485-I:2 Program Established. –
There is established within the department of environmental services the New Hampshire coastal program to implement 16 U.S.C. section 1452, the Coastal Zone Management Act. It is the intent of the state to encourage and assist state and federal agencies and coastal zone municipalities in the sustainable use of the land and water resources of the coastal zone giving full consideration to ecological, cultural, historic, and esthetic values as well as the needs for compatible economic development. The coastal program should encourage and assist to support:
I. The protection of natural resources, including wetlands, floodplains, coastal and estuarine waters, beaches, sand dunes, and fish and wildlife and their habitat within the coastal zone.
II. The management of coastal development to minimize the loss of life and property caused by improper development in flood-prone, storm surge, geological hazard, and erosion-prone areas and in areas likely to be affected by or vulnerable to sea level rise, ground water rise, and saltwater intrusion, and by the destruction of natural protective features such as beaches, sand dunes, and wetlands.
III. The management of coastal development to improve, safeguard, and restore the quality of coastal waters, and to protect natural resources and existing uses of those waters.
IV. Public access to the coasts for recreation purposes.
V. The redevelopment of deteriorating urban waterfronts and ports, and sensitive preservation and restoration of historic, cultural, and esthetic coastal features.
VI. The coordination and simplification of procedures in order to ensure expedited governmental decision making for the management of coastal resources.
VII. Continued consultation and coordination with, and the giving of adequate consideration to the views of affected state and federal agencies.
VIII. The giving of timely and effective notification of, and opportunities for, public and local government participation in coastal management decision making.
IX. Comprehensive planning, conservation, and management for living marine resources, including planning for the siting of pollution control and aquaculture facilities within the coastal zone, and improved coordination between state and federal coastal zone management agencies and state and wildlife agencies.
X. The study and development of plans for addressing the adverse effects upon the coastal zone in accordance with the updating of storm surge, sea-level rise, precipitation and other relevant projections recommending in the coastal risks and hazards commission 2014 report "Sea-Level Rise, Storm Surges, and Extreme Precipitation in Coastal New Hampshire: Analysis of Past and Projected Trends" in RSA 483-B:22, I.
Source. 2021, 208:2, Pt. I, Sec. 1, eff. July 1, 2021.