| "We now have the authority to ensure that more of these important coastal resources remain intact to buffer upland areas from future storms and climate change impacts." | |
| Shep Moon, Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program |
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Over the past 10 years, a series of studies have been conducted to inventory and analyze Virginia dune and beach resources. This extensive examination ultimately resulted in legislation passing unanimously last year that expanded dune and beach protection from nine communities to all the communities in the state’s coastal zone.
“This is what we all dream about when we talk about wanting science-based policy,” says Laura McKay, program manager for the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program.
The expanded Coastal Primary Sand Dunes and Beaches Act protects an additional 1,300 estuarine beaches and dunes along about 75 miles of shoreline that includes 24 counties and 14 cities.
The result is that communities and the state are now better able to protect dune and beach resources from shoreline hardening structures designed to control shoreline erosion, as well as other coastal development.
First Line of Defense
Dunes and beaches are critical resources for any coastal state, says Shep Moon, coastal planner for the Virginia Coastal Program.
The first line of defense during a hurricane or nor’easter, dunes and beaches act as buffers and absorb wave energy so that properties are protected from shoreline erosion.
“Dunes really work better than anything man-made as far as protecting land from storms,” says Moon. “It’s been shown time and time again that if you build on top of dunes, you lose protection and those houses are put in danger.”
Dunes and beaches also provide critical habitat for a number of important plant and animal species, and protect water quality by filtering freshwater before it reaches saltwater or brackish water.
Original Legislation
The state’s original legislation protecting primary dunes was passed in 1980. At the time, there was no comprehensive inventory of dune or beach resources, and only nine localities were covered, explains Moon.
In 1984, the legislation was expanded to include protection of beaches above the mean high water line in those same nine communities.
Other legislation, including the Tidal Wetlands Act, protected the state’s shoreline below the mean high water line.
But there was a “hole in the Virginia shoreline protection system,” says Lyle Varnell, assistant director of Advisory Services at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS).
In many communities, sandy beaches above the mean high water line and primary dunes were given little or no protection, especially from the construction of shoreline hardening structures.
It was, however, concern about the protection of secondary dunes—older dunes found landward of primary dunes—which are not covered in any Virginia legislation, that led to the evaluation of the state’s dune and beach resources.
Secondary Questions
“That was really the impetus to start this,” acknowledges McKay. “Some people took me out and were showing me some really spectacular secondary dunes that were completely unprotected.”
Scott Hardaway, a VIMS geologist, recalls that “when the coastal program posed the question about the secondary dunes, we responded that we couldn’t question the status of the secondary dunes because we didn’t know the status of the primary dunes.”
Enhancing the Coastline
The coastal program used federal 309 coastal zone enhancement grants to fund the series of studies conducted by VIMS that resulted in a comprehensive inventory and analysis of the state’s dune and beach resources.
Section 309 of the Coastal Zone Management Act is a voluntary grant program for federally approved coastal management programs to identify the highest state priorities related to public access, coastal hazards, ocean resources, wetlands, marine debris, cumulative and secondary impacts of growth and development, special area management planning, energy and government facility siting, and aquaculture.
Research Says
VIMS research showed that extensive dune and beach resources beyond the nine localities in the original legislation were unprotected, especially from the impacts of shoreline hardening structures such as rock revetments and wooden bulkheads.
Designed to control shoreline erosion, these structures can also affect dune and beach habitats and decrease the amount of sand necessary to maintain beaches.
The analysis also showed that most of Virginia’s secondary dunes were either already protected through conservation, were significantly altered by development, or faced little threat of development because of limited access.
Forming Policy
Using the VIMS research, the network of coastal agencies and communities that make up the coastal program’s Coastal Policy Team supported the idea of expanding the act to cover the unprotected beaches and primary sand dunes.
To protect the small number of ecologically valuable secondary dunes, efforts will include acquisition or conservation easements.
Unanimous Support
With the research and program support in hand, Moon says the “next step was to package it to make it easier for the public, local elected officials, and general assembly members to understand the issues. VIMS did a publication with our grant support.”
The bill moved quickly through the state legislature, passing unanimously. It went into effect July 1, 2008.
Local in Approach
The expanded legislation enables communities to adopt a model ordinance that gives them the power to administer dune and beach permits through existing local wetlands boards, says Tony Watkinson, deputy chief of the Habitat Management Division of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
If a community chooses not to adopt the ordinance, then the Marine Resources Commission regulates development affecting dunes and beaches in that area.
“What the expansion really got us,” explains Moon, “is protection of dunes and beaches where they were unprotected. We now have the authority to ensure that more of these important coastal resources remain intact to buffer upland areas from future storms and climate change impacts,” such as sea level rise.
McKay adds, “We had the wonderful opportunity of using federal grant funds to analyze an issue and determine what the situation is, and how to make improvements. This is a fine example of how section 309 coastal zone enhancement grants did exactly what Congress—and we in coastal zone management—wanted it to do.”
For more information on Virginia’s dune and beach research, go to www.vims.edu/physical/research/shoreline/cbdunes/. You may also contact Shep Moon at (804) 698-4527, or shep.moon@deq.virginia.gov, or Laura McKay at (804) 698-4323, or laura.mckay@deq.virginia.gov. For more information on VIMS research, contact Lyle Varnell at (804) 684-7764, or lyle@vims.edu, or Scott Hardaway at (804) 684-7277, or hardaway@vims.edu. For more information on regulatory implementation of the act, contact Tony Watkinson at (757) 247-2255, or Tony.Watkinson@mrc.virginia.gov.
