Coastal Erosion Control Permit Program

ARTICLE 34, ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION LAW, Coastal Erosion Hazard Areas
6 NYCRR PART 505, Coastal Erosion Management Regulations

Certain sections along coastal regions of New York State are subject to an erosion process from actions of adjacent water bodies. This erosion can be caused by the action of waves, currents running along the shore, tides, wind-driven water and ice, as well as human activities such as construction and shipping.

This coastal erosion process causes extensive damage to publicly and privately owned property and to natural resources as well as endangering human lives. When this erosion occurs, individuals and private businesses are prone to suffer significant economic losses, as does the state's economy.

Another key player in contributing to erosion-related problems is man. These problems are contributed to when:

building without considering the potential for damage to property,
activities which destroy natural protective features such as dunes or bluffs, and their vegetation are undertaken,
building structures intended for erosion prevention which may exacerbate erosion conditions on adjacent or nearby properties, and
wakes from boats produce water action on the shoreline.

Building erosion protective structures, either by private or public funds, are extremely costly programs. These structures often are only partially effective over time and may even be harmful to adjacent or nearby properties.

Declaration of Policy

The Coastal Erosion Hazard Statute declares that all coastline prone to erosion hazards should be identified. Activities, development or other action in erosion hazard areas should be undertaken to minimize damage to property, and prevent the exacerbation of erosion hazards. Some actions may be restricted or prohibited if necessary to protect natural protective features or to prevent or reduce erosion impacts. In addition, the policy states that public actions should not encourage development or permanent activities without erosion protection or non-structural measures which are most likely to prevent damage from effects of erosion during the anticipated life of such proposed actions.

Purpose and Intent

The mandate of New York State, as set forth in Article 34 of the Environmental Conservation Law (ECL), and the implementation of its provisions in 6 NYCRR Part 505, Coastal Erosion Management Regulations, sets forth a program to prevent and reduce erosion by:

promoting and preserving the natural protective features such as dunes and bluffs, beaches and nearshore areas of coastal regions;
restricting or prohibiting activities, development or actions in natural protective feature areas to prevent or reduce erosion and place new construction or structures a safe distance from areas of active erosion and impacts of coastal storms;
regulating the placement and construction of erosion protection structures, when justified, to minimize damage to property, natural protective features and other natural resources;
restricting development involving public investment in services, facilities, or activities which are likely to encourage new permanent development in erosion hazard areas;
requiring publicly financed erosion protection structures intended to minimize erosion damage to be used only where necessary to protect human life or where the public benefits of such structures clearly outweigh the public expenditures;
establishing procedural standards for local program implementation and encourage administration of coastal erosion management programs by affected municipalities; and
establishing standards for the issuance of coastal erosion management permits.

Coastal Erosion Control Permit Program

To implement this policy, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) created the Coastal Erosion Control Permit Program to make sure that construction and other activities on specified coastal areas meet the following standards for permit issuance (Part 505.6):

is reasonable and necessary, considering reasonable alternatives to the proposed activity, and the extent which the proposed activity requires a shoreline location;
will not be likely to cause a measurable increase in erosion at the proposed site or other locations; and
prevents, if possible, or minimizes adverse effects on:
- natural protective features and their functions and protective values as described in section 505.3;
- existing erosion protection structures; and
- natural resources including, but not limited to, significant fish and wildlife habitats and shellfish beds.

Endangered Home in Coastal Hazard Area

Coastal Water Areas

The coastal areas that are to be protected and preserved are:

Lake Erie and the Niagara River
Lake Ontario and St. Lawrence River
Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound
Hudson River south of the federal dam in Troy
East River
Harlem River
Kill van Kull and Arthur Kill
All connecting water bodies, bays, harbors, shallows, and wetlands

Coastal Processes

The principal natural causes of erosion are wave action, wind action, and overland runoff groundwater seepage through intense precipitation. Other contributing factors that can significantly increase erosion of a natural protective feature include length of fetch, wind direction and speed, wave length, height and period, nearshore water depth, tidal influence, increased lake levels, and overall strength and duration of storm events. Combinations of these factors and events can exacerbate the effects of these processes by increasing water levels, increasing storm rise, waver runup and wind setup, producing damaging waves, driving ice "plates" along the shore scouring beaches and bluff areas, reducing sand from beaches and allowing water and wave action further inland intensifying erosion of dunes and bluffs.

Even though natural events play a major role in the erosion process, human actions can intensify the effects of these processes speeding up the erosion process. Humans contribute to the erosion process by removing vegetation which then allows wind and precipitation to directly erode the soil, directing runoff from streets, parking lots, roofs, and other locations over the bluff edge causing erosion, or by constructing "hardened" structures on the shore which block littoral processes and can reflect wave energy onto adjacent shoreline or cause deepening of the nearshore area. Many development activities damage or alter natural protective features and the protection these features afford the upland area from erosion and storm damage.

More about Coastal Erosion Control Permit Program:

Coastal Erosion Control Permit Program: Jurisdiction of Other Agencies - Introduction to New York State's Coastal Erosion Permit Program