New SERPPAS publication provides overview of living shoreline permitting and regulatory review
In a new publication, “Overview of Living Shoreline Permitting and Regulatory Review in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi,” University of Georgia experts partnered with the Southeast Regional Partnership for Planning and Sustainability (SERPPAS) to examine the use of “living shorelines” to stabilize the coastlines of military installations facing erosion and the regulatory landscape for project planners interested in implementing the nature-based solution.
When we design structures made of native materials, like oyster reefs made of shells and larvae, in place of a rigid bulkhead or hard structure to reduce wave and tidal energy, we create opportunity for these living shorelines to reduce coastal erosion and enhance biodiversity—a nature-based solution to dealing with increased flooding and sea-level rise caused by climate change.
This guidebook provides useful background information on relevant agencies, administrative processes, and the underlying laws in four key states in the SERPPAS area: North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi. Planners can examine state-specific coastal zone management programs, state and federal permitting requirements, public trust responsibilities for submerged lands, and the key design aspects of living shorelines that will impact the permitting and approval process.
The ecosystem services and erosion control provided by living shorelines to landowners and surrounding communities will potentially become invaluable as we move into a future where coastlines and coastal infrastructure are increasingly threatened by climate change.
Read the full report here: https://nri.tamu.edu/publications/research-reports/2024/overview-of-living-shoreline-permitting-and-regulatory-review-in-north-carolina-georgia-florida-and-mississippi/
Read more about SERPPAS: https://serppas.org/