[SEMCO] Input Rqstd. on Coastal Hazards Commission Recommendations

[Sheri DeRosa]

The Massachusetts Coastal Hazards Commission is seeking public input on 
their draft recommendations by September 15. For complete details, see 
below or visit http://www.mass.gov/czm/chc/index.htm.

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Dear Concerned Member of the Public:

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.

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.

The Commission requests your feedback now through September 15 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.

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 coastal.commission at state.ma.us 
<mailto:coastal.commission at state.ma.us> or 251 Causeway St., Suite 800, 
Boston, MA, 02114-2138.

Direct link to the Coastal Hazards Commission Recommendations: 
http://www.mass.gov/czm/chc/recommendations/recommendations.htm

Sincerely,
Susan Snow-Cotter
Chair, Coastal Hazards Commission
Director, CZM

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