Coastal Barrier Resources Act
From Open Energy Information
The Coastal Barrier Resources Act of the United States was enacted October 18, 1982. The United States Congress passed this Act in order to address the many problems associated with coastal barrier development. CBRA designated various undeveloped coastal barriers, which were illustrated by a set of maps adopted by law, to be included in the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS). These designated areas were made ineligible for both direct and indirect Federal expenditures and financial assistance, which are believed to encourage development of fragile, high-risk, and ecologically sensitive coastal barriers.
CBRA was originally authored by U.S. Representative Thomas B. Evans, Jr. and Senator John Chafee, who kept three objectives in mind:
- to minimize the loss of human life by discouraging development in high risk areas vulnerable to storm surges and hurricane winds;
- to reduce wasteful expenditure of Federal resources; and
- to protect the natural resources associated with undeveloped coastal barriers.
The CBRA is administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service and more information can be found at their website.