Content of Final Report

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2 Content of Final Report About the Commission Coastal processes Shoreline characterization Coastal erosion status and trends Coastal erosion impacts Overview of shoreline management practices Recommended strategies and actions

3 Commission authority and charge Commission created by Massachusetts Legislature - Acts of 2013, Chapter 38, 200, to: Investigate and document levels and effects of coastal erosion Develop strategies and recommendations to reduce, minimize or eliminate impacts on property, infrastructure, public safety, beaches and dunes Specific tasks included: Develop a reasonable assessment of coastal erosion rates Appraise damage since 1978 Estimate damages in next 10 years Evaluate current regulations and laws Review current practices and programs Develop recommendations

4 Commission Members Dan Sieger - Assistant Secretary for Environment, MA Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (Designee of EEA Secretary Matthew Beaton) Bruce Carlisle - Director, MA Office of Coastal Zone Management [Chair] Martin Suuberg - Commissioner, MA Dept. of Environmental Protection Carol Sanchez - Commissioner, MA Dept. of Conservation and Recreation [former] Patricia Hughes - Town of Brewster Selectman Lisa O Donnell - Town of Essex Selectman Doug Packer - Town of Newbury Conservation Commission Anne Herbst - Town of Hull Conservation Commission Jack Clarke - Mass Audubon E. Robert Thieler - U.S. Geological Survey Ron Barrett - Plum Island Taxpayers Association Paul Schrader - Citizen, Town of Sandwich

5 Working Groups Commission established 3 Working Groups to provide assistance in completing its charge Information and content provided substantive foundation for deliberations and development of report Science and Technical Working Group Overview of coastal geology and processes, shoreline characterization, assessment of erosion rates Erosion Impacts Working Group Appraise financial damage from 1978 to present, develop estimate of damages in next 10 years Legal and Regulatory Working Group Summarize and evaluate regulations and laws governing materials and means of erosion control

6 Shoreline characterization Describe landforms, habitats, and developed lands Identify wetlands, land use/land cover, and coastal structures Aggregate into bins for analysis and reporting

7 Coastal structures inventory Privately and publically owned seawalls, revetments, groins, jetties, and other coastal structures 2013 inventory private structures 2009 inventory; 2015 update for publicly owned structures Location Type Material Height / length Condition ratings* Assets protected* Estimated repair/reconstruction costs*

8 Shoreline change Mapping and statistical analysis of shoreline locations Cooperative with USGS and others Shorelines: ~1846, 1887, 1955, 1978, 1994, 2000, ,000 transects along exposed shore (50 m intervals) Long-term (~150-year) and short-term (~30-year) change rates Data available on CZM s interactive online mapping tool - MORIS USGS Open-File Report

9 Science, Data, and Information Strategies 1. Increase understanding of coastal and nearshore sediment dynamics, including the effects of man-made, engineered structures, to inform potential management actions and other responses to coastal erosion 2. Enhance available information based on type, extent, impacts, and costs of coastal erosion on public infrastructure, private property, and natural resources to improve the basis for decision making 3. Improve mapping and identification of coastal high hazard areas to inform managers, property-owners, local officials and the public

10 Legal and Policy Strategies 1. Reduce and minimize the impacts of erosion (and flooding) on property, infrastructure, and natural resources by siting new development and substantial re-development away from high hazard areas and incorporating best practices in projects 2. Improve the use of sediment resources for beach and dune nourishment and restoration

11 Management, Assistance, and Outreach Strategies 1. Promote the development of local and regional beach and shoreline management plans 2. Support the implementation and study of pilot projects for innovative solutions and the encouragement of learning-by-doing and experimentation in shoreline management approaches 3. Maintain and expand technical and financial assistance and communication and outreach to communities to support local efforts to address the challenges of erosion, flooding, storms, sea level rise, and other climate change impacts

12 Forecasting shoreline change Commission conducted a review of shoreline change forecasting approaches Two types of methods Statistics-based: e.g., use linear regression analysis and extrapolate rates forward Process-based: combine historical observations with data from wave processes With support from USGS and CZM, the Commission piloted a processbased approach using "Kalman filter"

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