Virginia Coastal Zone Management - Spring/Summer 2007

Living Shorelines

By Shep Moon, Coastal Planner

Virginia has approximately 5,000 miles of shoreline lined with marshes, beaches and tidal mudflats that provide a rich habitat for a wide variety of plants and animals. There is growing concern, however, that increasing “hardening” of the shoreline by installing rock revetments and wood or vinyl bulkheads is damaging these critical, natural, shoreline habitats. From 1993– 2004, for example, approximately 230 miles of new, “hard” erosion protection measures were installed in Virginia.

Equal and sometimes better shoreline protection can be achieved with the relatively new technique of “living shorelines.” An alternative to hardening, living shorelines employ natural habitat elements to protect shorelines from erosion while also providing critical habitat for wildlife and water quality benefits. These techniques are also proving to be more resilient to severe storm events than conventional structures.

Virginia CZM’s Shoreline Strategy

To help promote the use of living shorelines and to improve shoreline management in general, the Virginia CZM Program included a Shoreline Management Strategy as one of its CZMA Section 309 initiatives for 2006 through 2010. Virginia CZM has allocated $750,000 over five years for the following anticipated outcomes:

• A “Living Shoreline Summit,” with peer reviewed proceedings, to advance the use of this management technique.

• Revised “Wetlands Guidelines” to be used by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, local wetlands boards and others to guide decisions about shoreline and tidal wetlands management.

• Improved data on shoreline conditions to support more informed shoreline management decisions.

• Research to document the habitat value of living shorelines and to improve their design.

• A guidance document for local governments to use in shoreline management planning.

• Outreach materials for land use decision-makers, landowners and contractors on living shoreline advantages and design principles.

• A training program for contractors and local government staff on living shoreline practices.

• A report on improving management of Virginia’s dune and beach resources, including proposed revisions to the Coastal Primary Sand Dunes and Beaches Act.

• Anticipated changes to the Coastal Primary Sand Dunes and Beaches Act by the Virginia General Assembly.

• Revisions to the Coastal Primary Sand Dunes / Beaches Guidelines.

Funding for the first of these outcomes became available in October 2006 and several of the projects are well underway. The Living Shoreline Initiative had its formal kickoff with the Living Shoreline Summit, held in Williamsburg on December 6 and 7, 2006. The Summit was a collaborative effort between the Virginia and Maryland Coastal Zone Management Programs and National Estuarine Research Reserve Systems, as well as, a number of other public and private organizations.

Summit Results

The Summit was very well received and attended with over 180 participants including shoreline management contractors, landowners, environmental groups, coastal resource managers, scientists and others. This diverse group came together to learn and share information about living shorelines. Discussion focused on facilitating and promoting the use of “Living Shoreline” techniques, with sessions on the current status of research, site suitability and design methods, decision-making tools, state-specific management and policy, and education and outreach.

The Summit showed that there is great potential for living shorelines. But more work is needed to ensure waterfront property owners are aware of this technique as early as possible in the decision process. In addition, regulatory and financial incentives would help to further promote living shorelines. A panel discussion at the Summit focused on ways to improve the current regulatory process in order to promote the use of living shorelines where appropriate. Panel members and the audience agreed that the current system, while it does not discourage the use of living shorelines, also does not actively encourage or provide incentives for living shorelines. Participants felt that structural approaches to shoreline management were the accepted norm and that landowners were comfortable with this approach, in part because structural solutions were more familiar to them, to their neighbors, and to those involved in the permitting process. Participants also agreed that new requirements for mitigation of any tidal wetland impact are likely to increase landowner interest in living shorelines as a way to avoid mitigation requirements.

Lastly, there was agreement on the importance of influencing waterfront property owners’ decisions about shoreline management techniques prior to their submitting a permit application. The group felt that at the point of application submittal, landowners had committed substantial resources toward selecting a specific design and that it was difficult to alter the design after that point.

Suggestions offered by both panel members and attendees of the Living Shoreline Summit are outlined below. Some of the suggestions are already being addressed through the Virginia CZM Program Shoreline Strategy.

Assist Waterfront Property Owners:

• Develop outreach materials and an outreach program for property owners. Hold workshops, develop on-line decision-making tools, and construct local demonstration sites to help property owners with their initial decisions about shoreline management.

• Provide design assistance to homeowners. One option would be to expand the reach and scope of the Shoreline Erosion Advisory Service (SEAS) at the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

• Provide opportunities for property owners to consult with representatives from advisory and regulatory agencies prior to submitting permit applications.

• Develop a living shoreline certification process for shoreline contractors so property owners can be assured that the contractor is proficient in this technique.

• Provide financial incentives to property owners, such as grants, low interest loans for construction, tax breaks and reduced permit fees. Financial disincentives could also be used in cases were a living shoreline approach was deemed feasible, but not chosen.
  

Provide Regulatory Guidance on Living Shorelines:

• Modify the model ordinance used by localities to manage shoreline development through the Tidal Wetlands Act.

• Modify the Tidal Wetlands Guidelines to reflect a preference for living shorelines where appropriate.

• Revise the Joint Permit Application (JPA) to state the preference for living shoreline approaches where appropriate. Provide a sequence of priorities in the JPA and ask project proponents to justify their project. If structural approaches are desired, ask the property owner to demonstrate why a living shoreline approach wouldn’t work on their shoreline.

• Review shoreline erosion control projects holistically by evaluating the continuum of coastal resources that may be affected. This would include not only resources along the shoreline, such as wetlands, beaches and dunes, but also in the riparian (upland) and littoral (shallow water) zones. It was noted that in some cases structures had been moved landward from their original position in order to avoid the jurisdiction of the Tidal Wetlands Act.

• Improve the shoreline management provisions of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act’s regulations and improve the Water Quality Impact Assessment (WQIA) for shoreline projects.

• Provide additional training for local wetland board members that includes guidance on how the protection of various coastal resources should be prioritized.

Simplify the Regulatory Process:

• Develop a general permit for living shorelines while retaining the oversight authority necessary to protect coastal resources. This should result in reduced review time and lower permitting fees because public hearing advertising fees would be eliminated. It would also require legislative authority from the Virginia General Assembly and living shorelines would have to be defined specifically in the Virginia Code.

• As an alternative to a general permit, provide some other form of expedited permit review for living shoreline projects. Streamline the review process for nonstructural shoreline projects, including administrative approval and a process for exceptions.

The Living Shoreline Summit Proceedings will be available on the web in late summer or early fall.

A link to the downloadable report will be available on the Virginia CZM Living Shorelines web page at www.deq.virginia.gov/coastal/livingshorelines.html.