Living shoreline projects cost money, and the larger the project, the higher the cost; therefore, additional financial resources to complete the project may be required. The following options are available, even for land outside of the Texas General Land Office’s jurisdiction.
Local Government Funding
Local governments can often issue bonds to finance shoreline protection projects like living shorelines. Bond issues generate capital that can finance a project and the bonds are paid off with tax revenue over a number of years. Bond issues sometimes cannot pay the entire cost of a project, but they can generate funding to plan a project and to provide a match for potential grant funding.
Federal Funding
Several of the federal coastal restoration funding programs resulting from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident can support living shoreline projects. Eligibility for and timing of grant opportunities vary by program. Information about these programs in Texas is available at http://www.restorethetexascoast.org
- RESTORE Act Programs, which distribute a portion of the Deepwater Horizon civil penalties to the Gulf States, provide funding for a wide range of environmental and economic restoration and recovery on the Texas Coast. In Texas, the RESTORE Act programs are administered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. https://www.restorethetexascoast.org/category/restore/
- The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation distributes a portion of the criminal penalties from Deepwater Horizon to Texas and the other Gulf States for coastal restoration. https://www.restorethetexascoast.org/category/nfwf/
- The Texas Natural Resource Damage Trustees for Deepwater Horizon are implementing a number of environmental restoration projects with funding from the settlement of the NRDA litigation over the incident. https://www.restorethetexascoast.org/category/nrda/
State Funding
State grant funding for living shoreline projects on the Texas coast comes primarily from two sources: The Texas Coastal Management Program Grant Program and the Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act Coastal Resources Grant Program, both administered by the Texas General Land Office.
The Texas Coastal Management Program awards grants annually to local governments, institutions of higher learning, estuary programs, and nonprofit organizations are eligible applicants. Texas Coastal Management Program grants require a 40% local match and the maximum Coastal Management Program contribution to a project is $200,000. The Texas Coastal Management Program’s regional “projects of special merit” can receive additional funding without a match requirement for large-scale projects with regional impacts. Learn more: http://www.glo.texas.gov/coast/grant-projects/funding/index.html
Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act Coastal Resources Program awards grants biennially.Any public or private entity is an eligible applicant. Beach renourishment projects require a 25% match, all other projects require a 40% match. The Coastal Erosion Planning and Response Act construction costs may be funded by the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, which does not require a match. Learn more: http://www.glo.texas.gov/coast/grant-projects/funding/index.html
National Funding
Grant funding occasionally becomes available for living shoreline projects from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. You should check with these funders periodically to determine when funding may be available.