Congresswoman Kiggans’ BEACH Act passes unanimously in the House of Representatives

WASHINGTON, DC: Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed Congresswoman Jen Kiggans’ (VA-02) bill, H.R. 5490, the Bolstering Ecosystems Against Coastal Harm (BEACH) Act. This bipartisan legislation, which Congresswoman Kiggans introduced with Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-AL), aims to protect Virginia’s coastline by approving new, expanded maps under the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA).

Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan in 1982, CBRA employs a free-market approach to coastal conservation: banning most federal tax dollars from being used to develop or rebuild on storm prone, ecologically sensitive coastal areas, helping to preserve not only wildlife habitats, but also essential buffers against storms and flooding. Importantly, CBRA does not prohibit or regulate development by state and local governments or private owners. It simply removes the federal taxpayer from the equation, ensuring hard-earned tax dollars are not going toward funding risky investments in ecologically sensitive areas.

“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,” said Congresswoman Kiggans. “I’m proud that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle joined me in making our coastal communities more resilient by passing the BEACH Act unanimously. We owe it to ourselves and the generations after us to take care of the world we live in, and my legislation does exactly that. I urge the Senate to take up this legislation so that we can continue to be good stewards of our environment and taxpayer dollars.”

In April of 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service identified 96,435 additional acres in Virginia to include in the Coastal Barrier Resources System, including 1,422 of land and 95,013 acres of wetlands and estuarine areas. Kiggans’ legislation would provide the congressional approval required for these maps and related protections to go into effect. Today, 163,589 acres along Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic coast are included in the CBRA system. This includes 974 acres of land and 42,192 acres of wetlands on which nearly all federal expenditures are prohibited. There are also 7,696 acres of land and 112,727 acres of wetlands in “Otherwise Protected Areas,” in which only federal flood insurance is prohibited.

A 2019 economic study reported CBRA has saved U.S. taxpayers $9.5 billion and is projected to save another $11-108 billion over the next 50 years. Additionally, these protected coastal areas provide habitats for economically important fish and shellfish, recreational opportunities for hunters, and flood protection for nearby coastal communities. Areas in CBRA act as nature’s “speed bumps,” absorbing impacts from storms and hurricanes. It is estimated that nationwide, coastal wetlands provide more than $23 billion per year in storm protection services. During Hurricane Sandy in 2012, coastal wetlands prevented $625 million in property damages from Maine to North Carolina.

“Coastal barriers provide significant economic and ecosystem benefits,” said Dr. Derek Aday, VIMS Dean & Director. “There is clear scientific evidence that these benefits are enhanced through policies that allow coastal barriers and their associated estuaries, lagoons, tidal flats, and wetlands to remain in their most natural state. Based on the evidence, VIMS supports the BEACH Act.”