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 I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 II. Summary of Recent Section 309 Achievements ................................................................................................ 3 2011-2015 Section 309 Achievements ...................................................................................................................... 3 2015-2020 Section 309 Achievements ...................................................................................................................... 5 III. Assessment ...................................................................................................................................................... 7 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 IV. Strategy........................................................................................................................................................ 107 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 VI. Key References............................................................................................................................................ 127 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 Guam Bureau of Statistics and Plans BMPs Best Management Practices CMP Coastal Management Program CRI Coral Reef Initiative CRM Coastal Resources Management CSI Cumulative and Secondary Impacts CZM Coastal Zone Management CZMA Coastal Zone Management Act DoAg Guam Department of Agriculture FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency FIRM Flood Insurance Rate Map FIS Flood Insurance Study GIS Geographic Information System GMSL Global Mean Sea Level GCMP Guam Coastal Management Program GEPA Guam Environmental Protection Agency GHMP Guam Hazard Mitigation Plan GHPO Guam Historic Preservation Office GPWA Guam Power and Water Authority GVB Guam Visitor’s Bureau LID Low impact development MPA Marine Protected Area NPA National Park Service NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NWI National Wetlands Inventory NGLA Northern Guam Lens Aquifer OCM Office of Coastal Management (NOAA) SAMP Special Area Management Plan SLR Sea Level Rise TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load USACE United States Army Corps of Engineers USEPA United States Environmental Protection Agency USDA United States Department of Agriculture USFWS United States Fish and Wildlife Services UoG University of Guam UXO Unexploded Ordnance WERI Water and Environmental Research Institute WQS Water Quality Standard iv 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