OFFICE FOR COASTAL MANAGEMENT

coast.noaa.gov

NOAA Office for Coastal Management

National Environmental Policy Act and Environmental Compliance

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969 is the foundation of modern American environmental protection in the United States and its commonwealths, territories, and possessions. NEPA requires that federal agency decision makers, in carrying out their duties, use all practicable means to create and maintain conditions under which people and nature can exist in productive harmony and fulfill the social, economic, and other needs of present and future generations of Americans. NEPA provides a mandate and a framework for federal agencies to consider all reasonably foreseeable environmental effects of their proposed actions and to involve and inform the public in the decision-making process.

NOAA’s requirements for implementing NEPA may be found at www.noaa.gov/nepa.

Compliance Activities

NEPA ‒ Nothing at this time.

Completed environmental assessments and environmental impact statements

Endangered Species Act (ESA) – Consultation procedures

Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) – Consultation procedures

Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) – Consultation procedures

National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) Compliance – Consultation procedures

Section 800.2(d)(2) of the National Historic Preservation Act requires federal agencies to inform the public of its undertakings and provide the public the opportunity to comment.

Public comments can be submitted to ocm.environmentalcomp@noaa.gov and must be received by September 8, 2025.

NOAA has selected the projects below for funding through the FY2024 and FY2025 Coastal Zone Management Habitat Protection and Restoration grant competition. This funding increases the safety and productivity of coastal communities within coastal counties through habitat restoration planning, engineering and design projects, habitat restoration implementation projects, and land conservation projects.

  • New York State Department of State – The New York State Coastal Management Program will directly restore six acres of intertidal and wetland habitat along the Hudson River by reconnecting, diverting, and improving water flows that will impact over 400 acres downstream. This project will reduce flooding risks to nearby Schodack Park and local communities, safeguarding the only land-based access to the park.
  • Hawai‘i County – The county of Hawai‘i, a partner of the Hawaii Coastal Management Program, will restore 11.5 acres of coastal land and provide shoreline stabilization while ensuring protection of historic infrastructure on the site. The removal of invasive plants and planting of native species will improve soil structure and reduce the influx of harmful nutrients into the bay and coastline.
  • Old Dominion University – The university, a partner of the American Samoa Coastal Management Program, and its Department of Biological Sciences will restore coral reef ecosystems at three important back reef areas on the island, resulting in successful enhancement of fisheries and creation of a coral nursery. Healthy coral reefs are critically important due to their roles in food production, shoreline protection, dissipation of wave energy, and supporting economic livelihoods.
  • Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council – The Rhode Island Coastal Management Program will acquire three ecologically important coastal properties in Westerly, Rhode Island, to advance a larger plan to conserve, connect, and eventually restore high-value coastal wetland and migration corridors along the sensitive and dynamic barrier peninsula.
  • Washington Department of Ecology – The Washington Coastal Management Program will restore 4.3 miles of channels in the Hoko River, impacting 351 acres of nearby floodplains and resulting in decreased flood risk, improved groundwater storage, and increased abundance of fish and wildlife species. Further improvements to the floodplains also include revegetating 74 acres with native plants and managing invasive plants on an additional 82 acres.
  • California State Coastal Conservancy – The California Coastal Management Program will restore 260 acres of coastal dune and wetland habitats to create a more self-sustaining ecosystem, improving both coastal fortitude and an area impacted by industrial pollution and enhancing public access.
  • Texas General Land Office – The Texas Coastal Management Program will help acquire 164 acres of critical coastal habitat on the western side of Galveston Island, which is the final property needed to create a protected three-mile corridor through an ancient relic dune core and the island’s natural and best defense from coastal hazards.
  • Lake Forest Open Lands Association – The Lake Forest Open Lands Association, a partner of the Illinois Coastal Management Program, will restore 61 acres of significant bluff, ravine, and nearshore habitat within a public nature preserve along Lake Michigan’s coast in Lake County, preventing unnatural erosion that threatens the quality of the Lake’s drinking water.
  • City of Foley (AL) – The City of Foley, a partner of the Alabama Coastal Management Program, will purchase 470 acres of coastal habitat land to provide a critical connection in a landscape-scale conservation corridor and help protect the community in the face of severe weather–related stressors and changing shorelines.
  • Strafford County Conservation District – The Strafford County Conservation District, a partner of the New Hampshire Coastal Management Program, will acquire a 44.3-acre conservation easement of high-priority habitat in the county thereby protecting a property critical to mitigating floods and reducing harmful nutrient levels that affect the growing industry of commercial oyster farms in the immediate vicinity.
  • Ohio Department of Natural Resources – The Ohio Coastal Management Program will restore river and floodplain habitat on a 105-acre property located along the Chagrin River. The property’s restoration will provide enhanced stormwater, flood, and erosion management, improved water quality, increased public access to the river, and improved fish and wildlife habitat.
  • Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development – The Oregon Coastal Management Program will restore 68 acres of tidal marsh and restore fish passage in the Sitka Sedge State Natural Area on Oregon’s North Coast, replacing degraded infrastructure to reduce the impact of tidewater and stormwater on the nearby community, increase the functions of the estuary, and benefit key commercial salmon species.
  • Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs – The Massachusetts Coastal Management Program will restore tidal flows by replacing degraded, undersized, and restrictive culverts within the Mattapoisett Neck salt marsh system and additionally plan and create designs for removing another two tidal restrictions under Mattapoisett Neck Road. Removing these restrictions reduces flooding risks and improves the marsh ecosystem for its inhabitants and local recreational use.
  • Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development – The Oregon Coastal Management Program will partner with the federally recognized Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians to acquire valuable habitat in the Yaquina River Estuary on Oregon’s Central Coast, which will then be managed to improve the land’s ability to mitigate storm impacts and allow for increased public recreation.
  • Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries – The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, a partner of the Louisiana Coastal Management Program, will acquire more than 3,000 acres to add to the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge thereby protecting lands of high ecological value for the continued restoration management and long-term security of the Louisiana coast and providing new hunting and fishing opportunities in the area.
  • Oregon Department of State Lands (South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve) – The Oregon Department of State Lands, a partner of the Oregon Coastal Management Program, will acquire 80 acres to add to the South Slough Reserve, protecting important mature coastal forest habitat from clear-cutting and preserving the ecological functions that improve water quality and provide protection from flooding.
  • Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve) – The Weeks Bay Reserve is restoring 287 acres of wet pine savanna and carnivorous plant habitat within the reserve, providing cost-effective habitat management on a landscape scale and directly benefitting the local economy and wildlife.
  • Oregon Department of State Lands (South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve) – The South Slough Reserve is acquiring at least 100 acres to incorporate into the reserve, protecting the last significant area of wetlands in the South Slough watershed. The storage capacity of these wetlands will aid in reducing downstream flooding in the Charleston port and industrial and residential areas.
  • City of Homer (AK) – The City of Homer, a partner of the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, will acquire at least 100 acres of watershed land to permanently foster the long-term quality and quantity of its primary drinking water source, provide natural stormwater management, and protect habitat for fish species highly valued by the local commercial and recreational fishing community.
  • University of Connecticut (Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve) – The Connecticut Reserve is restoring three high-value marshes to enhance critical habitat and ensure safe access to Bluff Point State Park for visitors, staff, and emergency services. Project outcomes include safer community access through the rerouting of an emergency access road to allow entry to the interior portions of the property by emergency and maintenance vehicles.
  • Georgia Department of Natural Resources (Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve) – The Sapelo Island Reserve will restore 45 acres of live oak maritime forest habitat and ecotone native plantings, resulting in increased habitat and ecosystem functions and reduced risk of wildfire compared to current pine-dominated forests and grasslands.
  • California State Coastal Conservancy – The California Coastal Commission, a partner of the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, is restoring 82 acres of salt marshes and dunes in the reserve to reverse degradation, preserve resources, engage communities, and help ensure ecosystem and infrastructure durability and supporting the nearby Naval Base Coronado’s natural resources management to ensure mission sustainment.
  • Town of Stratham (NH) – The Town of Stratham, a partner of the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, is acquiring a permanent easement to protect 89.85 acres of ecologically significant habitat. The project will provide critical flood protection, pollutant reduction, and water supply benefits for both the human and natural communities of Great Bay.
  • Ducks Unlimited, Inc. – Ducks Unlimited, a partner of the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, is developing restoration designs for 125 acres of salt marsh to enhance flood mitigation and storm protection and improve habitat for rare plant and animal species that rely on the marshes.
  • Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve) – The Narragansett Bay Reserve is developing final restoration designs for 94.4 acres of scrub-shrub swamp, estuarine wetlands, and marine shoreline. Restoration of the area will improve water quality, reduce stormwater runoff, buffer against storm surge, and provide habitat for wildlife.
  • South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve) – The Ashepoo Combahee Edisto (ACE) Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve is restoring 12 acres of native vegetation on South Fenwick Island. The restoration will serve as a blueprint for maritime grassland restoration in the reserve that would lower the cost of future field restoration and maintenance and enable staff and volunteers to continue restoring other areas of the reserve.
  • Maryland Department of Natural Resources (Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve) – The Chesapeake Bay–Maryland Reserve is restoring 530 feet of shoreline and a 2,589-foot-long stream reach within its Jug Bay unit to significantly reduce downstream pollutant transport and flooding. The restoration will improve the health of the watershed by reducing sediment and nutrient pollution with the co-benefit of enhancing area ecosystems and infrastructure.
  • Virginia Institute of Marine Science (Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve) – The Chesapeake Bay–Virginia Reserve is designing and permitting the state’s first large-scale thin layer placement project, a process that uses dredged materials from waterway maintenance to restore and build up coastal marshes and wetlands thereby improving their ecosystem functions and services.

For more information, contact us.