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<font color="#000099">The Massachusetts Coastal Hazards Commission is
seeking public input on their draft recommendations by <b>September 15</b>.
For complete details, see below or visit
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.mass.gov/czm/chc/index.htm">http://www.mass.gov/czm/chc/index.htm</a>.</font><br>
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<br>
Dear Concerned Member of the Public:
<br>
<br>
It is hard to ignore coastal hazards in Massachusetts, especially when
an above normal hurricane season has been predicted for Southern New
England and the private insurance industry is raising premiums and
pulling policies for coastal homes. Since the Coastal Hazards
Commission began meeting in February, we have been discussing these and
other issues related to coastal hazards including sea-level rise,
erosion, flooding, and failing seawalls that threaten coastal
communities and ecosystems. The goal of the Commission is to review
existing coastal hazards practices and policies, identify data and
information gaps, and draft recommendations by November for possible
administrative, regulatory, and statutory changes. This has been a
challenge in such a short timeframe considering Massachusetts has over
1,500 miles of diverse coastline.
<br>
<br>
Five working groups of experts have been assisting the
Commission with our recommendations. The experts represent various
fields including policy, planning, emergency management, biology,
geology, and engineering. The working groups have focused on (1)
coastal hazards data and tools, (2) policies, (3) planning and
regulations, (4) structural measures to protect coastal development,
and (5) public coastal infrastructure. While the Commission continues
to work hard on these issues, we are providing a draft of our
recommendations for your review.
<br>
<br>
The Commission requests your feedback now through <b>September 15</b>
on our draft recommendations. Please let us know if the recommendations
cover all of the critical issues related to coastal hazards in
Massachusetts. The Commission will prioritize the recommendations and
provide plans for implementation in the final report, which will be
released in November. If you have any suggestions on prioritization or
implementation, those comments are welcomed as well.
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<br>
Thank you for your interest in the Coastal Hazards Commission.
We look forward to reviewing your comments. Please send them to the
attention of Julia Knisel at <a
href="mailto:coastal.commission@state.ma.us"
title="Click to e-mail comments">coastal.commission@state.ma.us</a> or
251 Causeway St., Suite 800, Boston, MA, 02114-2138.<br>
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<b>Direct link to the Coastal Hazards Commission Recommendations: </b><a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.mass.gov/czm/chc/recommendations/recommendations.htm">http://www.mass.gov/czm/chc/recommendations/recommendations.htm</a><br>
<br>
Sincerely,<br>
Susan Snow-Cotter<br>
Chair, Coastal Hazards Commission<br>
Director, CZM
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