Islands
Hawaii
(+) In December 2007, Kaua‘i County Council passed a science-based shoreline setback ordinance that mandates a 40-foot minimum setback plus 70 times the annual coastal erosion rate as recommended in the Hawai‘i Coastal Hazard Mitigation Guidebook. Previously, the county required a 40-foot setback with an option for land owners to appeal up to 20 feet.
(+) As an alternative to hardened structures for erosion protection, the State DLNR is working on guidelines for truly temporary biodegradable erosion control sandbags. These bags and blankets are intended to serve as temporary emergency erosion control and are composed of 100% coconut fiber (Coir). Initial trials have been promising.
(+) Hawaii Sea Grant prepared Natural Hazard Considerations for Purchasing Coastal Real Estate in Hawai'i (May 2006).
(+) Hawaii’s coastal managers consider sand bag revetments to be “hard” structures, meaning they are not permitted as much as they have been in the past.
(+) All beaches in Hawaii are publicly owned.
(+) Hawaii recognizes waves as a valuable recreational, economic, and cultural resource.
(+) The University of Hawaii monitors over 80 beaches around the state to better understand the process of seasonal profile adjustment.
(0) On Maui, 62% of the sandy shoreline is eroding at an average rate greater than one foot per year. As much as 30% of the sandy shoreline has either significantly narrowed or been lost since the 1940s. Nearly 8 miles of beach have been lost due to shoreline armoring.
(-) Hawai'i is one of the only coastal states without a centralized science office to deal with such issues as coastal erosion.
(-) On Oahu there are only 86 public rights of way for over a hundred miles of coastline. Many shoreline paths were created with the intent to provide beach access and are tax assessed at only $100 -- yet they remain closed to the public.
(-) Major sewer spills occurred on Oahu in early 2006. A sewer spill in Honolulu due to a line break released an estimated 48 million gallons of raw sewage into the Ala Wai Canal and closed beaches in Waikiki. Additional sewer spills occurred during a period of heavy rain in November 2007.
(-) On Oahu, the Honouliuli sewage treatment plant in Ewa and the Sand Island plant operate under section 301(h) waivers from the requirements of the federal Clean Water Act. These two plants and one in San Diego, California are the only major sewage treatment facilities in EPA's Region 9 that still have these waivers. UPDATE: In January 2009 the EPA issued a decision to not renew the waivers for the two sewage treatment plants.
(-) Nearly 25% (17 miles) of Oahu’s beaches have been lost or significantly narrowed over the last century as a result of coastal armoring along the coastline. Beaches in front of seawalls are 50-70% narrower than non-armored beaches.
(-) Past practices of locating shorelines for certification too far makai has tended to reduce beach access, lead to inappropriate shoreline construction setbacks and in some cases lead to shoreline armoring.
Puerto Rico
(+) The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER) entered into a land acquisition agreement in March 2007 that will protect a large area of land on the northeast coast. On October 4, 2007, Governor Anibal Acevedo-Vila signed an executive order to establish a 3,240-acre natural reserve that will effectively protect all the lands in the Northeast Ecological Corridor. This land has high natural and ecological values and is adjacent to the largest mangrove lagoon in Puerto Rico: the Piñones Natural Reserve. DNER continues to promote the acquisition of lands under the Land stewardship Program, Natural Heritage Program, and the High Ecological Value Trust, and recently submitted its first proposal to the Coastal and Estuarine Land Protection program. A project by Governor Anibal Acevedo-Vila called "Heritage 100,000" aims to acquire over 100,000 acres over the next 10 years. During the past two years, over 10,000 acres of important ecological lands have been already acquired and designated for protection in Puerto Rico.
(+) OCRM and USEPA fully approved Puerto Rico’s Coastal Nonpoint Program (CNP) in 2000, making it the first program approval for a U.S. island territory and fourth overall in the nation.
(+) NOAA/OCRM noted in their most recent review of Puerto Rico's Coastal Program: "PRCMP consistently worked to improve public access to Puerto Rico’s coastal waters by: (1) developing excellent public access inventories and brochures; (2) designing and installing standardized public access signs; and (3) initiating projects such as dune walkovers on popular beaches."
(0) Sea level forecasts for Puerto Rico are plus one meter by 2100.
(-) Despite existing regulations, coastal development projects do not always include a public access component. Additionally, some development projects that retain actual physical access to the coast incorporate perceived barriers to access, such as gates or guards. The relative ease with which developers are able to ignore public access requirements points to the need for improved enforcement.
(-) The coastal permitting process and enforcement efforts in Puerto Rico do not always achieve the intent of land-use regulations. As a result, construction projects have been permitted in high-risk flood areas.
(-) In June 2006 the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA) entered into an agreement to plead guilty to an indictment charging 15 felony counts of violating the federal Clean Water Act (CWA) through the illegal discharge of pollutants from nine sanitary wastewater treatment plants and five drinking water treatment plants. PRASA will pay $10 million in criminal and civil fines—the largest fine ever paid by a utility for violating the CWA. In addition, a comprehensive civil settlement was reached between PRASA and the USA resolving repeated environmental violations at 61 wastewater treatment plants throughout the Commonwealth. PRASA will spend $1.7 billion for capital improvement projects and other remedial measures at all of its 61 wastewater treatment plants and related collection systems over the next 15 years.
(-) Fewer than half of the homes of Puerto Rico's 4 million residents are hooked up to sewage treatment plants or septic systems.
(-) The US EPA has granted several 301(h) waivers to sewage treatment plants in Puerto Rico, allowing discharge to the ocean of partially-treated sewage.
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