2024 Coastal Resilience Program Competition Results
The National Sea Law Grant Center awarded two institutions a one-year research grant through its 2024 Coastal Resilience Program competition. The Law Center received thirteen full proposals that went through a rigorous evaluation process involving written peer reviewers and technical review panelists. Out of the thirteen full proposals received, the following were awarded:
Project Title: Evaluating Oregon’s Statewide Land Use Planning Goal 18: Beaches & Dunes
Principal Investigator: Adam Schempp
Institution: Environmental Law Institute and Sea & Shore Solutions
Project Description: This project will evaluate the impact of Oregon's Statewide Land Use Planning Goal 18, an essential policy for coastal resilience, and offer actionable legal language recommendations to enhance the resilience of Oregon’s coastal communities. The research will focus on five communities across the coast that reflect diverse natural and demographic characteristics. The team will conduct a comprehensive literature review covering policy, environmental science, and engineering, followed by interviews and consultations with local experts and community organizations. A legal analysis of Goal 18 and its associated regulations will identify both effective provisions and areas for potential improvement. The findings will culminate in a detailed report and outreach materials, including one-pagers with policy interpretations tailored to state and local governments. This work will be guided by an Outreach Advisory Committee to ensure inclusive stakeholder engagement. In addition, the project will contribute to advancing recommendations from the DLCD’s 2019 Goal 18: Pre-1977 Development Focus Group.
Project Title: Assessing the Effectiveness of Rhode Island’s Shoreline Access Policies in the Context of Climate Change
Principal Investigator: Jesse Reiblich
Institution: University of Rhode Island
Project Description: This project will evaluate the effectiveness of Rhode Island’s shoreline access policies in the face of rising sea levels and other climate change impacts. The research will focus on three key objectives: (a) determining whether Rhode Island’s current definition of the shoreline (i.e., 10 feet landward of the visible high water line) is legally sufficient or if a new delineation would be more appropriate for users, property owners, and regulators, while considering climate change impacts; (b) assessing whether Rhode Island’s new shoreline access law provides meaningful access to the coast or merely establishes a legal right without addressing equity, policy, and practical access challenges; and (c) building upon recent planning grants funded by Rhode Island Sea Grant.
Program Development Funds
Project Title: Building Legal Capacity to Address Intellectual Property and Equity Considerations in Community-Research Partnership
Principal Investigator: Katy Hintzen, University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program
Project Description: The National Sea Grant Law Center awarded project development (PD) funding to the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program (Hawaiʻi Sea Grant) to enhance equitable knowledge ownership and access through community-researcher partnerships. The project objectives were to: (1) assess the current landscape of intellectual property (IP) policies within the University of Hawaiʻi System, (2) build a network of partners in the Hawaiian Islands to address IP issues, and (3) connect with national expertise in IP law.
In the first phase of the project, a legal intern conducted research and produced several key deliverables, including a comprehensive slide deck for use by Hawaiʻi Sea Grant and other partners that outlines the intersection of IP law, Indigenous rights, and the unique challenges faced by Hawaiian knowledge practices. The legal intern also developed an annotated services agreement template to inform future agreements. Project team members also presented these findings at the 2024 US Indigenous Data Sovereignty & Governance Summit in Arizona, further strengthening national connections with Indigenous scholars and data stewardship experts.
In collaboration with Conservation International, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant organized the workshop "No kākou, Na kākou" on July 29, 2024, in Honolulu. This event brought together 48 participants from diverse fields—including health, law, environmental conservation, and cultural practices—to foster dialogue on Indigenous data sovereignty and collective responsibilities in knowledge stewardship. The workshop was highly successful, providing a platform for deep connections among Kanaka 'Ōiwi leaders. Journal articles are currently in development to share the presentations and insights from this Summit.
2024 Sea Grant Law and Policy Journal Symposium Competition Results
In June 2024, the National Sea Law Grant Center awarded four universities a grant to organize and host academic symposiums addressing priority ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes law and policy topics. The proceedings from these symposia will be published as a special issue of the Sea Grant Law & Policy Journal.
Project Title: Puerto Rico at the Crux of Climate Change and Recovery, Puerto Rico Sea Grant, University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez
Project Description: The Sea Grant College Program at the University of Puerto Rico in collaboration with the Legal Clinic at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico School of Law, will convene a two-day symposium on coastal legal issues in the face of climate change, disaster recovery and fiscal austerity. The event will assemble scientists, practicing litigators, community members, legal scholars, and activists to contemplate coastal issues in a post-disaster context together. Legal professionals will address the development of the legal framework regulating the diverse and sometimes conflicting interests that converge on our coasts, and community activists and leaders will ensure that the dialogue will incorporate practical concerns regarding implementation, account for the changing nature of these communities, and explore alternative solutions. This new legal academic work on coastal matters will provide increased depth and new insight into norms that originated in the nineteenth century and have remained generally unchanged.
Project Title: Law and Policy Challenges to Coastal Adaptation in the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland Sea Grant, University of Maryland
Project Description: Maryland Sea Grant (MDSG) in collaboration with Georgetown University Law Center’s Georgetown Climate Center and the Environmental Law Institute , will host a one-day symposium to highlight and analyze gaps in the existing adaptation legal frameworks and to further investigate mechanisms to improve existing legal structures to more effectively address the societal challenges brought on by a changing climate in Mid-Atlantic coastal communities. This symposium, and the subsequent related articles, will help (1) raise public, private, and government awareness of the Law Center’s Journal and MDSG’s Legal Fellowship program, (2) facilitate collaboration between other Mid-Atlantic Sea Grant programs and regional ocean and coastal organizations, and (3) advise the legislatures of Maryland and other Mid-Atlantic states on equitable, community-centered adaptation policies in need of legislation.
MDSG Press Release: Maryland Sea Grant to Hold Climate Adaptation Law and Policy Symposium
Project Title: Shape of the Coast Legal Learning at North Carolina’s 2024 Coastal Conference, North Carolina Sea Grant, North Carolina State University
Project Description: In alignment with the 2024 North Carolina Coastal Conference, and in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Office of General Counsel, the North Carolina Sea Grant will incorporate a “Shape of the Coast” symposium on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 in New Bern, NC. This symposium will be developed in partnership with a variety of legal experts and will support law and policy students in an engaging manner through a proposed mentorship approach. The interdisciplinary topics and partnership model will strengthen current relationships as well as develop new legal networks to address priority state, regional, and coastal needs for current and future professionals.
Project Title: Navigating Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal: From Science to Regulation, Columbia University
Project Description: Columbia University in collaboration with the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and New York Sea Grant, will host a hybrid symposium that will explore legal and policy issues associated with Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal (mCDR) activities that aim to increase uptake and storage of carbon dioxide in the ocean. The symposium will provide an opportunity for legal and policy experts, regulators and government representatives, scientific researchers, industry groups, the NGO community, and others to discuss legal and policy frameworks for advancing marine CDR. The mCDR law symposium and its proceedings will help to improve knowledge and information sharing, spur additional research, and thereby advance sustainable mCDR.
Coastal Resilience Program
2023 Coastal Resilience Program
The National Sea Law Grant Center awarded four universities a one-year research grant through its 2023 Coastal Resilience Program competition. The Law Center received ten full proposals that went through a rigorous evaluation process involving written peer reviewers and technical review panelists. Out of the ten full proposals received, the following were awarded:
Project Title: Equitable Coastal Urban Adaptation to Climate Change: A Resilience Justice Assessment Assessment
Principal Investigator: Dr. Craig Anthony (Tony) Arnold
Institution: University of Louisville Research Foundation, Inc.
Project Description: The project studied the extent to which 8 U.S. coastal urban areas – Boston, Cleveland, Miami, New Orleans, San Diego, Savannah, Seattle, and Tampa – are adopting and implementing strategies that are well-designed to improve the adaptive capacities and reduce the vulnerabilities of communities.
Researchers at three universities (Louisville, Georgetown, Georgia State) systematically assessed the texts of 68 different climate-adaptation/resilience plans using three analytical frameworks. The assessments were synthesized in reports for each urban area. The team also produced a guidebook for local planners and community groups nationwide. The project’s deliverables highlight exemplary practices, explore planning inadequacies and barriers that are common to many of the studied localities, and make recommendations for improved planning for community resilience based on these results.
Project Title: Assessing the Effectiveness of Coastal Adaptation Policies in Hawai‘i: A Comprehensive Framework for Evaluation and Best Practices Comprehensive Framework for Evaluation and Best Practices
Principal Investigator: Dolan Eversole
Institution: University of Hawai'i Sea Grant College Program
Project Description: This project assessed methods to evaluate the effectiveness of climate adaptation and coastal zone management policies in addressing long-term coastal hazards. Using a sample framework, the study examined governance, planning, risk reduction outcomes, ecosystem-based adaptation, community engagement, and monitoring practices as key indicators of policy performance. Recommendations for enhancing policy effectiveness include; developing measurable performance indicators as part of new or existing policy, periodic reassessment of strategies and their performance to pre-defined standards, providing dedicated funding for coastal policy development and implementation, and stronger integration of ecosystem-based solutions using a phased adaptation pathway framework. The sample assessment framework can be used as a benchmark for future evaluations, enabling policymakers and stakeholders to track progress and adjust strategies in response to evolving climate conditions.
Project Title: Learning climate resilience: Investigation of the Maine Climate Adaptation Planning policy for climate resilient wastewater infrastructure policy for climate resilient wastewater infrastructure
Principal Investigator: Christine J. Kirchhoff, Ph.D., P.E.
Institution: The Pennsylvania State University
Project Description: This project evaluated the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s (ME DEP) Climate Adaptation Planning (CAP) program, which supports wastewater systems in preparing for the impacts of climate change.
This study analyzed each of the 21 climate adaptation plans developed through the program between 2017 and 2023 to determine how well these plans addressed ME DEP’s goals, including identifying climate risks (like flooding, storms, and rising temperatures), assessing infrastructure vulnerabilities, and recommending over 700 adaptation measures. This research identified key trends, strengths, and areas for improvement, and led to 10 recommendations—some of which ME DEP has already begun implementing.
Project Title: Coastal Preparedness & Resilience: Effects and Effectiveness of Two Policy Efforts
Principal Investigator: John Duff, JD, LLM
Institution: University of Massachusetts Boston
Project Description: This project will examine the origin, implementation, evolution, and effects of the programs to assess:
– common vulnerabilities articulated in the MVP assessments and coastal resilience support
requests; and,
– common/best/unique practices employed by municipalities to reduce vulnerability and/or
enhance resilience.
Researchers will share preliminary findings with state administrators and use the findings to conduct a survey of municipalities to assess how programs might be modified to better advance the state’s objectives to reduce vulnerability and/or enhance resilience. Researchers will also examine how the programs evolved over time to discern how the policies themselves were adapted to reflect new knowledge and feedback from coastal communities.