“1 House Stays. 1 Goes”

“With sea level rise, there’s really no happy ending.”

David Blatt of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) made this cautionary remark during a Coastal Management Workshop last week in Branford.

Blatt offered insight into newly enacted legislation that begins to address the issue of rising seas. Blatt and John Gaucher, both of DEEP’s Office of Long Island Sound Programs, discussed revisions to the Connecticut Coastal Management Act (CCMA) that went into effect Oct. 1. The revisions will likely have an impact on Branford’s more than 20 miles of shoreline.

Also in the news is a report from the Shoreline Preservation Task Force, which released its recommendations last month.

“Our Shoreline Preservation Task Force recommendations reflect an urgent need to confront indisputable threats,” said state Rep. Lonnie Reed (D‑Branford), a member of the task force. ​“Waters really are rising. Extreme high tides frequently flood roads these days, even without storms. Waves claw at our shorefronts during pounding weather events. And due to the high density of coastal development, critical public infrastructure is jeopardized, such as sewage treatment plants, essential roads, rails and flood zone sub-stations crucial to our electric grid.”

DRAWING A LINE IN THE SAND

“This is kind of complicated,” Blatt said, as he gave a power point presentation about the new CCMA regulations to about two dozen people who attended the workshop Thursday sponsored by the Branford Planning and Zoning Commission.

Blatt said this is the first time the CCMA states that sea level rise is a factor in state and local planning.

“You have to think about the property owners’ rights and the public’s rights,” Blatt told the audience, adding that people will have to do something to protect the shoreline as sea levels rise. He said shoreline homes and property may eventually be lost, and that owners are likely to bear the cost since the government won’t be able to afford expensive bailouts.

Another major change in the CCMA is that the High Tide Line will now be called the Coastal Jurisdiction Line, which is based on a fixed elevation that differs for each town. The DEEP regulates from the water up to the Coastal Jurisdiction Line,(CJL) and towns regulate from the land to the Mean High Water line, which is further waterward than the Coastal Jurisdiction Line, meaning there is still an area of shared jurisdiction. The CJL only affects the DEEP jurisdiction, not the town’s. Blatt said the Mean High Water line is an average of all high tides over a given period, while the High Tide Line was the maximum height reached by a rising tide.

There is a list of Coastal Jurisdiction Line elevations for each town on the DEEP’s Web site.

Local commissions rely on assistance from the DEEP in regard to coastal site plans. For example, both state and local entities will review a coastal site plan if a homeowner wants to renovate or rebuild a home and those plans include seawalls or other such structures that are referred to as flood and erosion control structures.

According to the new CCMA regulations, local zoning commissions must provide written alternatives to homeowners or developers if their applications are denied. ​“You do have to make suggestions,” Blatt said. ​“There is a whole new field of imagination available to you” for alternatives.

LIVING SHORELINES

Blatt (pictured) said one of the new alternatives is the creation of ​“living shorelines.” These can be used instead of seawalls or other structures that armor the shoreline and increase coastal erosion. 

“As sea level rises the public is going to lose shoreline if there is armoring,” Blatt said.

Living shorelines make use of plants, submerged aquatic vegetation, sand, and a limited use of rocks to help protect the shoreline.

“A living shoreline is not going to be for everyone, everyplace,” Blatt said. ​“It’s not a panacea.” He said living shorelines work better on a stretch of shoreline or along a neighborhood, rather than on one small property. ​“It does require ongoing maintenance…. especially where vegetation is used.”

The DEEP’s John Gaucher (pictured here) talked about ways to mitigate coastal hazards. He showed photos of damage to shorelines and homes in Branford and Milford during Tropical Storm Irene. One photo showed damage from Irene to a concrete revetment (barricade) in the Crescent Bluff neighborhood in Branford. (pictured)

Another photo showed two adjacent homes in Milford. (Top photo) One was elevated to FEMA standards and the other was not. ​“One house stays and one goes,” Gaucher said, demonstrating the effectiveness of elevating homes.

He said seawalls have been used to protect shoreline homes for years, but they may divert flood water onto neighboring property. ​“Most of the seawalls were built long, long, long ago,” Gaucher said.

He said under the revised regulations, erosion control structures like seawalls are permissible when they are ​“necessary and unavoidable” for protecting homes that existed prior to 1995, and if there are no feasible alternatives. He said the recent super storms have brought the question of seawalls to the forefront.

“It’s a balancing act. A lot of people want to rebuild (seawalls) after a storm and get back to normal,” Gaucher said, but added it may not be the best solution.

The revised CCMA regulations discourage the construction of seawalls, but permit them in certain situations. It lists alternatives that are less likely to damage the environment, such as moving the house further from the water, elevating the home, creating dunes, or creating a living shoreline.
Gaucher said planning and zoning commission should call the DEEP with any questions on the new regulations. ​“We’re here to help you with these policies,” he said.

PRESERVING THE SHORELINE

Following Tropical Storm Irene, a statewide Shoreline Preservation Task Force was formed, and held its first public hearing in Branford last July. Click here to read about that. (link to July 11 story) Many residents who attended that hearing criticized the DEEP for its lengthy permitting process.

The task force released a report last month with 37 recommendations. Branford’s three legislators serve on the task force: State Rep. Reed; State Rep. Pat Widlitz (D‑Branford and Guilford); and State Senator Ed Meyer.

“Insurance company analytics and re-drawn FEMA maps mean higher insurance rates for vulnerable shoreline homes and municipal buildings, so it’s going to cost more for all of us to live here,” Reed told the Eagle ​“Our Task Force recommendations include initiatives to fast track repairs, design better coastal protections and incentivize building upgrades.”

“We also advocate creating a customized Connecticut plan that encourages our most vulnerable shoreline residents to permanently retreat to safer locations,” Reed said. ​“The constant cycle of destroy and rebuild is dangerous and traumatic for homeowners and increasingly costly to taxpayers. An incentivized retreat plan is obviously controversial, but it acknowledges our shoreline’s new reality and we have to take it seriously.”

An article in the Connecticut Mirror discussed the task force recommendations and the financial and practical hurdles they face. Click here to read that story. Many of the recommendations target ways to improve DEEP processes, and also suggest actions that towns should take.

Branford recently enacted new zoning regulations that make it easier for homeowners to raise or modify their homes to meet FEMA and state flood zone requirements. Click here to read a story about that.

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