'We're not going to stand by.' Healey sketches out initiative to address coastal threats

Massachusetts has more than 1,500 miles of coastline across 78 communities that count nearly 2.5 million people as residents, and the Healey administration on Tuesday mapped out the skeleton of its strategy for preparing those areas to deal with the impacts of a changing climate.

The ResilientCoasts initiative will be led by a new chief coastal resilience officer within the Office of Coastal Zone Management, and is expected to "pursue a multipronged approach to identify regulatory, policy, and funding mechanisms to develop focused long-term solutions" to coastal climate change risks.

Next year, the ResilientCoasts effort will divide the coastline into Coastal Resilience Districts to group places that share similar landscape characteristics and face similar hazards. Then, based on those districts, the state plans to collaborate with communities to implement "tailored resilience policy and regulatory strategies," including nature-based solutions, dredging, coastal nourishment, roadway elevation, and managed retreat.

Explore buying out properties at risk of repeated flooding

There will also be a statewide component, the governor's office said. Coastal Zone Management and other state agencies will jointly evaluate building standards, financing strategies, and scientific best practices. And the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency will evaluate the feasibility of a state program that would buy out properties at risk of repeated flooding or other climate change impacts, something advocates have pushed for for years.

"We're not going to stand by while a major storm wrecks people’s homes, or coastal erosion pulls down seawalls out from under our small businesses," Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper said. "We have some tough questions ahead – where will it be safe to build? How can we preserve our historical landmarks? What infrastructure will withstand ever worsening weather? We’re taking on some of the difficult aspects of coastal resiliency, and we’re doing it in partnership with municipalities, lawmakers, academics, and advocates to build consensus along the way."

The state's federally-mandated Statewide Hazard Mitigation and Climate Adaptation Plan identified flooding from precipitation, coastal flooding and erosion due to sea level rise as the most significant hazards to Massachusetts. Sea level rise could affect almost half of all Massachusetts residents in the coming decades. Already about 43 percent of the state's population lives in coastal communities, and the populations in most of those cities and towns are expected to increase.

Massachusetts is planning for sea level rise of up to 2.5 feet by 2050 and 4.3 feet by 2070 (both compared to 2008 sea level) if global emissions are not significantly curtailed. The climate adaptation plan projects the annual average damage to coastal buildings in Massachusetts will nearly double by 2030 due to changes in sea level and storm surge.

The threats that climate change, particularly sea level rise, poses to coastal communities and economies was highlighted at the state's annual Investor Conference earlier this month.

Economic growth expected in coastal areas

Michael Goodman, the former head of the UMass Dartmouth Public Policy Center who is now senior advisor to the chancellor on economic development and strategic initiatives, said as part of his presentation on the Massachusetts economy that while population and labor force growth are expected to be slow statewide over the rest of this decade, growth rates for both are projected to be stronger in coastal areas.

That will make coastal resilience essential, Goodman said. He included a chart from a 2020 study that considered how sea level rise will decrease property tax revenues in Massachusetts coastal communities. The researchers chose Massachusetts to study because of the state's "high exposure" to sea level rise (SLR) and the budgetary reliance on property taxes for municipalities — property taxes constitute 41 percent of local revenues in Massachusetts, but an average of 60 percent of local revenues among coastal municipalities.

"In absolute terms, 3 ft of SLR threatens 1.4% ($104 million) of current property taxes of 89 coastal municipalities by chronically inundating over 15,000 taxable acres currently valued at $8.89 billion," the report said. "Six feet of SLR threatens 12.5% ($946 million) of current property taxes of 99 coastal municipalities by chronically inundating almost 37,000 taxable acres valued at $64.4 billion."

A commission to study the pros and cons of a buyout program

In studying the idea of a state program that would buy properties vulnerable to serious climate change impacts, MEMA will be delving into a policy area that has been used in other states and has been on the radar of environmental groups here for years. In July 2022, the Trustees of Reservations tried unsuccessfully to gin up support for an amendment to the House's economic development bill that would have created a Voluntary Acquisition of Flood Risk Properties Commission directed to study the pros and cons of a state buyout program.

"This commission is a critical next step to help communities prepare for flooding resulting from rivers, storm surge, and sea level rise and more frequent rainfall and intense storms. Homes across the state are already being flooded, and every year the climate problem becomes worse," the Trustees wrote in a letter to lawmakers last year. "An estimated 162,798 residential properties and nearly 13,000 miles of roads are currently at risk in Massachusetts – and our state ranks 3rd in the nation for the number of affordable housing units threatened by coastal flooding alone."

The Legislature approved a total of $50 million for coastal property buyback programs in 2014 and 2018 environmental bond bills, but former Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides said in 2021 that the Baker administration had "not moved as quickly on that yet."

Theoharides is now president and CEO of the Trustees, the group that last year was pushing for a state buyout program, and the Healey administration included a quote of support from her in its press release Tuesday.

"As the stewards of 120 miles of Massachusetts coastline, the Trustees see first-hand the impact of increasingly powerful storms and coastal erosion and has been working to pilot nature-based solutions that build resilient coastal ecosystems," she said. "We applaud this effort by the Healey-Driscoll administration to work with communities and partner organizations to better prepare and respond to the growing threat posed by climate change, and we look forward to partnering with the new Chief Coastal Resilience Officer to promote nature-based solutions to help communities become more resilient to climate impacts."

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This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Regulations, policy and funding planned to protect Mass. coastline