Coastal Erosion?
STEPS TO RESTORE YOUR RHODE ISLAND COASTAL PROPERTY
Many of you have reached out to me to help out with the current erosion problems and lack of guidance/assistance from CRMC. I’ve been researching for the past month or more and wanted to prepare this document to keep informed as to where we stand.
I have a valid assent - Can we restore now!? Many of you have “non-expired” assents prepared by Natural Resource Services, Inc. that were approved within the last year or so. One line item in those assents is “The council reserves the right to terminate this assent in the event of coastal storms or severe erosion…” CRMC has chosen to enact this clause. It was cited to me in an email with one of the supervisors although there has been no formal declaration of any kind. So that being said, if you want to move forward with any degree of restoration at this point, you need a new assent. Also, CRMC will no longer accept joint assents (for example one assent was tied to 8 different properties, they now need individual applications). Don’t worry we can help with this. We are doing these permits NOW for a flat rate. Please contact me to get this initiated if you haven’t already.
What can we restore back to? There are a couple issues here. The tide line has significantly changed from last year. This is a seasonal change and WILL retreat again in the spring and summer. However, right now, if you submit an application for sand/dune restoration within the hightide line OR within 10-feet of the hightide line, your application will be held up in legal limbo for A LONG TIME. Ten feet landward of the hightide line is the public shoreline access zone. There is active litigation in the courts around private homeowner rights in this zone. Any applications received by CRMC for work in this zone get legally held and will not be decided upon until those legal arguments are resolved! We have collected CURRENT HIGH TIDE DATA and can prepare your restoration plan so that this DOES NOT happen.
Are coir logs/envelopes an option? As you likely already know, hard shoreline protection is not allowed on the south shore. Any attempt to petition this and file for something like a headwall for example, would likely take years to sort out and would ultimately be denied. Does anyone remember the Ocean Mist battle in South Kingstown? However, biodegradable protection is allowed. Coir (pronounced core) fiber is dense rope-like material made out of coconut fiber. One method which has been approved in the state before, is filling these coir envelopes with sand and stacking them. They are then buried with sand and then planted over the top with dune grass. I have concerns about this option and would need to assess the potential for effectiveness on a case-by-case basis. This method may provide more stability and reduce the annual maintenance but would not stand up to a significant storm.
Future options? In other states along the east coast (i.e. North Carolina) channels and ocean floor are dredged and then the sand pumped onto the beach to widen and restore the actual beach. This is not an option in RI at this time, however, I would recommend reaching out to your representatives and trying to work toward this option as I believe it is the only long-term solution. I would be happy to assist in this process if needed.
What now?! I recommend getting a new sand replacement permit now (we can handle this for a flat rate) and then once spring/summer natural processes push the beach/dune more seaward, you will have more room to restore back to again before the next winter storm season. I recommend a second round at the end of summer to maximize your land. We are prepping these permits NOW for spring restoration. Please reach out if you have any questions or would like to initiate.