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Create coastal communities with sustainable economies based on well-planned development and healthy coastal ecosystems.

Our coastal communities are the most densely populated and fastest growing areas in the U.S.: 14 of the nation's 20 largest cities are coastal, over 40% of new commercial and residential development is along the coast, and approximately 3,600 people move to the coast every day. Over 50% of the U.S. population lives by the coast today; by 2025, this figure is expected to reach 75% .

Coastal communities contain some of the nation's most productive and diverse natural resources, including valuable habitats, fisheries, recreational areas, and natural treasures. However, growing demands for access to the coast have resulted in habitat loss, water pollution, increased polluted runoff, and sprawl. Helping communities reduce damage from natural disasters, address contamination sites (e.g., brownfields), and revitalize waterfronts will make better use of existing developed areas and reduce unwise new development.

In addition, some portions of the U.S. coastline are severely eroding, threatening the property and livelihoods of coastal communities. Federal offshore sand resources, which are used for beach nourishment projects, are needed to address erosion problems. However, there are concerns about environmental harm from sand collection and replenishment activities, as well as potential conflicts with other users of the coastal ocean, such as fisheries.

Ongoing Concerns

• Many coastal communities lack the tools, resources, and information to strategically and sustainably address the impacts of rapidly growing coastal populations, including increased runoff from developed areas.
• Some federal and state development policies and practices have unintentionally encouraged suburban sprawl and disinvestment in urban cores, or building in disaster-prone areas.
• Some policies have allowed for public and private investment in coastal areas prone to natural disasters, increasing the risks of loss of life and property and damage to natural habitats.
• No overall management framework exists to ensure that federal offshore sand resources are used in a timely, cost-effective, and environmentally sound manner.

Recommendations

• Promote comprehensive management by helping tribal, state, and local governments adopt and implement sustainable development management plans for coastal zones.
• Examine and revise policies and programs, such as flood insurance subsidies, that promote unsustainable or hazardous development.
• Increase support for tribal, state, and local efforts to plan for and mitigate the impacts of natural hazards on communities and natural resources; to redevelop brownfields appropriately and revitalize waterfronts in coastal communities; and to reduce the flow of polluted runoff into coastal watersheds, bays, and estuaries.
• Work with tribes, communities, states, nongovernmental organizations, and across federal agencies to produce useful indices of sustainable development to measure and track progress at local, regional, and national levels.
• Work with tribes, communities, states, nongovernmental organizations, and across federal agencies to create a coordinated digital coast electronic information system for coastal decision makers that provides easy access to comprehensive data on such topics as community vulnerability to natural hazards, impacts of land-use changes, and maps and descriptions of coastal habitats.
• Form closely coordinated partnerships among the federal government, tribes, coastal states, and communities to develop regional sand management initiatives; analyze the potential impacts associated with the use of federal sand resources; and identify possible mitigation measures to offset these impacts.

For more information

http://state-of-coast.noaa.gov/
http://www.mms.gov/intermar/marineac.htm
http://www.epa.gov/win
http://www.epa.gov/surf2/
http://marine.er.usgs.gov
http://www.whitehouse.gov/PCSD/
http://www.livablecommunities.gov