Steve Couture welcomes members to the meeting.
Members Present: Steve Couture (NH), Charles Reulet (LA), Jill Andrews (GA), Patty Snow (OR), Lisa Engler (MA), Ronda Wuycheck (MI), Brian Lynn (WA), Edwin Reyes (GU)

CSO Staff Present: Bradley Watson, Mike Molnar, John Ryan-Henry, Rachel Keylon, Shelby Butz, Brittney Parker, Norma Longhi

Approval of minutes from August 10, 2020 – Minutes from August 10, 2020 approved as submitted.

Treasurer’s Report – Budget v. Actual
Jill Andrews presents an overview of the budget v. actual report and highlights the following items:
Line # 4005 – states’ dues are short, but we are still expecting a few additional payments before the end of the year.
Line #4100 – above budget income due to CSO investment in T-bills last year. They were re-invested again this year.
Line #4795 – contract & Grant Income – this line accounts for two new smaller contracts CSO signed with National Wildlife Federation and ASFPM.
Line #4799 – Manomet contract has been signed, but work has not yet begun. As such, we may be short on this item this year, but, will receive income next year.
Line 5250 ꞏequipment purchase – over budget as two computers have reached end of life this year.
Generally: With the exception of rent which will be close to on target, most other expenses are expected to be below budget for the remainder of the year due to impacts from COVID and change in operations.
Announcements
Mr. Watson states that there is a vacancy in the SE – Caribbean representative spot due to Jill Andrews moving up. He shares that he is working to have Marlon Hibbert appointed as the regional representative.

Great Lakes: Ronda Wuycheck states that water levels continue to be record levels with associated infrastructure challenges.

Northeast: Lisa Engler (MA) – Lisa Engler shares that MA Ocean Management Plan is moving through review process. Will go out for public comment in the next month with end of the year finalization. Awaiting public comments on whether to do a full update on the plan or a minor update. Steve Couture says that his staff is working with the State Drinking Water (SRF) on BRIC funding potential. NOAA Blueprint effort may yield some joint work among NOAA, USFWS.

Southeast: Jill Andrews states that the CSO call on Nationwide permits spurred additional coordination with the USACE South Atlantic Division. North Carolina had their 312 evaluation. She shares that Ernesto Diaz will be testifying on the Hill tomorrow, and that he is retiring at the end of the month.

Gulf of Mexico: Charles Reulet (LA) – Gulf wide states are recovering from the various storms. TX – draft USACE and Texas land study to be released shortly. Ecosystem restoration and storm management measures. Three offshore deepwater oil and gas ports in process. LA – SW coastal study has been fully approved. Has shovel ready projects identified as a suite – no rank order. Structural (moving houses) and non-structural components (restoration). NERR site selection has begun. Question regarding impact to storms in LA. Laura was more of a wind event and Delta was more of a rain event. FL had impacts from Sally. Galveston and Port Texas had impacts from Laura and Delta.

Pacific Coast: Patty Snow (OR) – shares that Pew extended OR SG fellowship on GLDs, will work on OR and WA GLDs. Have been having monthly Fed Con calls with Kris Wall and Kerry Kehoe. Finalized outreach with BOEM on offshore wind task force. Noted some issues with Facebook drilling project on OR coast. Brian Lynn states that Becky Smyth has invited WA to sit in with Rep Kilmer’s office. ASBPA – Robert L Weigel Award – Mouth of the Columbia was recognized. Recorded a podcast with American Podcast Network. Mr. Couture provides some background on the NOAA Congressional visit they did.

CSO Staff Updates

CSO-NWF Natural Infrastructure and Underserved Communities – Mr. Watson –
Short version of Proposal shared as part of meeting materials. Project concept was spurred by member input and GCC workshop participation. Create a program that CSO and NWF seek out philanthropic/outside funding to create program to support and gap fill CZ programs and appropriate communities. Planning, E&D, and Project implementation. Mike Molnar provides a brief overview of the proposal. Asks states to email their thoughts and questions.

Knauss Fellowship 2021
Mr. Watson states that CSO will not be working with EPA on a Knauss fellow next year due to some reorganizational items at EPA. Have commitment to reengage next year. Good news – working with FEMA and USACE IWR for shared fellows next year.

NFWF Coastal Resilience Assessments – Mr. Molnar states that NFWF is moving on to Phase 3 of their Coastal Resilience Assessments. They anticipate hosting virtual workshops for the Great Lakes, Guam, American Samoa, and Alaska in the fall or early winter to share preliminary results and gain feedback from regional stakeholders.

Region Status Timeline
U.S. Great Lakes Commencing Spring 2021
Guam Commencing Spring 2021
American Samoa Commencing Spring 2021
Alaska Ongoing Spring 2021
Hawaii Ongoing November 2020

Final reports for each completed region on their website here. In addition, results from all completed regions are also available to view and download from CREST at resilientcoasts.org.

NOAA Economic Study – Mr. Molnar provides an update on the NOAA Economic Study conducted by ERG. Final Draft memo circulated among project team for review. Focus is on four categories: collaboration, wetland acres, training, and access points. Annualized value thus far is ~$57M. Some CZ Program staff have been asked to review.

CSSF Update
Mr. Watson discusses CSSF’s utilization by coastal programs. CNMI looking for support for Federal Consistency review on military item. Looking to diversify CSSF board. Full CSO board must approve of new CSSF board members, but CSSF Board pans to revise bylaws so that CSO EC instead of full board can approve portion of board members.

RAE-CSO National Coastal Summit Debrief
Mr. Molnar shares information on the 2020 National Coastal and Estuarine Summit.
Over 1400 people attended the Summit. 82 complimentary registrations to CSO members and staff, with many participating in concurrent sessions and special evening sessions. Thanks to all the CSO staff for their efforts. Big kudos to Rachel for coordinating the Anniversary Session and Congressional Session. Thank you to Ted Diers and Kathleen Leyden for their roles on the Anniversary Session, and Brian Lynn for MC-ing the Congressional.
All sessions except Virtual Round Tables were recorded and posted to the Summit page. Materials should be available for several months. As we recuperate from the Summit, we’d like to hear what people thought – things you liked, what could work better, and where to focus for future. As of this time, we do not have a formal invitation to co-sponsor in 2022. Based on conversations with RAE it seems implied.
Mr. Watson states that if there is interest to move forward with 2022, we can stand up a subgroup to gather thoughts and recommendations.

Hill Report – Rachel Keylon presents the report.

• Continuing Resolution and Appropriations Update
o Congress passed, and the president signed into law, a continuing resolution on averting a government shutdown (passed Sept 30, signed Oct 1)
• The CR is through December 11th
• The House has passed 10 out of 12 of their FY21 appropriations bills (the only two not completed are Legislative Branch and Homeland Security) in two consolidated appropriations acts
 A reminder that the CZM grant line received a $1M increase from FY20 appropriation for a total of $78M
 Can provide info on other lines if needed
• CZM Grants: $78M (+$1M from FY20)
• Coastal Zone Management and Services: $47.7M (+$2.7M)
• NERRS: $28.25M (+$0.75M)
• NERRS PAC: $2M (-$2.5M)
• NCRF: $36M (+$3M)
• Corals: $34M (+4.5M)
• Sea Grant: $71M (-$3M)
• Data Portals: $2M (+$0.5M)
• USFWS Coastal Program: $13.534M (+$0.159M)
• GLRI: $335M (+$15M)
• NEPs: $675,000/NEP +$1.5M competitive grants
• The Senate has yet to produce a single bill
 We are unlikely to see any activity until after the Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings and another COVID relief bill is passed
• CZM Grants Waiver Language Update
o The House passed a new version of The Heroes Act on Thursday, October 1st. This legislation contains the CZM grants waiver language.
 We are very pleased with this language, it is exactly what we provided to staff and have determined will successfully provide NOAA with the authority to waive match requirements as needed.
o CSO staff continue to work with Congress to get this across the finish line.
• House Natural Resources Hearing:
• October 15th – Environmental Justice for Coastal Communities: Examining Inequities in Federal Grantmaking
• Ernesto Diaz will be testifying in this hearing and we have provided him with some content on:
 CSO EJ initiatives
 CZM Program work on EJ
 Input from the survey of Members on match requirements being a barrier to applying for federal grant programs
 Information on the match waiver

2020-2022 Chair’s Initiative –

• Work Group Member Request
o Please email Steve Couture and Rachel Keylon if interested in participating in this Work Group

o The first meeting will be scheduled in November.
Question regarding scope and timeline. First meeting will review policies and set workplan.

Great Lakes Updates
Habitat Project – Technical and budget review of the bids from four consulting groups on the Great Lakes Coastal and Nearshore Habitat Engineering and Design project are nearing completion. We look to select a winning contractor and finalize the list of projects this week and starting the contracting process thereafter. Still awaiting word on funding for next year from EPA and NOAA, pending budget finalization.
USACE/Indiana University Survey – USACE funded researchers at Indiana University. Identifying and Communicating Coastal Impacts of Storm Events and Climate Stressors. The goal of the study is to identify communities at high-risk from storm impacts in the Great Lakes region, understand their knowledge and concerns, vulnerabilities, strengths, resilience characteristics, and needs pertaining to storm events, and develop materials to aid communities in addressing them. Focus States – IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, WI. Stated output of Note – Develop a guidebook based on the focus groups to facilitate and encourage communities to better prepare for and become more resilient to future storm impacts and climate stressors.

Great Lakes Cities Initiative – Great Lakes Cities Initiative and other partners. The purpose of the survey is to assess needs facing local units of government related to coastal management and resilience to disturbances in the coastal zone (e.g., erosion from high lake levels). This includes the level of knowledge of coastal issues; the types of coastal resilience challenges being experienced; capacity to plan for or respond to coastal resilience issues; information, resources and data used in coastal management activities; barriers and outstanding needs; collaborating agencies or partners; future planning and mitigation activities; and related information. The survey results will inform and guide upcoming work by the sponsors and collaborating partners, including a broader needs assessment that may include additional research and outreach. The ultimate goal is to increase the capacity of municipal governments to build resilience to climate and water-related disturbances in coastal and waterfront areas in order to safeguard the social, economic and environmental health of their residents. Item to be discussed at the next Great Lakes monthly call.

Coastal Resiliency – USACE engaging on GLCRS. CSO call next week to discuss further. Great Lakes Commission meeting November 17 and 18. We will be attending in our Observer role. Are there items that the GL states would like us to address in our 3 minutes?

Work Group Updates
Coastal NPS Work Group – Shelby Butz

Next full Work Group Call
The next full workgroup call is November 16, at 2:00pm ET | 1:00pm CT | 11:00am PT. The topic of this call is the “Coordination and Integration Between CZM and 319 Programs”, both during and after approval. Discussion points will include how states can better integrate measures conducted under these programs and better coordinate between them. CSO staff is will prepare with the federal team and states to identify participants to talk about successes and challenges with this topic. CSO staff will provide a brief presentation followed by an open floor discussion. There is potential for Federal Team participation for first half. Input is always welcome! Please email me if you have anything, you’d like me to include or have a look at

Next Conditionally Approved States Call
The next CAS call is on October 27 at 3:00pm ET | 2:00pm CT | 12:00pm PT. The topic: Deep dive into remaining MMs. This will be a staff led discussion on most common remaining MMs. Discussion topics will include specific examples highlighted by the federal team as well as suggestions and advice and state program successes and struggles.
As always call agendas, meeting materials, and notes from past calls are available on the CNPS work group page. If you have questions or comments, please feel free to reach out to myself or Mike. We are happy to chat! My email is on the slide as well as the CNPS webpage.

Coastal Hazard Planning and Adaptation Work Group – Brittney Parker
October 13 call with Laura Algeo (FEMA HQ CTP)
Ecosystem Services Benefits for BCA. Can use from the start of the project.
New BRIC resources posted to webpage.
FEMA Risk MAP Guidance and Standards update.
CSO NWF NNBI proposal to CHPA for review.

Communication Work Group Update – Ms. Keylon

• Next Meeting is Monday, November 9th at 1 p.m. Eastern
• Currently Reviewing: Draft CZMA Fact Sheet
• Working with Great Lakes States to expand Great Lakes Water Level Fact sheet to have information for all 8 States.

Offshore Infrastructure & Energy Work Group – Mr. Ryan-Henry
Kick-off call held on September 24. Will be meeting bimonthly moving forward. Next meeting TBA in November. Will have lots of Fed partners – NOAA, BOEM, BSEE, USACE

Regulatory Update – Mr. Ryan-Henry
Tracking USACE NWP revisions being updated early. CSO received a briefing from David Olson, USACE Regulatory Program Manager, on September 30 and held a member conference call on October 8. USACE proposes five new NWPs, and is pushing Districts to limit or remove regional conditions. Proposed NWPs and regional conditions are out for public comment. Using 90-day Federal Consistency review. Leasing moratorium expanded to the Atlantic coast from Florida to North Carolina, applying to O&G as well as offshore wind. OCS G&G IHAs expire next month, effectively cancelling the seismic surveys proposed off North and South Carolina.

Coastal Management Fellows – Mr. Watson
Productive call with NOAA last week. Economic considerations and COVID concerns drove the decision. Confident that next class will be put in place. Will share draft letter with core group of NOAA staff and Jeff Payne.

Hiring Committee Update – Mr. Watson and Mr. Couture provide an update.

Adjourn – Mr. Couture thanks the Executive Committee and adjourns the meeting at 4:30 pm Eastern. The next EC Meeting is scheduled for November 11, 2020.