CBRS Boundary Modifications

Aside from three minor exceptions, only Congress has the authority to modify boundaries of the Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS) through legislation. The three exceptions are: (1) the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) 5-year review requirement that solely considers changes that have occurred to the CBRS by natural forces such as erosion and accretion; (2) voluntary additions to the CBRS by property owners; and (3) additions of excess federal property to the CBRS. The Service is currently conducting a 5-year review that is planned for completion for the entire CBRS by late 2016.
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Congress designated the initial CBRS units in 1982 and modified and expanded the CBRS in 1990. Since 1990, when technical mapping errors are found, Congress works with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to revise the CBRS boundaries and enact technical correction legislation to adopt the revised CBRS map.

The Service receives numerous requests from property owners and other interested parties who seek to remove land from the CBRS. The Service does not recommend removing lands from the CBRS unless there is clear and compelling evidence that a technical mapping error led to the inclusion of land in the CBRS. In order to determine whether a technical mapping error exists, the Service conducts a comprehensive review of the history of the CBRS unit in question, which includes an assessment of the Service's records for the unit, the controlling and historical CBRS maps of the area, historical aerial imagery and development status of the area (including the number of structures and level of infrastructure on the ground at the time of designation), an assortment of natural resource data, land ownership information, and any materials submitted by interested parties. These reviews are very time intensive. 

When the Service is asked to determine whether a proposed change to remove land from the CBRS constitutes an appropriate technical correction, we consider whether the original intent of the boundaries is reflected on the maps (i.e. whether the lines on the maps appropriately follow the features they were intended to follow on the ground).  We also consider the level of development that was on the ground when the area was originally included in the CBRS. The CBRA requires that the Service consider the following criteria when assessing the development status of a CBRS unit: (1) the density of development on an undeveloped coastal barrier is less than one structure per five acres of land above mean high tide; and (2) an undeveloped coastal barrier does not contain a full complement of infrastructure, which includes a road, fresh water supply, wastewater disposal system, and electric service to each lot or building site in the area. These criteria were originally published in a notice in the Federal Register by the Department of the Interior in 1982 and were later codified by Congress in the 2000 reauthorization of the CBRA (Section 2 of Pub.L. 106-514).

What information does the Service need?

If you believe an area was developed at the time it was included within the CBRS, you must provide documentation (preferably in the form of official records) to the Service that supports your claim. Please email this documentation to the Service at cbra@fws.gov. Such documentation may include the following:

• information from the local government with the dates of construction for the structure(s) in question and
• information from local utility companies and/or the local government with the date(s) that the infrastructure (sewer, water, electricity, and road(s) with a reinforced road bed) was on the ground for the area in question.