CSO Newsletter

The Coastal States Organization represents the nation’s Coastal States, Territories, and Commonwealths on ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resource issues.
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Spotlight on Coastal Management:

New ASBPA & CSO Report on

Sediment Placement Regulation in the U.S.

The American Shore & Beach Preservation Association and Coastal States Organization, with support from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Institute for Water Resources, are pleased to share the new report Sediment Placement Regulations of U.S. Coastal States and Territories: Towards Regional Sediment Management Implementation.


The demand for finite sediment resources to respond to climate change and restore eroding shorelines is increasing. Meanwhile, confined disposal areas for the placement of dredged coastal sediment are at or near maximum capacity. Beneficial Use of Dredged Material (BUDM) is an effective strategy to reuse clean, valuable sediment which would otherwise be treated as waste, while meeting ecological restoration and hazard mitigation needs. However, BUDM projects are complex, and sediment placement regulations and policies are not always designed with these uses in mind.


This new report provides a comparative analysis of federal- and state-level regulations on placing sediment in the coastal zone with state-by-state profiles, with best practices, success stories, and recommendations. This report's findings will help inform coastal managers seeking to better manage coastal sediment in their jurisdictions, increase BUDM, and catalyze systemic changes that promote comprehensive regional sediment management.


Learn more and read the report here.

In the States and Regions

West Coast and Pacific

Work In Watershed Aims to Curb Ocean Pollution Downstream

The Central Maui Soil and Water Conservation District said that the Pohakea Watershed Plan was recently approved by the state Department of Health’s Clean Water Branch, which means that the projects within the watershed are eligible for funding. “Land management plays an important role in maintaining healthy coastal waters,” the report says. “Coral reefs are important culturally, economically, and ecologically.” Watershed planning efforts are coordinated by the Clean Water Branch’s Polluted Runoff Control Program, which has a mission to “protect and improve the quality of Hawaii’s water resources by preventing and reducing nonpoint source (NPS) pollution,” according to a news release. “We are proud to support this project that enhances comprehensive stewardship of the Pohakea Watershed and facilitates the ability to utilize EPA funding to mitigate impacts to coastal waters,” said Program Manager Justine Nihipali. “The Pohakea Watershed Plan was developed to address land-based sources of pollution entering into Maalaea Bay.” Read more


New Project to Examine Sea Level Rise on the North Coast

A new state project will explore ways to address the impacts of sea level rise on the North Coast, including increased flooding and erosion. The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, along with Clatsop County and Cannon Beach, will host a series of community workshops throughout the county in March. Each two-hour workshop will include information about local sea level rise impacts and allow people to share what risks they are most concerned about. Carl Hendrickson, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration coastal management fellow at the state, said the information gathered at the workshops will help identify what is at risk and priorities moving forward, as well as projects to address potential impacts. Read more

Gulf Coast

State Accepting Proposals for Annual Coastal Grants for FY 2024

A deadline for submitting proposals for projects by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Lands Division for Mobile and Baldwin counties in fiscal year 2024 or from Oct. 1, 2023 to Sept. 30, 2024. Proposals must be submitted by March 31. This competitive funding opportunity is administered by the Alabama Coastal Area Management Program (ACAMP) utilizing federal funds provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) pursuant to the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972. Read more


Biden Administration Proposes Offshore Wind Auction in the Gulf of Mexico

The U.S. Department of the Interior proposed the first offshore wind auction in the Gulf of Mexico. The proposed auction includes an area of more than 100,000 acres in the waters off Lake Charles, Louisiana, and two similarly sized areas off Galveston. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management seeks public comment on which of the two areas offshore from Galveston should be included in the final sale. Read more

Great Lakes

Project to Slow Erosion at Illinois Beach State Park to Cost $74 Million

About $74 million in taxpayer dollars aims to slow down the impact of erosion at Illinois Beach State Park. The project is the largest capital project in the Department of Natural Resources history. The park in Lake County at the state’s northern border is Illinois’ last beach-ridge shoreline along Lake Michigan. Swales sustain marshlands where migrating birds return year after year. The wetlands are home to plants and animals, many of them threatened species. Some of the older beach ridges at Illinois Beach State Park date back 3,000 years. “It is a very unique ecosystem, especially in Illinois where so much of our lakefront is fully developed,” coastal geologist Robin Mattheus told The Center Square. The trouble is that the beach’s shoreline is eroding. In some spots the sand is disappearing at a rate of 100 feet a year. From 2012-2020, the park lost the equivalent of 50,000 dump trucks full of sand, Mattheus said. Read more


Dow Chemical, General Motors Settlement Funds Could Fund $4.7M In Proposed Restoration Projects

The public is invited to give their input on a proposal that sets the stage for environmental cleanup and restoration in the Saginaw Bay watershed. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, or EGLE, announced that a draft of the plan to restore areas along the Titabawassee and Saginaw rivers as well as the Saginaw Bay is now available for public review and comment through March 27. According to EGLE, the draft gives an overview of the Saginaw Bay watershed, the process used to solicit restoration ideas from stakeholders, and the subsequent development of a preferred restoration alternative for submitted projects. Funding for these projects is being sourced from two settlements regarding damage to the natural resources in the watershed: a 2020 settlement with The Dow Chemical Company and a 1998 settlement with General Motors. Read more

East Coast and Caribbean

Solutions Are Few for Imperiled Oceanfront Homes: Panel

It’s been more than a year since the first oceanfront house, standing on an eroded beach within Cape Hatteras National Seashore, collapsed into the ocean in the early morning on Feb. 9. Two more nearby houses fell in May. Each time, tons of construction debris — jagged, sharp, toxic, ugly — were carried for miles by wind and surf into the sea and along the beach. Although the privately owned houses in Rodanthe, a small Hatteras Island village, were left by erosion teetering on the public beach, local, state and federal officials have been stymied by gaps in laws and a lack of funding options to prevent other houses from being swallowed by the Atlantic. “I don’t believe that anyone really wants to see structures end up all the way out on the public beach, including the property owners,” Braxton Davis, director of the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management, told 46 attendees during a virtual workshop held Monday to share information and discuss solutions on threatened oceanfront houses, some of which obstruct the surf zone with their damaged decks and exposed septic tanks. Read more


After 15 Years of Trying, Daytona Beach Getting $3 Million for Flood Mitigation Study

Imagine living in a low-lying neighborhood so flood-prone that you have to worry about barricading your home with sandbags and fleeing for higher ground every time there's a tropical storm – or even just really heavy rainfall – headed your way. For many decades, that's been the anxiety-filled reality for thousands of people who live between Nova Road and the Halifax River. On Wednesday night, just five months after dozens of those urban core residents had to be rescued out of their homes as Tropical Storm Ian blasted through the city, some of the best possible news was announced. Congress has approved spending $3 million to fully fund a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works study that will jumpstart planning and design for critical stormwater and flood protection projects in Daytona Beach. Read more

Events & Webinars

March 8, 2023


March 9, 2023


March 13-16, 2023


March 15, 2023


March 21-23, 2023


March 28, 2023


March 29, 2023


March 31, 2023


March 31-April 1, 2023


April 3-6, 2023


May 7-11, 2023


May 31-June 3, 2023


June 6-9, 2023


June 26-29, 2023


October 16-19, 2023


October 23-25, 2023


November 12-16, 2023

Announcements

CSO RFP for Great Lakes Coastal and Nearshore Habitat Engineering & Design

CSO has released a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a design team to address coastal and nearshore habitat restoration engineering and design needs in the Great Lakes. To carry out this project, the design team will work with three Great Lakes states to complete engineering and design work on the projects selected. Proposals are due March 31, 2023. To learn more here. Register for a pre-bid webinar here.


2023 National Coastal Resilience Fund RFP Now Open

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the U.S. Department of Defense, Occidental, Shell, and TransRe is now soliciting Pre-Proposals for the 2023 National Coastal Resilience Fund. NFWF will award up to $140 million in grants to create and restore natural systems in order to increase protection for communities from coastal hazards, such as storms, sea- and lake-level changes, inundation, and coastal erosion, while improving habitats for fish and wildlife species. NFWF prioritizes projects that are community led or incorporate direct community engagement and benefit underserved communities facing disproportionate harm from climate impacts. Pre-proposals must be submitted through NFWF’s Easygrants system no later than Wednesday, April 12, 2023. An informational webinar has been scheduled for Thursday, March 2, 2023 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET to provide an overview the National Coastal Resilience funding opportunity. The Request for Proposals is available here. Applicants are strongly encouraged to participate and can register for the webinar here.


NOAA Releases Map of Indigenous Communities in the Coastal Realm

NOAA has released a web map that provides an overview and visualization of the multiple indigenous communities with a connection to the coast through traditional homelands. It is designed to help partners in identifying indigenous and tribal communities that have a connection to coastal areas across the United States and Territories. Explore the map here.





Request for Proposals: Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program

The Great Lakes Commission today issued a request for proposals for the 2023 Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program (GLSNRP) grant program.

The Great Lakes Sediment and Nutrient Reduction Program has provided grants to reduce nutrients and sediments entering the Great Lakes for more than 30 years. This year’s program will continue to help local partners take action to reduce nutrient loads from agricultural watersheds and eroding shorelines and streambanks in the Great Lakes basin. Applications are due April 21, 2023. Learn more and apply here. A webinar will be held March 14, 2023, register here.


NROC Announces Several Contractual Opportunities to Support Implementation of its Work Plan

NROC is seeking qualified candidates for a variety of contract opportunities to support NROC’s implementation of its work plan. We have issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to Support NROC Operations via our website. Through this RFQ, we intend to hire the following contract staff positions: Project Manager, Tribal Engagement Coordinator, Business Manager. They are also using this RFQ to pre-qualify candidates to support the following aspects of NROC’s work: Meeting Management, Facilitation, and Strategic Planning; Organizational Website and IT Support. Submissions are due March 23, 2023. Learn more and apply here.


EPA Announced Availability of $100 Million through Inflation Reduction Act for Environmental Justice Grants

The EPA announced the availability of approximately $100 million for projects that advance environmental justice in underserved and overburdened communities across the country. EPA has published two Requests for Applications for this funding through the Environmental Justice Collaborative Problem-Solving (EJCPS) Cooperative Agreement Program and the Environmental Justice Government-to-Government (EJG2G) Program. Applications for both are due April 10, 2023. Learn more about these programs here.


BOEM Announces Proposed Rule to Increase Protection of Marine Archaeological Resources

In order to better protect shipwrecks and other cultural resources on the seabed from harm due to offshore energy activities, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is proposing regulatory changes to its marine archaeology reporting requirements for activities proposed on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). A notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comment was published in the Federal Register for a 60-day comment period ending on April 17, 2023. Learn more and find instructions to comment here.


FEMA Announces NOFO for Safeguarding Tomorrow RLF Program

FEMA has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Safeguarding Tomorrow Revolving Loan Fund Program. Applications are due April 28, 2023. Learn more here.


Request for Information: Framing the National Nature Assessment

The US Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) is seeking input from the public to help inform the framing, development, and use of the National Nature Assessment. The USGCRP welcomes comments on the definition of nature, what questions the assessment can help answer, potential audiences and engagement processes, trends and projections, and relevant information sources. Comments are due March 31, 2023. More information on how to respond to this request, including guiding questions, can be found here.

Job Openings

In The States

Illinois Department of Natural resources, Coastal Zone Program - Program Administrator


Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Resilience and Coastal Protection, Coastal Management Program - Planner IV


Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Office of Coastal Management - Natural Resources Engineer


Washington Department of Ecology, Shorelands & Environmental Assistance - Regional Shoreline Planner


Washington Department of Ecology, Shorelands & Environmental Assistance - Regional Section Manager


Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Office of Coastal Zone Management - CZM Coastal Habitat & Water Quality Specialist


Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Office of Coastal Zone Management - Coastal Resilience Grant Specialist


Hawaii Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands - Planner IV


Hawaii Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands - Planner V


Texas General Lands Office, Coastal Resources Program - Project Manager


California Coastal Commission - Multiple Coastal Program Positions


In The Agencies

NOAA Office for Coastal Management - Management and Program Analyst


NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science - Director


EPA Office of Wetlands, Oceans and Watersheds - Deputy Director


BOEM Office of Strategic Resources - Renewable Energy Specialist


USACE Wilmington Water Resources Section, Engineering Branch - Civil Engineer (Hydraulics)


USACE Jacksonville District, Engineering Division, Coastal Design Section - Civil Engineer


EPA ORISE Fellow - Using Sea-Level-Rise to Understand the Threat in hte Chesapeake Bay Watershed


In NGOs, Industry, and Academia

Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System - GIS Innovation Develope


Audubon - Coastal Program Manager


Restore America's Estuaries - Program Director, Long Island Sound Community Impact Fund


Ocean Conservancy - Indigenous Stewardship Fellow



Ocean Conservancy - Climate Science Coordinator


Ocean Conservancy - Senior Policy Analyst, Renewable Energy


Job Boards


Office for Coastal Management State Programs


Sea Grant Careers Page


SEVENSEAS Media

The views expressed in articles referenced here are those of the authors and do not represent or reflect the views of CSO.

If you have a news item or job posting to include in future CSO Newsletters, please send an email to: rkeylon@coastalstates.org with a subject line: "Newsletter Content". Please include the information to be considered in the body of the email.
Please note: CSO reserves final decision regarding published newsletter content and may not use all information submitted.
Coastal States Organization | 50 F Street. NW, Suite 570, Washington, DC 20001 | 202-508-3860 | cso@coastalstates.org | www.coastalstates.org
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