USA: BOEM, New Hampshire Ink Agreement on Sand Resources

As part of President Obama’s continuing commitment to help coastal communities recover from Hurricane Sandy and promote resilient coastal systems, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the State of New Hampshire signed a two-year cooperative agreement totaling $200,000 to identify sand resources for coastal resilience and restoration planning.

The agreement will help BOEM and the State of New Hampshire conduct research that will assist coastal communities in recovering from future devastating storms such as Hurricane Sandy, restore habitat, increase knowledge of offshore sand resources, and contribute to long-term coastal planning efforts.

Under this agreement, the University of New Hampshire Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, together with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the New Hampshire Geological Survey, will develop an assessment of sand resource needs, and provide analysis of existing geophysical and geological data that can be used to find new sand resource areas offshore New Hampshire.

“This agreement demonstrates BOEM’s commitment to work with New Hampshire to help coastal communities recover from devastating storms such as Hurricane Sandy and enhance resilience efforts for the future,” said BOEM Acting Director Walter Cruickshank. “We will continue to work in a collaborative manner to help local communities withstand damage from future storms.”

BOEM scientists will assist New Hampshire in identifying areas to study for future geophysical and geological surveys, with the purpose of confirming previously identified sand resources and locating new potential resource areas. BOEM will also help New Hampshire develop tools to more readily share sand resource data with other agencies involved in coastal resilience planning.

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Press Release, May 18, 2014