CRMC approves changes to sea level rise policy

Jan. 27, 2016, WAKEFIELD – The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) last night approved changes to section 145 of its coastal program to better reflect the latest in sea level rise projections, and language making STORMTOOLS an official tool of the agency.

The Council conducted a public hearing on proposed amendments to the RI Coastal Resources Management Program, Section 145, to update sea level rise (SLR) projections for 2035, 2050 and 2100 using current National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) models, and based on the Newport, RI NOAA tide gauge. The CRMC’s existing policy in Section 145 is to periodically review the latest scientific data regarding SLR.

The amendment gives the State and municipalities proper projections for SLR, which they can then use in consideration of future investments and natural resource restoration efforts. Part of the hearing included the official adoption of the online mapping tool, STORMTOOLS, a comprehensive tool designed to help homeowners and municipalities better understand their risks from coastal storms and flooding, and plan for the realities of sea level rise.

It includes a set of data layers for municipalities - https://stormtools-mainpage-crc-uri.hub.arcgis.com/ - as well as a set of layers for homeowners, called STORMTOOLS for Beginners - http://arcg.is/1Hsg4jn. The guidance will be critical for Rhode Island’s cities and towns – Rhode Island Statewide Planning now requires them to address climate adaptation in community comprehensive plans.

“By adopting STORMTOOLS, the CRMC leads by example and encourages other state agencies, municipalities and developers to use STORMTOOLS to evaluate potential impacts from SLR and storm surge on public and private projects and aid in resilient project design,” said CRMC coastal policy analyst James Boyd.

According to the amendments in the section and citing the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, sea levels are rising faster now than in the previous two million years, and the rise is projected to accelerate, regardless of the emissions scenario, even with strong climate mitigation. These estimates do not include limited contributions of ice flow dynamics and do not include local subsidence.

The most recent NOAA sea level rise data will hopefully address both short-term and long-term planning, and design-life considerations for public and private infrastructure. As of 2015, the range in sea level rise change is projected by NOAA to be a maximum of approximately 1.0 foot in 2035, 2.0 feet in 2050 and 7.0 feet in 2100. By citing the NOAA model, Section 145 will reference whatever the current numbers are without the need for constant program revisions as the science is updated, said CRMC Executive Director Grover Fugate.

“When we first adopted this policy, all we had was a three to five foot sea level rise estimate by 2100,” Fugate said to the Council at the meeting. “Now the science is literally changing by the day. This program change cites the NOAA standard, and it’s updated regularly, so we would update our policy along with it. We’d also like to adopt STORMTOOLs as part of our program, and also recommend municipalities use this as well for a reference point going forward.”

The Council first adopted the sea level rise policy in January of 2008, so it was fitting that it be updated and approved unanimously by the Council almost eight years to-the-date. For more information about the regulation changes, go to http://www.crmc.ri.gov/regulations_proposed/2016_0126_CRMP_145.pdf. For more information on the Beach SAMP, go to http://www.crmc.ri.gov/samp_beach.html.