Carper, Graham, Kiggans, Blunt Rochester Celebrate Enactment of Legislation to Protect Coastal Ecosystems

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Congresswoman Jen Kiggans (R-Va.) and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) joined in celebrating the enactment of legislation to amend and reauthorize the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA). The legislation is known as the Strengthening Coastal Communities Act in the U.S. Senate and the Bolstering Ecosystems Against Coastal Harm (BEACH) Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill was signed into law by President Biden last week.

This law will enlarge the CBRA System by adding more than 290,000 acres to it. This will further save taxpayers' money, expand flood protections for today's coastal communities, and conserve important habitat. It will also adopt comprehensive revised maps prepared through the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Hurricane Sandy Remapping Project to right size the program. Specifically, it will codify 195 updated or new maps that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has transmitted to Congress for the Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS). The law includes a provision to support sustainable aquaculture operations and authorizes $1.9 million in annual appropriations to implement CBRA through fiscal year 2031.

"This legislation will curb development in low-lying coastal areas, protect wildlife habitat and save taxpayer dollars. These important updates to the Coastal Barrier Resources Act will undoubtedly protect our communities that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and extreme weather," said Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Tom Carper. "I'm thankful for the broad, bipartisan coalition of Delawareans, advocates and lawmakers who helped move this legislation across the finish line and to President Biden for signing it into law."

"I am glad this legislation has been signed into law. It makes important updates to Coastal Barrier Resources Act maps impacting South Carolina and allows for increased local input as additional maps are considered," said Senator Graham. "I was proud to work with my colleagues and Chairman Carper to pass this legislation in the Senate and protect vulnerable land from coastal hazards such as flooding and storm surge."

"I am incredibly proud to see the BEACH Act become law," said Congresswoman Kiggans. "We owe it to ourselves and the generations after us to take care of the world we live in, and my bipartisan legislation does exactly that. For 40 years, the Coastal Barrier Resources Act has not only protected millions of acres of beaches and wetlands, but also prevented billions of dollars in property damage from natural disasters and undoubtedly saved lives. With the BEACH Act as law of the land, I am confident Americans can continue to be good stewards of both our environment and taxpayer dollars."

"I'm excited that, last week, President Joe Biden signed the BEACH Act into law - legislation that builds off my previous work in the House to strengthen our coastal communities," said Congresswoman Blunt Rochester, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. "This piece of legislation will help protect Delawareans and our natural resources from hazards including flooding, storm surge, wind erosion, and sea level rise. At a time when extreme weather has become more common as a result of the climate crisis, this legislation is needed now more than ever. I'm proud of the good-faith, bipartisan collaboration it took to get this bill over the finish line and am confident that it will benefit our coastal communities for many years to come."

You can view the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's proposed changes to the CBRA System in Delaware here.

You can read the full text of the BEACH Act here and a one pager on the bill here.

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