February 2013 Table of Contents

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. Read more

For the nation’s polluted rivers and streams, it has been a long road back — starting with the passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972. Read more

If you want to know how big a deal coastal construction and zoning regulations can be, you don’t have to look further than the tree house at Angelinos Sea Lodge, a bed-and-breakfast getaway at Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island, Fla. Read more

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. Read more

BP and its partners in the oil platform are facing a civil trial in a New Orleans federal courtroom, as Gulf Coast states and the U.S. government seek to recover the costs of the cleanup, compensation for economic and environmental damage, and likely additional penalties for negligence. Read more

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. Read more

Was the Long Island Power Company at fault for the Breezy Point conflagration sparked during Hurricane Sandy? Some homeowners say yes — and they’ll see LIPA in court. Read more

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

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. Read more

New York City’s Staten Island shore took a beating from Sandy. Now, homeowners there say they’re ready to admit defeat. Read more

Big dunes saved some neighborhoods in New Jersey and New York from the worst of Sandy’s wrath. Does that mean we should build more dunes? Read more

Senator Schumer and Governor Christie are taking the FEMA-backed flood insurance program to task for slow processing — and slower payouts. Read more

Baton Rouge police have leveled felony theft charges against a Louisiana builder after more than 30 unpaid trade contractors filed liens against four homeowners. Read more

When it comes to rebuilding, can New Orleans put the ball in the end zone? Read more

When the storm finally struck, even police were surprised at some locations by the combination of high tide, storm surge, and waves. Read more

The American Lumber Standards Committee (ALSC) has voted to accept new design values for Southern Pine lumber, including all sizes and grades of dimensional lumber. Read more

Federal Judge Eldon E. Fallon has okayed a massive settlement that will cover thousands of houses whose value was degraded by sulfurous emissions seeping out of contaminated Chinese-made drywall. Read more

New Jersey, wants to get a little higher. Read more

FEMA’s new flood maps for New York are coming out, and the new boundaries extend over more properties. Read more

Sandy has been a drag on the U.S. economy. But will the long-run effect be good for the region? Read more

After months of political maneuvering, Congress has acted on a relief package for the region impacted by Superstorm Sandy, but there is no telling when the money authorized by Congress will actually reach the people who need it. Read more

There’s lively debate about whether rebuilding on the coastline is wise. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wants Hurricane Sandy victims who live along the coast to consider rebuilding their homes on stilts or selling their houses to the state and relocating, Read more

Unlike previous storms, Sandy affected a northern region where winter weather is a rough reality. And three months after the storm, people whose heating systems are still out of commission have been shivering. Read more