetings over a two-year period. We have attended meetings in Columbia, Myrtle Beach, Beaufort, and Charleston, and spent countless hours drafting policy recommendations and debating finer details, many of which do not appear in the final report. We volunteered our time and commitment to this effort because we feel that it is of critical importance to the state, and hope that we have created a new foundation for successful shoreline management for the next two decades and beyond. Jeff Allen Hamilton Davis Sara Brown Rick DeVoe Scott Harris Mark Caldwell Kirstin Dow Norm Levine Jimmy Carroll Josh Eagle Jim London Marc Cherry Jill Foster Chris Mack Mary Conley Paul Gayes Tara Miller Toni Connor-Rooks G. Robert George Jim Morris Paul Conrads Tina Hadden Bob Van Dolah Acknowledgements This report would not have been possible without the extraordinary commitment of the Advisory Committee members, who persevered through lengthy meetings, presentations, and detailed policy debates for close to two years. They were asked to get up to speed on large volumes of reference materials, statutes, regulations, and plans, as well as incoming public comments, edits, emails, and logistics; and then to spend considerable time outside of the meetings working in small groups to develop and refine draft text. They have succeeded in generating a thoughtful, detailed report that will inform decision-makers, policy experts, and planners for years to come. This report would also not have been possible without the concerted effort of a large number of DHEC-OCRM staff, who, across internal agency divisions, coordinated and supported this effort from start to finish. Aside from numerous internal coordination meetings, regulatory staff were present at all Advisory Committee meetings and public hearings to answer questions about details and procedures, policy and planning staff were present to answer questions about, well, policies and plans, and staff directly assigned to this effort spent countless day, night, and weekend hours to ensure that the process ran smoothly. A special thanks to Nathan Strong of the SC Office of Human Resources, who facilitated meetings and provided expert advice along the way to help achieve fair and productive meetings and outcomes. And finally, a special thanks to Matthew Slagel, who joined DHEC-OCRM as a NOAA Coastal Management Fellow in 2007 to help lead this initiative, and who truly made this effort a success. Mr. Slagel has now joined OCRM as a Shoreline Management Specialist to help identify and implement appropriate responses and actions to address the recommendations in this report. OCRM Project Managers: Braxton Davis, Director of Policy and Planning Matthew Slagel, NOAA Coastal Management Fellow Staff Contributors: Carolyn Boltin-Kelly, Deputy Commissioner Dan Burger, Director, Program Administration and Communication Sadie Drescher, Research Specialist, Policy and Planning Bill Eiser, Project Manager, Regulatory Division Curtis Joyner, Local Projects Manager, Policy and Planning Mark Messersmith, Research Specialist, Policy and Planning Barbara Neale, Director, Regulatory Division Marian Page, Federal Grants Coordinator, Policy and Planning Marvin Pontiff, Assistant Deputy Commissioner Melissa Rada, Policy Analyst, Policy and Planning William Salters, Coastal Planner, Policy and Planning Elizabeth Von Kolnitz, Program Coordinator, Policy and Planning Blair Williams, Manager, Wetland Permitting Section 4 Members of the Committee Jeffrey Allen, Ph.D. Clemson University, Strom Thurmond Institute for Public Policy Sara Brown, P.E. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mark Caldwell U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Jimmy Carroll Carroll Realty, Inc. Marc Cherry, P.E. Gramling Brothers, Inc. Mary Conley The Nature Conservancy Toni Connor-Rooks City of Folly Beach Paul Conrads U.S. Geological Survey Hamilton Davis SC Coastal Conservation League M. Richard DeVoe South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium Kirstin Dow, Ph.D. University of South Carolina Josh Eagle, Esq. University of South Carolina, School of Law Jill Foster Town of Hilton Head Island Paul Gayes, Ph.D. Coastal Carolina University, Ctr. for Marine & Wetland Studies G. Robert George, PLS, P.E. G. Robert George & Associates, Inc. Tina Hadden U.S. Army Corps of Engineers M. Scott Harris, Ph.D. College of Charleston Norman Levine, Ph.D. College of Charleston James London, Ph.D. Clemson University Chris Mack, P.E. AECOM Tara Miller NOAA Coastal Services Center James Morris, Ph.D. University of South Carolina, Baruch Institute Bob Van Dolah, Ph.D. SCDNR Marine Resources Research Institute Alternates Derk Bergquist, Ph.D. SCDNR Marine Resources Research Institute Tim Hall U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Tim Mason, P.E. Applied Technology and Management, Inc. Jeff Payne NOAA Coastal Services Center Aaron Pope City of Folly Beach Denise Sanger, Ph.D. South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium Nancy Vinson SC Coastal Conservation League Fran Way, P.E. Applied Technology and Management, Inc. 5 Acronyms AIWW Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway ASBPA American Shore and Beach Preservation Association ASMFC Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission BACI Before, After, Control, Impact sampling design BERM Beach Erosion Research and Monitoring BIMP North Carolina Beach and Inlet Management Plan BMA South Carolina Beachfront Management Act BMP Best Management Practice CAMA North Carolina Coastal Area Management Act CBRA Coastal Barrier Resources Act CCCL Florida Coastal Construction Control Line CCU Coastal Carolina University CELCP Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program CRS FEMA Community Rating System CSO Coastal States Organization CZM Coastal Zone Management DHEC South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control DHEC-OCRM DHEC – Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management DNR South Carolina Department of Natural Resources ECL Florida Erosion Control Line FCA Flood Control Act FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency FL DCA Florida Department of Community Affairs FL DEP Florida Department of Environmental Protection FMA Flood Mitigation Assistance program GAPC Geographic Area of Particular Concern GI General Investigation GIS Geographic Information Systems GOMA Gulf of Mexico Alliance GRSMMP Gulf Regional Sediment Management Master Plan HHI Hilton Head Island, SC HMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance program HMGP Hazard Mitigation Grant Program HOAs Home Owners Associations IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change LCBMP South Carolina Local Comprehensive Beach Management Plan LCSG Lower Columbia Solutions Group LiDAR Light Detection and Ranging 6 LOV Line of Vegetation MA CHC Massachusetts Coastal Hazards Commission MEMA Mississippi Emergency Management Agency MHW Mean High Water line MMS U.S. Minerals Management Service MPRSA Marine Protection, Research,