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Coastal Zone Management Act Section 309 Program Guidance

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Guam Coastal Management Program Bureau of Statistics and Plans

2020-2025

DRAFT

October 2020

This document was prepared for the Guam Coastal Management Program (GCMP) under the Bureau of Statistics and Plans (BSP), with financial assistance provided by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended, administered by the Office for Coastal Management (OCM), National Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The statements, findings, and conclusions are those of the authors and not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA.

Suggested citation: Bureau of Statistics and Plans – Guam Coastal Management Program (BSP-GCMP). 2020. 2020-2025 Section 309 Assessment and Strategy Report.

For more information about this report please contact the Guam Coastal Management Program at 671.472.4201/2/3 or Edwin Reyes, Coastal Program Administrator at [email protected].

Table of Contents

II. Summary of Recent Section 309 Achievements................................................................................................3

2011-2015 Section 309 Achievements......................................................................................................................3 2015-2020 Section 309 Achievements......................................................................................................................5

Phase I (High-Level) Assessment .............................................................................................................................7

Wetlands ...............................................................................................................................................................7 Coastal Hazards .................................................................................................................................................14 Public Access......................................................................................................................................................26 Marine Debris.....................................................................................................................................................32 Cumulative and Secondary Impacts....................................................................................................................37 Special Area Management Planning...................................................................................................................45 Ocean and Great Lakes Resources .....................................................................................................................56 Energy and Government Facility Siting..............................................................................................................68 Aquaculture.........................................................................................................................................................75

Phase II (In-Depth) Assessment..............................................................................................................................82

Coastal Hazards .................................................................................................................................................82 Cumulative and Secondary Impacts....................................................................................................................88 Special Area Management Planning.................................................................................................................102

Strategy #1: Special Area Management Codification ...........................................................................................107 Strategy #2: Special Area Management Implementation Tools ............................................................................116 5-Year Budget Summary by Strategy....................................................................................................................122

V. Summary of Stakeholder Engagement and Public Comment.....................................................................123

Stakeholder Engagement.......................................................................................................................................123

Appendix I – Survey Results and Stakeholder Meeting Documents...................................................................127 Appendix II – Public Comments ............................................................................................................................193

  • Guam Coastal Management Program
  • Section 309 Assessment & Strategy: 2020 to 2025

List of Acronyms

  • A&S
  • Assessment & Strategy

  • APC
  • Area of Particular Concern

BSP BMPs CMP
Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans Best Management Practices Coastal Management Program

  • Coral Reef Initiative
  • CRI

CRM CSI
Coastal Resources Management Cumulative and Secondary Impacts Coastal Zone Management Coastal Zone Management Act Guam Department of Agriculture Federal Emergency Management Agency Flood Insurance Rate Map Flood Insurance Study
CZM CZMA DoAg FEMA FIRM FIS

  • GIS
  • Geographic Information System

  • Global Mean Sea Level
  • GMSL

GCMP GEPA GHMP GHPO GPWA GVB
Guam Coastal Management Program Guam Environmental Protection Agency Guam Hazard Mitigation Plan Guam Historic Preservation Office Guam Power and Water Authority

Guam Visitor’s Bureau

  • LID
  • Low impact development

MPA NPA
Marine Protected Area National Park Service
NOAA NWI NGLA OCM SAMP SLR
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Wetlands Inventory Northern Guam Lens Aquifer Office of Coastal Management (NOAA) Special Area Management Plan Sea Level Rise
TMDL USACE USEPA USDA USFWS UoG
Total Maximum Daily Load United States Army Corps of Engineers United States Environmental Protection Agency United States Department of Agriculture United States Fish and Wildlife Services University of Guam
UXO WERI WQS
Unexploded Ordnance Water and Environmental Research Institute Water Quality Standard

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  • Guam Coastal Management Program
  • Section 309 Assessment & Strategy: 2020 to 2025

I. Introduction

Section 309 of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), as amended, encourages states and territories to develop program changes in one or more of nine coastal zone enhancement areas through a grant program. Rather than just changes to the manner that states and territories implement programs, the changes are made to federally approved CZM programs. These changes may include updates or revisions to state and territory enforceable policies and

authorities. Such changes include the following activities that will enhance a state or territory’s

ability to achieve one or more of the coastal zone enhancement objectives:
1. A change to coastal zone boundaries; 2. New or revised authorities, including statutes, regulations, enforceable policies, administrative decisions, executive orders, and memoranda of agreement/ understanding;
3. New or revised local coastal programs and implementing ordinances; 4. New or revised coastal land acquisition, management, and restoration programs; 5. New or revised Special Area Management Plans (SAMP) or plans for Areas of Particular Concern (APC) including enforceable policies and other necessary implementation mechanisms or criteria and procedures for designating and managing APCs; and,
6. New or revised guidelines, procedures and policy documents which are formally adopted by a state or territory and provide specific interpretations of enforceable CZM program policies to applicants, local government and other agencies that will result in meaningful improvements in coastal resource management.

Every five years, states and territories are encouraged to conduct self-assessments of their coastal management programs to determine problems and enhancement opportunities within each of the nine enhancement areas—and to assess the effectiveness of existing management efforts to address identified problems. Each coastal management program identifies high-priority management issues, as well as important needs and information gaps the program must fill to address these issues.

Following this self-assessment, NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management (OCM), works closely with

each coastal management program to further identify the high-priority needs for improvement within one or more of the nine areas. The coastal management program then develops strategies, consulting with OCM, to improve its operations to address these management needs. The strategies provide a stepwise

approach to reach a stated goal and lead to enhancement in the state’s or territory’s federally approved coastal management program. OCM reviews and approves the Section 309 “assessment and strategy”

document for each state and territory and, after approval, provides funding under Section 309 to help them carry out those strategies. The following document provides a description of each enhancement area, the level of priority of the enhancement area, and any significant changes. A “phase 1” general overview is provided for each enhancement area and “phase 2” in depth-assessments are included for enhancement

areas identified as “high priority” in this planning cycle. The table on the next page shows changes in

priority levels in red text and highlights that three enhancement areas – coastal hazards, cumulative and secondary impacts, and special area management plans – were identified as high priorities for this report, which is updated as of 2020 to guide the next five-year planning cycle.

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  • Guam Coastal Management Program
  • Section 309 Assessment & Strategy: 2020 to 2025

Following initial surveys and the self-assessment, GCMP worked closely with the Office for Coastal Management (OCM), under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to further identify the high-priority needs for improvement within one or more of the nine areas. The GCMP then developed strategies, consulting with OCM, to improve its operations to address these management needs. The strategies outlined here aim to provide a realistic and achievable approach to reach a stated goal and lead to enhancement in the coastal management program.

This document represents the Section 309 A&S Report for the Bureau of Statistics and Plans’ Guam Coastal Management Program. This 309 A&S was developed based on research on existing programs with input from a wide variety of stakeholders, both public and private, however, due to COVID-19 social distancing requirements, these meetings and communications were held using digital platforms. The Section 309 A&S process places emphasis on engagement from stakeholders and the public. As part of this process, stakeholder agencies and non-governmental organizations were invited to complete an online survey in which participants were asked to rank the nine enhancement areas and describe the priority areas of concern or need. The public was again asked to provide feedback on a final draft of this document during a 30-day comment period on November 12, 2020. The draft document was made

available for review on BSP’s website, and the public was notified of the comment period via BSP’s

social media accounts. Based upon initial stakeholder feedback and follow-up surveys combined with an internal assessment of

each enhancement area’s resource characterization, GCMP’s management characterization, and current or

projected threats to each enhancement area, BSP-GCMP identified three “High-Level” priorities from the list of nine areas: Coastal Hazards, Cumulative and Secondary Impacts, and Special Area Management Planning. Two strategies were developed to address cross-cutting needs to support implementation of BSP-GCMP management authorities through the codification of conservation planning elements and critical implementation support tools to support these high priority enhancement areas.

Enhancement Category

Wetlands

2015 Rating

Medium Medium High

2020 Rating

Medium

High

Coastal Hazards Public Access Marine Debris

Medium Medium

High
Low High High Medium Low
Cumulative & Secondary Impacts Special Area Management Plans
Ocean Resources
High Medium

Medium Medium

Energy & Government Facility Siting

  • Aquaculture
  • Low

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  • Guam Coastal Management Program
  • Section 309 Assessment & Strategy: 2020 to 2025

II. Summary of Recent Section 309 Achievements

2011-2015 Section 309 Achievements

Between 2016-2020, GCMP was able to finalize several program changes resulting from strategies resulting from the previous 2011-2015 Section 309 Assessment & Strategy Report. These updates and program changes are discussed below.

Development of a Cumulative and Secondary Impact GIS Tool for Guam ‐ NA11NOS4190115

Enhancement Area: Cumulative & Secondary Impacts

The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Screening Tool was developed in collaboration with the

University of Guam’s Water and Environmental Research Institute (UoG-WERI). The report, GIS-Based

Screening for Cumulative and Secondary Impacts from Development Projects in Northern Guam, (Muller

et al.) was published in 2013. It details that the project resulted in the (1) development of the Northern Guam Geodatabase, (2) creation of an Affected Areas Tool, and (3) quantification of effects from different development scenarios for Northern Guam.1

The Northern Guam Geodatabase developed in this project contains 29 feature datasets and 5 raster datasets portraying geographic information about Northern Guam. The Affected Areas Tool is a GIS- based tool that utilizes inputs from the Northern Guam Geodatabase to screen the resources that may be affected by future developments. For determination of CSIs, a benefit of GIS datasets is that they can be used to inventory, evaluate, and predict future environmental changes. The outcome of the land development scenarios considered here indicates that for Northern Guam, undeveloped lands will be converted to urban/built-up areas with forested areas being affected the most. The datasets that were produced through this effort are available in the North Guam Viewer.2

The 2013 report indicated that Cumulative and Secondary Impacts (CSIs) of concern include stormwater runoff, loss of habitat, water quality degradation, and associated potential contamination problems. These CSIs can be induced by development-related activities such as increased development, loss of large vegetation tracts, and increased impermeable surfaces. The 2013 WERI report notes that the “Northern Guam Geodatabase coupled with the Affected Areas Tool can be used as a screening method to

simultaneously assess potential CSIs from multiple projects” and recommends that the geodatabase

should be updated if new layers or updates are made available. It also notes that further research will be needed to model the routes that contaminants originating from developments take to reach the aquifer or coastal areas, which may be especially critical to protecting the groundwater in Northern Guam.

The Northern Guam Geodatabase and Assessment Tool 309-supported project has produced a comprehensive data set that can support screening for potential CSIs in Northern Guam. The Affected Areas Tool utilizes inputs from the Northern Guam Geodatabase to show how much of a resource would

1 L. Muller, J.D. Rouse, & S.hahram Khosrowpanah, P.E., GIS-Based Screening for Cumulative and Secondary Impacts from Development

Projects in Northern Guam, 2013, University of Guam Water and Environmental Research Institute, Technical Report 146, available at

https://guamhydrologicsurvey.uog.edu/Library/PDFs/WERI%20TR%20146-%20Muller%20et%20al%202013.pdf.

2 Digital Atlas of Northern Guam, UoG-WERI, available at http://north.hydroguam.net/index.php.

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  • Guam Coastal Management Program
  • Section 309 Assessment & Strategy: 2020 to 2025

be potentially affected by a proposed development. The Affected Areas Tool was adapted from a previously developed ESRI analysis tool that assesses impacts of roads on vegetation. To use the tool, users must have working knowledge of ArcGIS, a proprietary suite of GIS software products which includes mapping and analytics platform from ESRI. However, due to staff turnover, no trainings have been held on how to use the existing database, and much of the compiled geospatial information is now over a decade old. BSP-GCMP is currently working with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and the National Environmental Modeling and Analysis Center to compile existing layers into the Coastal Resilience Evaluation and Siting Tool (CREST) which will support a more user-friendly interactive mapping and reporting tool, hosted online by NFWF, to further support these scoping efforts as well as inform next steps in policy development.

Public Access for Natural and Cultural Resources ‐ NA12NOS4190167

Enhancement Area: Public Access

The project focused on conducting and complete a survey to determine the public's attitudes about the state of public access for natural and cultural resources on Guam. A presentation on this assessment was given at the 2020 Assembly of Planners. The report has been finalized and is currently being used as the basis to inform the development of the Public Access Management Plan. The report reflects qualitative and quantitate investigations of attitudes and behaviors relevant to coastal access, provides a detailed inventory and analysis of policies, statutes, regulations, and programs affecting public access, and

provides a series of recommendations designed to improve Guam’s coastal access program and increase

public engagement regarding this effort. Next steps include completing the Public Access Management Plan and incorporating this data and the Public Access Report recommendations into the Seashore Reserve Master Plan update which is discussed further in the following 2015-2020 Section 309 Achievements section.

Tsunami Study – NA13NOS4190132

Enhancement Area: Coastal Hazards

The project focused on supporting incorporation of data from NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory’s 2010 Tsunami Hazard Assessment (THA) for Guam into updated plans and policy guidance. The 2010 THA reported results of tsunami hazard assessments for each of five coastal communities on the Island of Guam—Tumon Bay, Agana Bay, Pago Bay, Apra Harbor, and Inarajan Bay—using both

moderate (Mw 8.5) and Great Earthquake (Mw ≥ 9.0) scenarios. Wave amplitudes as high as 7.0 m at

Tumon Bay were predicted, and at Pago and Inarajan bays the leading wave was predicted to arrive within 20 min with amplitudes as high as 15 m and 9 m, respectively, following a Great or worst-case earthquake. This data was further considered and incorporated into subsequent 2014 and 2019 updates of Guam’s Hazard Mitigation Plan through Guam Homeland Security Office of Civil Defense (HS/CD).

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  • Letter to SHPO Draft MITT SFP Comments

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    Micronesica 39(1): 73–105, 2006 Provisional keys to the genera of seaweeds of Micronesia, with new records for Guam and Yap CHRISTOPHER S. LOBBAN Division of Natural Sciences, University of Guam, Mangilao, GU 96923 AND ANTOINE D.R. N’YEURT Université de la Polynésie française, Campus d’Outumaoro Bâtiment D B.P. 6570 Faa'a, 98702 Tahiti, French Polynesia Abstract—Artificial keys to the genera of blue-green, red, brown, and green marine benthic algae of Micronesia are given, including virtually all the genera reported from Palau, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Federated States of Micronesia and the Marshall Islands. Twenty-two new species or genera are reported here for Guam and 7 for Yap; 11 of these are also new for Micronesia. Note is made of several recent published records for Guam and 2 species recently raised from varietal status. Finally, a list is given of nomenclatural changes that affect the 2003 revised checklist (Micronesica 35-36: 54–99). An interactive version of the keys is included in the algal biodiversity website at www.uog.edu/ classes/botany/474. Introduction The seaweeds of Micronesia have been studied for over a century but no one has yet written a comprehensive manual for identifying them, nor does it seem likely that this will happen in the foreseeable future. In contrast, floras have recently been published for Hawai‘i (Abbott 1999, Abbott & Huisman 2004) and the South Pacific (Payri et al. 2000, Littler & Littler 2003). A few extensive or intensive works on Micronesia (e.g., Taylor 1950, Trono 1969a, b, Tsuda 1972) gave descriptions of the species in the style of a flora for particular island groups.
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    Hydrology of Guam

    Hydrology of Guam GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 403-H Prepared in cooperation with the Government of Guam Hydrology of Guam By PORTER E. WARD, STUART H. HOFFARD, and DAN A. DAVIS GEOLOGY AND HYDROLOGY OF GUAM, MARIANA ISLANDS GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 403-H Prepared in cooperation with the Government of Guam UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1965 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STEWART L. UDALL, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY William T. Pecora, Director For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C., 20402 CONTENTS Page Hydrology Continued Abstract.._ ___________________________________ HI Ground water___----_---_--_--------------_---_ H12 Introduction. ____---_____--_---____-_________ 1 Northern Guam.____--_-__-___-______ 12 Purpose and scope.___-_-_______-_-_____-_. 1 Water in limestone______________ 12 Location and extent of the area of this report. 1 The fresh-water lens.-_-__---_ 12 Previous investigations and present work____ 2 Water perched on volcanic rock. 16 Acknowledgments __ ______________________ 3 Water in volcanic rock-___________ 18 Population and development._-____-_-_____ 3 Southern Guam._____________________ 18 Topography...__--___-_--_____-__________ 3 Water in volcanic rock.___________ 18 Climate.___--_-_____--_________--___-___ 4 Perched water in limestone ________ 18 Geology.___------------_----_---_-____-_ 5 Water in limestone at sea level. _ 19 Hydrology- ______----_.._-_----__-_-_-_---____. 6 Development of ground water._________ 19 Streamflow__ - __________________________ 6 Ground-water areas.__________________ 19 Umatac River__-__-___-_-_--_________ 6 Area l_____----_---_--___------- 23 Inarajan River.
  • Appendix A: War in the Pacific National Historical Park Resource Overview Raychelle Daniel (HPI-CESU)

    Appendix A: War in the Pacific National Historical Park Resource Overview Raychelle Daniel (HPI-CESU)

    National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Pacific Island Network Vital Signs Monitoring Plan Appendix A: War in the Pacific National Historical Park Resource Overview Raychelle Daniel (HPI-CESU) Pacific Island Network (PACN) Territory of Guam War in the Pacific National Historical Park (WAPA) Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands American Memorial Park, Saipan (AMME) Territory of American Samoa National Park of American Samoa (NPSA) State of Hawaii USS Arizona Memorial, Oahu (USAR) Kalaupapa National Historical Park, Molokai (KALA) Haleakala National Park, Maui (HALE) Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail, Hawaii (ALKA) Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site, Hawaii (PUHE) Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park, Hawaii (KAHO) Puuhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, Hawaii (PUHO) Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii (HAVO) http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/pacn/monitoring/plan/ Suggested citation: Daniel, R. 2006. Appendix A: War in the Pacific National Historical Park resource overview. In: HaySmith, L., F. L. Klasner, S. H. Stephens, and G. H. Dicus. Pacific Island Network vital signs monitoring plan. Natural Resource Report NPS/PACN/NRR—2006/003 National Park Service, Fort Collins, Colorado. Last revision: 15 February 2005 Organization contact information: National Park Service (NPS), Inventory and Monitoring Program, Pacific Island Network, PO Box 52, Hawaii National Park, HI 96718, phone: 808-985-6180, fax: 808-985-6111, http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/units/pacn/monitoring/plan/ Hawaii-Pacific Islands Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit (HPI-CESU), University of Hawaii at Manoa, 3190 Maile Way, St. John Hall #408, Honolulu, HI 96822-2279 Equipment specification disclaimer: Use of specific brand-name equipment identified in this appendix, while shown to be effective, is not intended as an endorsement of any particular manufacturer or model.
  • Appendix E. Background Information for Proposed Action

    Appendix E. Background Information for Proposed Action

    Guam and CNMI Military Relocation (2012 Roadmap Adjustments) SEIS Final July 2015 Appendix E Background Information for Proposed Action and Alternatives 1. Information Report. Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Live-Fire Training Range Complex on Guam (February 9, 2012) ................................................................................... E-1 2. Technical Report. Guam Live-Fire Training Range Alternatives in Consideration of Probabilistic Methodology Modeling (March 2012) ........................................................................ E-13 9 February 2012 INFORMATION REPORT SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT LIVE-FIRE TRAINING RANGE COMPLEX ON GUAM Purpose The purpose of this Information Report (IR) is to discuss the Department of Navy’s (Navy) decision to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the proposed construction and operation of a live-fire training range complex on Guam. This report provides information to assist the public during the SEIS scoping process. The Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Guam and CNMI Military Relocation, Relocating Marines from Okinawa, Visiting Aircraft Carrier Berthing and Army Air And Missile Defense Task Force was published in July 2010 and the subsequent Record of Decision (ROD) was issued in September 2010. The Navy is proposing to reexamine alternative locations for a live-fire training range complex on Guam in an SEIS prior to making a decision on the location of the training range complex. What is an Environmental Impact Statement and why is an SEIS being prepared? NEPA established the requirement for federal agencies to consider and compare the impacts to the natural and human environment from their proposed actions, as well as reasonable alternatives to their actions. If the federal agency determines that the proposed action may have a significant impact on the environment, it must prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).