Journal of Light Construction: Coastal Contractor Weather & Environment

On the Wet Side of the Levee, Louisiana Homeowners Stress Over Flood Insurance

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 11:39:27 EST

Homeowners in Louisiana’s fragile delta are living outside the Federal levee system — and with FEMA policy changing, they’re worried about the future.

Crumbling Cliff Spurs Mega-Mansion Move

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 11:38:17 EST

Richard Schifter’s house-with-a-view sits on a beautiful Nantucket bluff. But the ocean isn’t bluffing — and now the cliff is crumbling under Schifter’s footings. So Schifter is hedging his investment and moving the giant house back from the edge of destruction — swimming pool and all.

Shore Protection Controversies Heat Up in NY and NJ

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 11:43:14 EST

On the New Jersey shore, well-off beachfront owners are fighting dune construction by public authorities. In New York, the situation is reversed: big-house owners are building their own dunes, over the objections of other townsfolk. The fight is less about the view than about the question: Who owns the beach?

Outer Banks' Access Highway: It's an Emergency

Mon, 8 Apr 2013 02:30:41 EST

Battered by hurricanes and nor’easters, N.C. 12—the Outer Banks’ fragile lifeline—is on life support.

$700 Million in Katrina Elevation Grants Unaccounted For

Mon, 8 Apr 2013 02:37:29 EST

An Inspector General report says more than half a billion dollars in Hurricane Katrina relief money may have been misspent. Most Katrina victims who were awarded $30,000 apiece to elevate their houses never documented that the work was done.

Crews Grind Away on Sandy Underwater Debris Removal

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 09:45:58 EST

In the Barnegat Bay, side-scanning sonar and “picker” boats are the tools for a tedious cleanup.

A New Union? Sandy Brings Big Changes to a Beach-Cottage Community

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:45:49 EST

Some homeowners may be forced out. Others may be able to rebuild, better. But one thing’s for sure: Things are going to change in Union Beach, New Jersey.

FEMA Puts One “On-Your-Lot” Trailer in New Jersey

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:47:58 EST

In a first for the New Jersey recovery effort, FEMA has provided a trailer to a New Jersey family on land they already own.

Another Nor'easter Pounds the Northeast

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:16:55 EST

The latest in a series of tough winter storms brought more flooding and more destruction to New Jersey and Massachusetts shore towns.

Flood Insurance Reform Shakes Up Louisiana Market

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 08:47:48 EST

As flood insurance rates get ready to spike sharply upward, buyers and sellers are worried about the consequences.

Are Stormwater Rules Destroying Trees?

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 09:37:14 EST

A Maryland builder says requirements for downspout sump pits are forcing him to damage tree roots.

New York Issues Tickets to Beach Walkers, Taxes Rebuilders

Mon, 4 Mar 2013 10:23:13 EST

“I cried all the way home,” said Staten Island homeowner Emilya Malkin after encountering New York City Parks Police on the beach near her house. Malkin says police threatened her family with arrest as she strolled with her husband and children.

In Jersey, FEMA Flood Maps Spark Beachfront Blowback

Mon, 4 Mar 2013 11:42:29 EST

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was quick to embrace FEMA’s new flood plain maps. But not everyone feels the same way.

Lower Manhattan Beat by Sandy? Not So Fast.

Mon, 4 Mar 2013 09:52:36 EST

Manhattan business leaders are keen to let people know that parts of the island worst hit by Superstorm Sandy are bouncing back.

After Sandy, Flooding Is an Everyday Problem

Mon, 4 Mar 2013 09:51:50 EST

Communities on Long Island’s south shore are facing a new problem: with the protective barrier island damaged, tides flood their streets every day.

Lower Manhattan’s Old Seaport Still Shattered by Sandy

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:37:44 EST

Four months after Hurricane Sandy, it’s not just the beach communities in New Jersey to Long Island that are still in rough shape. Parts of Manhattan are also far from recovering.

Backing off on Backing Off: Carolinas Ponder Their Relationship to a Rising Sea

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:22:46 EST

A South Carolina blue-ribbon commission working to re-envision the state’s 25-year-old Beachfront Management Act will likely give up on the law’s central notion, a policy of retreat from the shoreline to move development away from the water.

Boston Plans for Rising Seas

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:23:11 EST

Superstorm Sandy did not flood downtown Boston — but it could have. Had the storm arrived six hours earlier, at high tide, water would have surged through city streets.

Strewn by Sandy, Underwater Debris Poses Summer Peril

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 12:09:58 EST

Boaters on the Jersey Shore this summer risk collisions with everything up to and including the kitchen sink.

Local New Jersey Politicians Fight New Flood Elevation Rules

Tue, 19 Feb 2013 12:09:14 EST

New Jersey’s mayors and city council members have been getting their first look at the latest flood maps from FEMA — and they don’t like what they’re seeing.