Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Coastal Management Plan Update

Project Title: Coastal Management Plan Update
Client: Matanuska-Susitna Borough
Project Manager: Elizabeth Benson, Bristol Environmental & Engineering Services Corporation (BEESC)
Goal: Strive to retain a local voice in state and federal permitting decisions that affect coastal resources.
Objective: Amend the coastal management plan to conform to new state mandates.

Background. The United States Congress passed the Coastal Zone Management Act in 1972 and offered financial and jurisdictional incentives for states to participate. Five years later, the Alaska State Legislature passed the Alaska Coastal Management Act. Alaska won federal approval of the Alaska Coastal Management Program in 1979. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Coastal Management Plan was approved in 1984. The plan for the Point Mackenzie Area Meriting Special Attention (AMSA) was added to the tools for local control in 1993.

In 2003, the Alaska Legislature changed the rules. Now, the Alaska Coastal Management Program requires significant changes in plans like the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Coastal Management and AMSA plans. The Borough must revise its plans by March 2006, or they will lose all effect in the management of coastal resources. Bristol Environmental and Engineering Services, Inc. (BEESC) has been retained by the Borough to complete the amendment. They will be assisted by LaRoche and Associates.