ABSTRACT
This chapter exposes the reader to the various laws and levels of government involved in regulating living shoreline projects. It reviews jurisdictional boundaries, the public trust doctrine, and shoreline property law. The chapter examines project permitting from the federal, state, and local level, respectively. It brings it all together in the context of a hypothetical living shoreline project. Although shoreline stabilization projects generally take place in nearshore waters, a brief overview of the water-ward jurisdictional boundaries of state and federal governments provides context for the layers of regulatory oversight. However, certain federal laws overlay state coastal management. Such laws include the Clean Water Act, the Coastal Zone Management Act, the Magnuson–Stevens Act, the Endangered Species Act, and others. This chapter provides a brief overview of provisions of federal laws that may affect shoreline stabilization and restoration projects. State regulation of shorelines adds to the complexity of permitting living shorelines. A living shoreline project may also require water quality permitting.
