County board hears training on living shorelines as state makes them the default erosion control

Mary‑Carson Stiff, executive director of Wetlands Watch, told the Charles City County Wetlands/Chesapeake Bay Board on Aug. 5 that “the concern is where land and water meet,” and outlined why shoreline loss is accelerating and how state law is changing in response.

Stiff summarized SB 776 as aiming to “reduce impacts of erosion and wetlands loss” by requiring property owners to use living shorelines as the state’s default erosion-control method, with a best‑available‑science exception. The statute text read in the training (citing § 28.2‑104.1) defines a living shoreline as a practice that provides erosion control and water‑quality benefits, protects or restores natural shoreline habitat, and maintains coastal processes through the strategic placement of plants, stone, sand fill and other structural or organic materials.

The presentation listed common drivers of shoreline change — sea level rise, changing ocean currents, groundwater withdrawal and elevation shifts — and warned that shoreline and tidal‑wetland losses are likely to continue without intervention. Stiff reviewed technical design considerations that planners and applicants must now address, including shoreline morphology, tidal ranges, bathymetry and storm‑level water elevations.

Local implications were emphasized: Stiff said the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality will delay enforcement of the updated regulations until September 2025 to give localities time to incorporate the changes into county ordinances. She also noted state funding sources are being made available to support living‑shoreline installations.

The training was presented at the county government administration building; Gary Mitchell, the county’s Community Development Director, introduced Stiff and thanked her at the conclusion of the session. The board took no formal action on the presentation itself.