The Coastal Engineering Research Board (CERB) functions as an advisory board to the Chief of Engineers and was established by Public Law in 1963. The Board provides broad policy guidance and review of plans and requirements for the conduct of research and development in support of coastal engineering and the objectives of the Chief of Engineers. Through CERB, IWR provides support to the Director of Civil Works to organize CERB coordination in addition to guiding research and development.
The Board is comprised of seven members. The President of the Board is the military position of Director of Civil Works. The other three military members are senior officers that are division engineers of coastal divisions. The three civilian members are outstanding in the broad field of coastal engineering. For more information on the Board, see the CERB website.
The Coastal Systems Portfolio Initiative (CSPI) is an effort to develop a systems approach for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) coastal projects by considering the connectivity of projects in the Flood Risk Management, Navigation and Ecosystem Restoration business areas of USACE in order to better reduce damages and manage risks from coastal storms. CSPI is working to develop a rational, technically and economically sound decision-making framework for the USACE coastal program to ensure that projects are able to provide those benefits for which they were explicitly authorized.
Through the Planning Center of Expertise – Coastal Storm Damage Reduction (PCX-CSDR), the USACE initiated this effort to examine and evaluate federal projects along the nation’s coastlines as a system of systems instead of as individual projects. The technical review of coastal projects presents a qualitative analysis of existing conditions, resources at risk, estimated federal future costs, and opportunities for action. CSPI has conducted studies of several coastal areas and will continue to do so in order to determine how to best use a systems approach.
IWR staff supports the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army Civil Works and USACE Headquarters participation in the National Ocean Policy (NOP) initiatives, which are integral to the implementation of Executive Order 13547, establishing a National Ocean Policy for the Stewardship of the Oceans, Our Coasts and the Great Lakes (July 19, 2010). The Executive Order adopted the final recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force and created a National Ocean Council (NOC) to pursue and call for a flexible framework for coastal and marine spatial planning to address conservation, economic activity, user conflict, and sustainable use of the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes.
IWR staff regularly attends and engages in both the Ocean Resource Management (ORM) Interagency Policy Committee and the Ocean Science and Technology (OST) Interagency Policy Committee, attending monthly meetings and providing necessary edits and commentary to the National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan (NOP-IP) and serving on the OTS and ORM committees. IWR staff participated in developing the Implementation Plan. The most current version is out for review, and the final is expected to be released in the spring of 2013.
IWR staff also participates in the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Partnerships (IWGOP), as part of the National Oceanic Partnership Program (NOPP). This interagency working group works to coordinate member agency coastal efforts and encourage interagency participation on proposals from the various agencies relevant to the National Ocean Policy and advises and assists the Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (SOST) on matters related to ocean partnership programs.
For additional information on the National Ocean Council, see the White House website.
There are seven National Planning Centers of Expertise (PCX) throughout USACE that support the agency with planning guidance and technical review. The National Planning Center of Expertise for Coastal Storm Damage Reduction (CSDR) is one of these seven centers and focuses on coastal storm damage reduction, with an emphasis on regional sediment management and ecosystem restoration needs at both the national and international levels.
CSDR was formed in 2003 and is led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers North Atlantic Division and seeks to improve the quality and timeliness of coastal storm damage reduction studies. IWR coordinates with and supports the PCX, which has key program areas including hurricane evacuation plans, working with non-Federal partners on coastal issues, and collaborative planning. More information about the CSDR is available on the NAD website.
The SAGE program increases agency knowledge, skills, and technical abilities to effectively address water resource management challenges to natural hazards that impact public safety. SAGE focuses on identifying current and future needs to better adapt and protect against a range of risks to natural hazards.
SAGE brings together experts and practitioners from federal and state government, national and international organizations, academia, and the private sector to:
- Promote the integration of planning and engineering solutions for coastal resilience.
- Encourage regional, landscape-scale planning.
- Implement actions that consider the use of cost-effective long-term solutions to hazards.
- Improve communication, coordination, and collaboration across jurisdictions.
- Connect practitioners and existing groups working on water resource infrastructure planning and implementation at all levels.
The SAGE program takes a comprehensive view on water resource management with the goal of increasing resilience. The systems approach principle of the SAGE program recognizes that resilience depends on local needs and conditions, and that it is crucial to consider the full spectrum of techniques that can be used and integrated within a watershed. The SAGE program focuses on solutions that maximize both flood risk management and environmental considerations, are informed by natural processes, and protect and enhance community resilience.
Coastal Storm Risk Management Measures for Shoreline Stabilization Brochure
SAGE program partners are collaboratively developing an updated informative brochure that provides an overview of different types of shoreline solutions. *New brochure coming soon*
Policy & Planning
SAGE supports planning considerations that better integrate a systems approach for water resource planning within USACE Civil Works projects and beyond. SAGE works to identify cost effective and long-term measures that offer benefits across a range of conditions.
Technical Research
SAGE develops a wide range of technical research focused on the design, performance, risk reduction, and long-term management of planning and engineering solutions across inland and coastal settings. These research efforts help to bridge gaps between policy, planning, and implementation to best determine current and future successes of Civil Works projects. Applications draw from an ever-improving understanding of domestic and international best practices.
Knowledge Exchange
SAGE provides an interdisciplinary multi-agency platform for knowledge exchange to evaluate and implement effective water resource management solutions in the United States and abroad, recognizing the value of connecting practitioners in a shared learning space. Practitioners working on different scales are able to share best practices, cultivate partnerships, and explore innovative ideas that address ongoing and future coastal and inland risks to a range of natural hazards.
Funding and Financing Natural Infrastructure
A key need for implementing more natural infrastructure is funding to scope, design, construct, monitor, and adaptively manage these projects. SAGE and the USACE Engineering With Nature program have collaboratively developed a series of case studies to share innovative examples of funding and financing natural infrastructure. From homeowner cost-sharing programs to watershed-wide wetland restoration efforts, our case studies highlight funding and financing approaches that can be applied across a range of natural infrastructure techniques and scales.
The goal of this project is to raise awareness about a diversity of project types and funding/financing mechanisms. Our library of case studies will increase as additional projects are identified. Practitioners can nominate projects to be featured by contacting the project leads Matthew Smith (matthew.a.smith2 at usace.army.mil) and Margaret Kurth (margaret.h.kurth at usace.army.mil).
Communications & Outreach
SAGE fosters interdisciplinary collaborations across federal and non-federal organizations to promote and accelerate effective water resource management solutions in Civil Works projects. With our regional, national, and international partners, USACE facilitates discussions about lessons learned from previous efforts to design, plan, and implement solutions across a wide range of landscapes. SAGE is also focused on developing educational materials for practitioners and other interests to address water resource risks to natural hazards in their own communities.
The Tales of the Coast website is an educational portal that provides historical information on several U.S. coastal areas and the USACE projects in those areas.
The Congressionally authorized National Shoreline Management Study (NSMS) was to document the physical, economic, environmental, and social impacts of shoreline change across every coastal region of the United States. The National Shoreline Management Study results show that the shorelines of the U.S. are eroding, with significant implications for the health, economics, and welfare of our citizens and the environment. Regional and National reports and products developed my the NSMS can be found in the IWR Library.
The primary focus areas of NSMS include:
- Description of the current state of U.S. shores
- Erosion and accretion, including their causes
- Environmental and economic implications of shoreline change
- Anticipated future climate risks
- Agency roles in restoring and renourishing shores
- Systematic movement of sand
Regional Assessments
The national shoreline has been divided into ten (10) separate NSMS regions for development of regional assessment reports: Hawaii, Alaska, the Pacific Northwest, California, the Gulf of Mexico, the South Atlantic, North Atlantic and the Great Lakes. Each regional assessment report provides an assessment of the causes and effects of erosion and accretion, social, cultural, economic, and environmental importance of our shorelines, and current and future risks. Each report can be found in the IWR Library.
National Assessment
A NSMS National Assessment report has been prepared with participation from other Federal agency representatives, tribes, academia, and other coastal-related constituents and is currently under review. The report includes a high-level synthesis of information from the regional assessments to assist in informing, refining and affirming the priority issues and recommendations that the USACE provides to the Army, the Administration, Congress and other interested parties.
Beneficial Use of Dredged Materials
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the lead federal agency responsible for most dredging activities in the United States. In Fiscal Year 2022, Congress requested USACE development of a report that provides a description of the beneficial uses of dredged material (BUDM) for non-contiguous states and territories outside of the continental United States (OCONUS) and how BUDM can be applied to mitigate changing sea levels, including impacts on sensitive shoreline areas.
The resultant 2024 OCONUS BUDM report presents recent USACE OCONUS dredging and BUDM information, and a five-year projection of future USACE Navigation projects in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands, and American Samoa. In addition to the use of existing data, USACE obtained regional insights and perspectives on BUDM and best management practices through outreach and engagement with other dredging interests.