Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
Coastal use guidelines as approved by the House Natural
Resources Committee on July 9, 1980, the Senate Natural Resources Committee on
July 11, 1980, and the governor on July 24, 1980.
A. The guidelines must be read in their
entirety. Any proposed use may be subject to the requirements of more than one
guideline or section of guidelines and all applicable guidelines must be
complied with.
B. Conformance with
applicable water and air quality laws, standards and regulations, and with
those other laws, standards and regulations which have been incorporated into
the coastal resources program shall be deemed in conformance with the program
except to the extent that these guidelines would impose additional
requirements.
C. The guidelines
include both general provisions applicable to all uses and specific provisions
applicable only to certain types of uses. The general guidelines apply in all
situations. The specific guidelines apply only to the situations they address.
Specific and general guidelines should be interpreted to be consistent with
each other. In the event there is an inconsistency, the specific should
prevail.
D. These guidelines are
not intended to nor shall they be interpreted so as to result in an involuntary
acquisition or taking of property.
E. No use or activity shall be carried out or
conducted in such a manner as to constitute a violation of the terms of a grant
or donation of any lands or waterbottoms to the state or any subdivision
thereof. Revocations of such grants and donations shall be avoided.
F. Information regarding the following
general factors shall be utilized by the permitting authority in evaluating
whether the proposed use is in compliance with the guidelines:
1. type, nature, and location of
use;
2. elevation, soil, and water
conditions and flood and storm hazard characteristics of site;
3. techniques and materials used in
construction, operation, and maintenance of use;
4. existing drainage patterns and water
regimes of surrounding area including flow, circulation, quality, quantity, and
salinity; and impacts on them;
5.
availability of feasible alternative sites or methods of implementing the
use;
6. designation of the area for
certain uses as part of a local program;
7. economic need for use and extent of
impacts of use on economy of locality;
8. extent of resulting public and private
benefits;
9. extent of coastal
water dependency of the use;
10.
existence of necessary infrastructure to support the use and public costs
resulting from use;
11. extent of
impacts on existing and traditional uses of the area and on future uses for
which the area is suited;
12.
proximity to and extent of impacts on important natural features such as
beaches, barrier islands, tidal passes, wildlife and aquatic habitats, and
forest lands;
13. the extent to
which regional, state, and national interests are served including the national
interest in resources and the siting of facilities in the coastal zone as
identified in the coastal resources program;
14. proximity to, and extent of impacts on,
special areas, particular areas, or other areas of particular concern of the
state program or local programs;
15. likelihood of, and extent of impacts of,
resulting secondary impacts and cumulative impacts;
16. proximity to and extent of impacts on
public lands or works, or historic, recreational, or cultural
resources;
17. extent of impacts on
navigation, fishing, public access, and recreational opportunities;
18. extent of compatibility with natural and
cultural setting;
19. extent of
long term benefits or adverse impacts.
G. It is the policy of the coastal resources
program to avoid the following adverse impacts. To this end, all uses and
activities shall be planned, sited, designed, constructed, operated, and
maintained to avoid to the maximum extent practicable significant:
1. reductions in the natural supply of
sediment and nutrients to the coastal system by alterations of freshwater
flow;
2. adverse economic impacts
on the locality of the use and affected governmental bodies;
3. detrimental discharges of inorganic
nutrient compounds into coastal waters;
4. alterations in the natural concentration
of oxygen in coastal waters;
5.
destruction or adverse alterations of streams, wetland, tidal passes, inshore
waters and waterbottoms, beaches, dunes, barrier islands, and other natural
biologically valuable areas or protective coastal features;
6. adverse disruption of existing social
patterns;
7. alterations of the
natural temperature regime of coastal waters;
8. detrimental changes in existing salinity
regimes;
9. detrimental changes in
littoral and sediment transport processes;
10. adverse effects of cumulative
impacts;
11. detrimental discharges
of suspended solids into coastal waters, including turbidity resulting from
dredging;
12. reductions or
blockage of water flow or natural circulation patterns within or into an
estuarine system or a wetland forest;
13. discharges of pathogens or toxic
substances into coastal waters;
14.
adverse alteration or destruction of archaeological, historical, or other
cultural resources;
15. fostering
of detrimental secondary impacts in undisturbed or biologically highly
productive wetland areas;
16.
adverse alteration or destruction of unique or valuable habitats, critical
habitat for endangered species, important wildlife or fishery breeding or
nursery areas, designated wildlife management or sanctuary areas, or
forestlands;
17. adverse alteration
or destruction of public parks, shoreline access points, public works,
designated recreation areas, scenic rivers, or other areas of public use and
concern;
18. adverse disruptions of
coastal wildlife and fishery migratory patterns;
19. land loss, erosion, and
subsidence;
20. increases in the
potential for flood, hurricane and other storm damage, or increases in the
likelihood that damage will occur from such hazards;
21. reduction in the long term biological
productivity of the coastal ecosystem.
H.
1. In
those guidelines in which the modifier "maximum extent practicable" is used,
the proposed use is in compliance with the guideline if the standard modified
by the term is complied with. If the modified standard is not complied with,
the use will be in compliance with the guideline if the permitting authority
finds, after a systematic consideration of all pertinent information regarding
the use, the site and the impacts of the use as set forth in Subsection F
above, and a balancing of their relative significance, that the benefits
resulting from the proposed use would clearly outweigh the adverse impacts
resulting from noncompliance with the modified standard and there are no
feasible and practical alternative locations, methods, and practices for the
use that are in compliance with the modified standard and:
a. significant public benefits will result
from the use; or
b. the use would
serve important regional, state, or national interests, including the national
interest in resources and the siting of facilities in the coastal zone
identified in the coastal resources program, or;
c. the use is coastal water
dependent.
2. The
systematic consideration process shall also result in a determination of those
conditions necessary for the use to be in compliance with the guideline. Those
conditions shall assure that the use is carried out utilizing those locations,
methods, and practices which maximize conformance to the modified standard; are
technically, economically, environmentally, socially, and legally feasible and
practical; and minimize or offset those adverse impacts listed in
§701. G and in the
Subsection at issue.
I.
Uses shall to the maximum extent practicable be designed and carried out to
permit multiple concurrent uses which are appropriate for the location and to
avoid unnecessary conflicts with other uses of the vicinity.
J. These guidelines are not intended to be,
nor shall they be, interpreted to allow expansion of governmental authority
beyond that established by
R.S.
49:214.21-49:214.42, as amended; nor shall
these guidelines be interpreted so as to require permits for specific uses
legally commenced or established prior to the effective date of the coastal use
permit program nor to normal maintenance or repair of such uses.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
49:214.27
