Limitations on and Exceptions to Federal Expenditures

Limitations on Federal Expenditures

Click here for more information on the Coastal Barrier Resources Act prohibitions on Federal expenditures.

Exceptions to Limitations on Federal Expenditures

Section 6 of CBRA (16 U.S.C. § 3505) permits certain federal expenditures and financial assistance within the CBRS after consultation with the Service. These exceptions are divided into two groups. The first group only requires that the proposed funding is in fact a listed exception. The second group requires that the exception also meet the three purposes of the CBRA. Those purposes are to minimize the loss of human life; wasteful expenditure of federal revenues; and the damage to fish, wildlife, and other natural resources associated with coastal barriers.

The federal agency that is proposing the expenditure is responsible for providing, in writing, evidence that it meets one of the exceptions in Section 6 of CBRA and, if applicable, providing evidence that the project is consistent with the purposes of CBRA. The Service’s response should provide technical information and an opinion as to whether the activity is allowed under CBRA’s exceptions. If applicable, the Service should also comment on the consistency of the proposed activity with the purposes of the CBRA.

A federal expenditure is allowable within the CBRS, if it meets any of the following exceptions (16 U.S.C. § 3505(a)(1)-(5)):

• Any use or facility necessary for the exploration, extraction, or transportation of energy resources which can be carried out only on, in, or adjacent to a coastal water area because the use or facility requires access to the coastal water body.
• The maintenance or construction of improvements of existing federal navigation channels (including the Intracoastal Waterway) and related structures (such as jetties), including the disposal of dredge materials related to such maintenance or construction. A federal navigation channel or a related structure is an existing channel or structure, respectively, if it was authorized before the date on which the relevant System unit or portion of the System unit was included within the CBRS.
• The maintenance, replacement, reconstruction, or repair, but not the expansion, of publicly owned or publicly operated roads, structures, or facilities that are essential links in a larger network or system.
• Military activities essential to national security.
• The construction, operation, maintenance, and rehabilitation of Coast Guard facilities and access thereto.

Additional information on the exceptions applying to federal navigation channels, highways in Michigan, and CBRS Unit T11 are listed under 16 U.S.C. § 3505 (b), (c), and (d).

A federal expenditure is allowable within the CBRS, if it meets any of the following exceptions (16 U.S.C. § 3505(a)(6)) and is also consistent with the three purposes of the CBRA:

• Projects for the study, management, protection, and enhancement of fish and wildlife resources and habitats, including acquisition of fish and wildlife habitats, and related lands, stabilization projects for fish and wildlife habitats, and recreational projects.
• Establishment, operation, and maintenance of air and water navigation aids and devices, and for access thereto.
• Projects under the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. § 460l-4 through 11) and the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. § 1451 et seq.).
• Scientific research, including aeronautical, atmospheric, space, geologic, marine, fish and wildlife, and other research, development, and applications.
• Assistance for emergency actions essential to the saving of lives and the protection of property and the public health and safety, if such actions are performed pursuant to sections 5170a, 5170b, and 5192 of title 42 and section 1362 of the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. § 4103) and are limited to actions that are necessary to alleviate the emergency.
• Maintenance, replacement, reconstruction, or repair, but not the expansion (except with respect to U.S. route 1 in the Florida Keys), of publicly owned or publicly operated roads, structures, and facilities.
• Nonstructural projects for shoreline stabilization that are designed to mimic, enhance, or restore a natural stabilization system.