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On November 25, 2024, President Joe Biden signed into law the Bolstering Ecosystems Against Coastal Harm Act (BEACH Act). This bipartisan legislation reauthorizes and makes the most significant changes to the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) since 1990.
The BEACH Act advances the Service’s long-standing efforts to modernize the maps and bolsters the resilience of coastal ecosystems by expanding the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System
Learn more about the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System, which was established under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act in 1982.
Learn more about John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS) to new areas. The new law adopts revised maps for 454 units within the CBRS in 13 states along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts.
Established in 1982, CBRA aims to save taxpayer dollars and reduce development in hazard-prone and ecologically sensitive coastal areas by prohibiting most new federal expenditures and financial assistance within the designated areas. Property owners may self-insure or seek private insurance if they choose to build within the CBRS, and they may develop their property provided they comply with all other federal, state, and local requirements.
Research shows that CBRA designation boosts the property tax base in coastal counties while saving significant federal funds and reducing building development rates to density levels approximating those of parks and refuges. Between 1989 and 2013, CBRA saved taxpayers $9.5 billion in avoided coastal disaster expenditures, with potential savings of another $108 billion over the next 45 years. Furthermore, the CBRS lowers flood claims to the National Flood Insurance Program, saving taxpayers an estimated $930 million annually. In the face of ever-increasing coastal hazards, expanding CBRA is a common-sense way to protect our coasts and the local communities, fish and wildlife that depend on them.
The newly adopted maps add 294,000 acres to the CBRS, which will protect habitats and enhance coastal resilience in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Louisiana. Additionally, the maps remove from the CBRS nearly 1,400 acres—including approximately 955 structures—correcting previous mapping errors that affected property owners. Structures removed from the CBRS are now eligible for federal flood insurance and other federal programs. All structures that are on the ground in the newly added areas within one year of the law’s passage will remain eligible for all federal programs through a grandfathering provision.
The BEACH Act also directs the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in consultation with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, to develop a disclosure requirement for real estate transactions in communities affected by CBRA. It requires a study of the hazards affecting coastal barrier ecosystems and directs agencies to create guidance on CBRA. This law also creates new exceptions for certain aquaculture operations and certain U.S. Army Corps of Engineers coastal storm risk management projects.
Coastal barriers and their associated wetlands are nature’s way of protecting coastlines and communities from storms. They serve as natural storm buffers for the mainland by absorbing wave impacts and floodwaters; filtering pollutants and enhancing water quality; providing vital habitat for many fish and wildlife species; and supporting local economies through recreation and tourism. Development in these areas compromises these benefits, puts people in harm’s way, restricts the natural movement of shorelines and creates a continuing need for shoreline stabilization, often at the taxpayers’ expense.
The Secretary of the Interior, through the Service, is responsible for administering the CBRA, which includes maintaining and updating the official maps and consulting with federal agencies concerning proposed federal expenditures within the CBRS. Significant changes to the CBRS become effective only when Congress adopts revised maps through legislation such as the BEACH Act.
For more information and to view the new maps, please visit our BEACH Act webpage.
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