Resiliency and Economic Development Guidance
Click the image to access the
New York Great Lakes-St. Lawrence
River Homeowner Program Guidance (PDF)
In order to build resilience, reduce the risk of future property damage, and minimize habitat impacts, the DEC has compiled general guidelines for coastal design and development projects. The goal of these guidelines is to share technical data, regulatory guidance, best practices, and available resources for development along the dynamic shorelines of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River.
These guidelines can be found in New York State REDI: Building Resilience in Recovery - Homeowners Program Guidance for Shoreline Management on the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River (PDF) and Great Lakes and St. Lawrence River Coastal Development Fact Sheet (PDF). DEC has compiled various tools and datasets that can aid property owners in the design and permitting of Coastal Development. The links to this information can be found in the "Additional Resources" section at the bottom of this page.
For any questions regarding DEC Permits for coastal development, please contact your Regional Permit Administrator. Contact information for the Regional Permit Administrators in each Region can be found at: DEC Regional Permit Administrators.
Additional Resources
NYS Permitting and Regulatory Standards:
- DEC Permits: Determine if your project will need a permit and learn about the application process.
- New York Department of State (DOS) (leaves DEC website): Coastal Consistency review aligns the federal and state actions so they are consistent with State coastal policies and local waterfron revitalization programs.. Determine if your project is in the coastal area, if your project will need a consistency review and learn what you need to do if you have a consistency determination. Other factors to consider when planning and constructing your project.
- US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) (leaves DEC website): Permit information and contact information for your area to make the determination if you need a permit.
- Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) (leaves DEC website): Permit requirements for floodplain development - click on Navigation and type in Permit for Floodplain Development.
- DOS Building codes (leaves DEC website): NYS code enforcement and administration regulations.
Wetland Considerations:
(links leave DEC Website)
- Great Lakes Wetland Support Tool: Interactive map showing wetland areas.
- NYS Designated Wetlands: Interactive map showing State regulated wetlands.
Floodplain Management Guidance:
- National Flood Insurance Program: (leaves DEC website) (click on Navigation and type in National Flood Insurance Program) Explains the need for insurance to reduce the impact of flooding costs.
- Special Flood Hazard Area: (leaves DEC website) (click on Navigation and type in Special Flood Hazard Area) Provides National Flood Insurance Program guidance and requirements.
- Flood Insurance Rate Map: (leaves DEC website) (click on Navigation and type in Flood Insurance Rate Map) Defines and gives guidance on Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) which is an official map by FEMA of specific communities which have special hazard areas and/or the risk premium zones applicable to a certain community.
- CRRA Flood Risk Management (PDF) Guidance: Guide to ongoing efforts to address climate change-related considerations in building and planning.
- FEMA Coastal Work Map Viewer: (leaves DEC website) Interactive map of work in process for coastlines.
Maps:
(links leave DEC Website)
- New York State Coastal Erosion Hazarad Area maps by county and town.
- FEMA Floodplain Maps: (click on Navigation and type FEMA Flood Map Service Center) A service to create a map of a specific location that has been mapped by FEMA with flood elevations.
- Local Geology: A US Geological Survey (USGS) map of the scanned geological surveys of the United States.
- Lake Ontario Image viewer: USACE ArcGIS Online map of Lake Ontario oblique image of the shoreline.
- Lake Water Level Viewer: Interactive map of the Great Lakes water levels.
Digital Data:
(links leave DEC Website)
- GIS Inventory: Available data and map layers from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
- NOAA Shoreline Data Explorer: Interactive map with shoreline imagery.
Data Analysis:
(links leave DEC Website)
- Great Lakes Water Level updates: USACE Weekly data on the Great Lakes Basin water levels.
- Sediment Transport Analysis: Interactive USACE Sediment map showing recent conditions with increased shore protection.
Planning for Shoreline Stabilization
Natural and Nature Based Features Design
- Nature-Based Solutions: (leaves DEC website) Guide of nature-based solutions and included cases studies to identify solutions using Nature-Based shoreline protections.
- Using Natural Measures to Reduce the Risk of Flooding and Erosion (PDF): Guidance to reduce flood and erosion risk using natural and nature-based features
- Lake Ontario Natural and Nature Based Viewer: (leaves DEC website) USACE interactive map to distinguish which land could be a natural or nature-based shoreline solution opportunity.
Structural Based Features Design
- USACE Erosion Protection Design Manuals: (leaves DEC website) Engineer manuals for coastal design.
- USACE Revetment and Seawall Design Manual: (leaves DEC website) Design of Coastal Revetments, Seawalls, and Bulkheads.
- NYS Coastal Erosion Control Design: Guidelines for repairs and planning for coastal properties.
Other considerations for design
- USACE Sediment: (leaves DEC website) Managing and planning for sediment erosion control of shorelines.
- Climate Smart Communities: (leaves DEC website) NYS program to help local governments in planning for changing climate.
- Water Levels of the Great Lakes - St. Lawrence River: Guidance to design to water levels. (PDF)
- Relocating Buildings : (leaves DEC website) Guidance to relocate buildings on the Great Lakes by Wisconsin Coastal Resilience
