The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) has published a white paper explaining ways communities can fund coastal management projects, entitled “Local Funding for Coastal Projects: An Overview of Practices, Policies, and Considerations.” The paper identifies regional characteristics and local considerations communities must assess when determining how to raise revenue for beach and coastal…
On this episode of The Capitol Beach, host Derek Brockbank dives in to “GOMESA,” speaking with former Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, Director of Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Joe Spraggins, and Mobile, Alabama County Commissioner, Connie Hudson. The Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 directed federal funding generated from offshore oil production in…
Over the course of ten shows in 2019, The Capitol Beach spoke with members of congress, federal agency staff, and decision-makers who set policy and direct billions of dollars of funding for coastal restoration and research. The podcast is intended to bring everyone into the coastal “room where it happens” in our nation’s Capitol. One…
American Shore & Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) is pleased to see the Department of Interior will be re-considering a section Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) that has made it more expensive for many coastal communities to improve their resilience. Allowing communities with federally authorized coastal shore protection projects, including federal beach restoration and ecological restoration, to…
$2.54 billion for coastal restoration. If that doesn’t get your attention, nothing will! On this episode of The Capitol Beach, Derek Brockbank interviews Tom Kelsch, Senior VP for the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund (GEBF), at National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). NFWF has a long history of funding Gulf Coast restoration, and following the BP…
The FY20 budget process is moving forward in the House of Representatives, with a few “mini-bus” bills that each include multiple appropriations expected to pass before July. Senate Majority Mitch McConnell leader has made it clear that the Senate won’t consider these Democratically led bills, and there has been very little effort in the Senate…
On this special joint podcast from The Capitol Beach and WaterLog, hosts Derek Brockbank, Howard Marlowe and Dan Ginolfi have a discussion with the leadership of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Planning and Policy. Eric Bush, Acting Director, and Joe Redican, Deputy Director, bring district and division experience to their roles in leading Planning and…
With an FY2019 budget passed and another government shutdown avoided, we can begin to look toward the FY2020 appropriations. Process In normal years, the administration’s proposed budget would be out by now; it comes out shortly after the State of the Union. However, given the shutdown the proposal is unlikely to be out until mid-March….
How will ASBPA increase membership? Everyone loves going to the beach: the surf, the sun, the sand! Lounging around, not a care in the world… Except us loyal ASBPA members who may get carried away examining grain size, dune vegetation or the offshore bar location (knowing many of you, I expect that you already know…
ASBPA is pleased to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to inform coastal and beach stakeholders about the USACE’s 5-year schedule for federal beach projects. To help communities plan for when their federally authorized projects will be constructed, USACE has developed a draft schedule of nearly 700 dredging projects – including navigation…