Tag Archives | legal

Recording of Legal Webinar on Regulatory Takings and Climate Change Now Available for Streaming

Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant and partners have kindly shared a link to a video recording of their latest webinar “Legal Implications of Climate Change – Regulatory Takings.” You can watch the whole presentation (vide and audio) here. Among other things, Stephanie Showalter Otts provides a good overview of the case history that guides decisions today, and […]

Coming to the ASFPM Conference? Join the StormSmart Crew

Coming to the ASFPM (Association of State Floodplain Managers) Annual Conference in Louisville, KT next week? If so, I hope you’ll considering joining a group of us to discuss how to use the No Adverse Impact approach to floodplain development in your community. Speakers include Ed Thomas (Baker), Terri Turner (Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission, GA), […]

Sea Level Rise and Beaches: Not a Pretty Combination

Orrin Pilkey, always a lightening-rod for coastal climate change issues, has written a gloomy forecast for the world’s beaches, and has the photos to justify his positions. He acknowledges that predicting the effects of sea level rise on beaches is complex, and that results will vary greatly depending on many factors. But overall, the picture […]

Training: Basic Concepts for Floodplain Management [December 14-15, Virginia]

First, the bad news: the course is in Virginia. The good news: it sounds like a good spot to get an overview of what it means to manage a floodplain. From the organizer’s description: This training course will present the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) concepts in flood management, damage prevention terminology, and protocols from […]

Webinar Series Includes Presentation on "Sea Level Rise and Property Rights"

The International Submerged Lands Management has announced its new conference dates. Unlike most conferences, this one takes place on your computer, so those of us with limited travel budgets can still participate. You can find a schedule of all the conference’s events on their website (and we’ll add the lot to the StormSmart Coasts Calendar), […]

Federal Flood Insurance Will Cover Flood-Related Oil Damage [FEMA Memo]

FEMA has released a memo clarifying that in the event of a declared flood disaster, National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) coverage will apply even if oil is mixed with flood waters. The brief memo suggest that the NFIP will bill the party that caused the oil damage (in this case, British Petroleum) for the damages. […]

Texas Appellate Court Finds No Taking in State's Open Beaches Act

From the always useful Ocean and Coastal Case Alert Newsletter: “A Texas appellate court struck down a challenge from several beachfront property owners to the Texas Open Beaches Act. The homeowners filed the action seeking a declaratory judgment for their right to repair, maintain, and access their houses, as well as for damages for the […]

Community Threatens to Fine Homeowners Over Renourished-Beach Access

The New Jersey Star-Ledger has published a fascinating story about a barrier island community struggling with whether or not the Township can nourish private beaches within its jurisdiction without the blessing of its waterfront landowners. The debate, distilled into one paragraph: “Mayors want to keep beaches and dunes wide, attractive and safe. Waterfront homeowners balk […]

Legal Seminar on Post-Katrina Insurance

From our friends at the Gulf of Mexico News: The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program will sponsor “Post-Katrina Insurance Developments and Other Legal Issues,” a continuing legal education (CLE) seminar for Mississippi attorneys and other interested people, from 8:30 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 30, at the Mississippi State University Coastal Research and […]

Corps of Engineers Mandates Consideration of Sea Level Rise

In a new public document, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (COE) has announced that it will immediately require all COE Civil Works projects in coastal and estuarine areas to consider sea level rise in all phases of its projects. The short document continues with specific explanations of which rates of sea level rise must […]