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Soil Conservation District seeks county letter of support for shoreline assessment; commissioners ask for one-week review
Summary
St. Mary’s County Soil Conservation District and VIMS asked commissioners for a letter to support a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant to fund a countywide shoreline assessment; commissioners requested additional time and material and agreed to revisit the request at the next meeting.
Representatives of the St. Mary’s Soil Conservation District and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) presented a proposal on May 28 to fund a countywide shoreline assessment and asked the commissioners for a letter of support for a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant application.
Bruce Young of the Soil Conservation District told the board the district and VIMS want to produce an inventory and assessment of approximately 320 miles of county shoreline to identify erosion-prone areas, prioritize living-shoreline or structural responses and provide GIS products and outreach materials. Scott Hardaway, a VIMS geologist, reviewed the technical approach, which would use historic aerial imagery, shoreline-change analysis and field photo documentation to build a GIS-based planning tool.
Young described the formal request: "...requesting a letter of support for a proposed shoreline assessment and survey that we would like to carry out here for Saint Mary's County." VIMS staff described expected deliverables (shoreline-change maps, photo archives, conceptual cross sections, and outreach materials) and estimated the total project cost at roughly $200,000 with partner match from VIMS, University of Maryland Sea Grant and the Soil Conservation District.
Commissioners asked detailed questions about regulatory consequences, public access to the data, cost share and whether the assessment could be used to require shoreline modifications. Commissioners and staff emphasized the importance of clarifying whether results would be held as county work product or treated as public grant deliverables available to regulatory agencies; county officials asked district staff to return with clarifying documents and examples used elsewhere.
Outcome at the meeting: a motion to provide a letter of support was introduced and seconded, but several commissioners asked for additional review time and materials (including comparable packets from other counties and clarifications on data custody). The board agreed to revisit the request the following week so that commissioners could study the grant packet and sample local products before signing a support letter. The grant deadline is June 6; district staff said they will prepare materials for the board’s review and will work with county staff to finalize a letter if commissioners approve it.
Why it matters: The assessment would build a countywide GIS inventory of shoreline change and erosion risk that could be used for project prioritization, outreach and permitting guidance. Commissioners expressed interest but wanted assurances that the inventory would not be used to create new obligations for private property owners without further public discussion.
Next steps: VIMS and the Soil Conservation District will provide supplemental materials and the board will consider a support letter at the next scheduled meeting prior to the grant deadline.
