Improving Coastal Resilience in the Northeast: Innovative Solutions to Protect Communities, Property, and the Environment

This briefing transcript from the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) features experts discussing coastal resilience strategies in the Northeast United States. The discussion focuses on nature-based adaptation solutions, the challenges of rural and urban planning, and the necessity of coordinated funding and governance to protect communities, infrastructure, and fisheries from sea level rise and storm surges.

• Massachusetts implemented the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) program in 2017, a state-local partnership that provides planning grants to help communities identify vulnerabilities and action grants to fund implementation. The program prioritizes nature-based solutions, which are defined as "using natural systems, mimicking natural processes, or working in tandem with traditional approaches to address natural hazards like flooding, erosion, drought, and heat island."
• The Massachusetts MVP program has seen significant participation, with 71 percent of the state's communities participating in some capacity. Two rounds of action grants have funded 67 projects totaling $15.3 million, including living shoreline feasibility studies in Essex, salt marsh restoration in Newberry, and cranberry bog restoration in Falmouth.
• In the New York City and New Jersey metro area, the Waterfront Alliance works with over 400 civic and business partners to build consensus on resilience. The region faces significant risks, with over a million people currently living in floodplains and the National Flood Insurance Program carrying over $20 billion in debt.
• The Waterfront Alliance advocates for federal reforms, including the Living Shorelines Act and the Climate Stewardship Act, as well as National Flood Insurance Program reform. They suggest reforming cost-benefit analyses used by FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers to better account for equity and green infrastructure, noting that current models may treat "ten 100k houses" the same as "one one-million dollar house."
• Rural coastal communities in Maine face unique challenges due to limited staffing and finances, often struggling to balance climate resilience with deferred maintenance and school budgets. The Island Institute supports these communities, noting that 84 of Maine's coastal communities have fewer than 2,500 people and 25 percent have fewer than 800 residents.
• Maine's coastal economy is heavily dependent on the lobster fishery, which contributes over $1.5 billion annually. Working waterfront infrastructure is highly vulnerable to sea level rise; for example, the ferry terminal at Vinalhaven is frequently inundated during high tides and storms, threatening the lifeline for its 1,150 year-round residents.
• The Island Institute and other partners have worked to quantify the "cost of inaction" for Maine towns like Vinalhaven, Stonington, and Scarborough by using publicly available data to project how property inundation will impact municipal tax rolls under various sea level rise scenarios.
• Funding for coastal resilience is currently fragmented, relying on Congressional appropriations (such as post-Sandy funds), state-level programs like New Jersey's Blue Acres and Green Acres, or local town meetings. Experts argue for more proactive, long-term federal and state funding sources to replace the current reliance on disaster-response grants.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2019). Improving Coastal Resilience in the Northeast: Innovative Solutions to Protect Communities, Property, and the Environment. https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_102319.pdf

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. Improving Coastal Resilience in the Northeast: Innovative Solutions to Protect Communities, Property, and the Environment. 2019. https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_102319.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=Improving Coastal Resilience in the Northeast: Innovative Solutions to Protect Communities, Property, and the Environment |date=October 2019 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_102319.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2019improving, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{Improving Coastal Resilience in the Northeast: Innovative Solutions to Protect Communities, Property, and the Environment}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2019}, month = oct, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/transcript_102319.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }