The peak of the Atlantic hurricane season is approaching and the The National Weather Service predicts Hurricane activity is more active this year, above the long-term average, as it has been for the seventh year in a row. Climate change is making storms stronger and more frequent, putting people, property and the environment at greater risk of damage from increased flooding and erosion.
To address this urgent challenge, Congress needs to modernize and expand the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, a little-known but powerful law that protects coastal communities, wildlife, and the federal taxpayer from storm damage. and sea level rise.
For 40 years, this bipartisan law has protected millions of acres of pristine, undeveloped beaches and wetlands across much of the United States. Using a conservative market-based approach, the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) discourages development in hazard-prone areas by eliminating federal spending such as flood insurance, disaster recovery grants, and other government-funded programs. federal taxpayer. This policy has been very effective, with less than 5 percent of CBRA-protected areas developed, compared to more than 25 percent of land outside the CBRA system. By avoiding wasteful federal spending in these sensitive coastal areas, it has saved taxpayers nearly $10 billionwhile at the same time providing birds with a safe habitat and nearby communities with a buffer against storm surges and rising sea levels.
To build on this success, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently recommended that Congress add more than 277,000 acres to the CBRA system of protected areas across nine states that were hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy nearly 10 years ago. Coastal wetlands prevented more than $625 million in property damage during Hurricane Sandy. Adding new wetland areas to the CBRA system would extend this protection to more communities along the East Coast. This proposal is pending action in the United States Senate and House.
In June, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee held a hearing on the bill called Coastal Communities Strengthening Law, which would add this new acreage to the CBRA system, along with a subset of areas on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The bill would also authorize a pilot project to identify ways to extend CBRA protections to upland areas where wetlands could migrate as sea levels rise, as well as expand the definition of an undeveloped coastal barrier to include areas not yet included in the CBRA system.
In a joint letter to the Senate, more than 30 organizations, including ours, Audubon and the R Street Institute, voiced support for the Strengthening Coastal Communities Act, which brings together fiscal conservatives, insurance groups, state floodplain managers, hunters and fishermen, zoos and aquariums, as well as various national and international organizations. state conservation groups. However, the Law to Strengthen Coastal Communities has not yet been formally presented in Congress.
Lives and livelihoods are at stake if this legislation stalls in Congress. Coastal storms have caused almost $950 billion in economic losses in the US since 1980, and sea level rise alone threatens properties across the country worth more than $1 billion. By eliminating taxpayer-funded subsidies for development in hazardous coastal areas, CBRA promotes public safety. Nationwide, coastal wetlands provide $23 billion in storm protection services each year, lowering recovery costs for communities and taxpayers. The wetlands and inlets protected by the CBRA system support the recreational and commercial fishing that is essential to our economy and coastal heritage. In addition, birds such as Piping Plovers rely on the undeveloped beaches and islands of the CBRA system for nesting and fuel for their long migrations.
Legislators in the US Senate and House must introduce and pass the Strengthening Coastal Communities Act. This legislation is critical to saving lives, protecting coastal wildlife and their habitats, and reducing wasteful federal spending.
Portia Mastin, JD, is the policy manager for coastal conservation at the National Audubon Society. Her work focuses primarily on federal laws and policies related to the conservation and restoration of estuaries and coastal wetlands, as well as the promotion of nature-based solutions for flood and storm management for the resilience of coastal communities and the ecosystems. Mastin previously worked at the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy, where she conducted legal policy research on coastal, marine, and freshwater issues.
Jerry Theodorou is the director of the R Street Institute’s Business, Insurance and Financial Policy Program. Jerry develops and promotes effective free-market public policy solutions to complex problems involving federal and state governments. He was previously director of insurance research at Conning in Hartford, CT. Prior to Conning, Theodorou worked for global insurance giant American International Group (AIG) in a variety of global underwriting, operations and strategy roles, including nearly a decade of expatriate management assignments in Europe and the Middle East.