State of the Beach/State Reports/AL/Website

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Alabama Ratings
Indicator Type Information Status
Beach Access37
Water Quality75
Beach Erosion6-
Erosion Response-2
Beach Fill4-
Shoreline Structures2 5
Beach Ecology1-
Surfing Areas35
Website3-
Coastal Development{{{19}}}{{{20}}}
Sea Level Rise{{{21}}}{{{22}}}



Websites

ALDCNR-Coastal Section is responsible for planning activities while the ADEM Coastal Section is responsible for permitting, monitoring and enforcement activities, as detailed in the ADEM Division 8 Coastal Programs Rules (ADEM Admin. Code R 335-8).

Alabama Department of Environmental Management's Coastal Program website provides links to Alabama beach monitoring program information and coastal permitting information (including permitting for construction on gulf-fronting properties, projects impacting waterbottoms or wetlands [this category includes marinas, shoreline stabilization such as seawalls, bulkheads, jetties, groins and similar structures, beach nourishment projects and major dredging projects], and discharges to coastal waters). The ADEM Coastal program website also has a substantial amount of information on estuaries and coastal wetlands and some information on Alabama's coastal nonpoint source pollution program. There is no inventory information on shoreline structures or beach fill projects.

Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' Coastal Area Management Program website has very little useful coastal information (as noted by NOAA below) except for some beach access information for beach state parks and information on the Alabama Coastal Impact Assistance Program. A more useful way to get this information is through the State Lands link on the Outdoor Alabama website.

Beach erosion information can be found on the website of Geological Survey of Alabama, Coastal Resources Program, along with some information on geologic hazards and biological field monitoring of the state's aquatic faunas (page under construction).

Alabama Coastal Program Laws as well as other Alabama Environmental Regulations and Laws can be accessed from the ADEM website.

NOAA noted in their latest evaluation of the ACAMP:

Perhaps the single greatest missed opportunity to reach the public with educational and coastal program information is the ACAMP – ADCNR website. It is located on the ADCNR website which is entitled “Outdoor Alabama” and is located at www.outdooralabama.com – not an easy connection for the general public to make. The ACAMP website is extremely brief, has only four or five links, two of which are “mis-connected,” and is of very limited value to a member of the public. There is no link to the ACAMP-ADEM website, to the newsletter it jointly publishes with the Mobile Bay NEP, to any partners with whom it works, or to the Weeks Bay NERR, which is part of the Coastal Section. It has no descriptive information dealing with activities that the ACAMP is involved in – no way to find out about the Coastal Cleanup, BirdFest, sea turtle program, projects the ACAMP has funded and is funding, local government activities, or coastal resource management issues.


Website Contact Info

ADCNR webmaster

ADEM webmaster


State of the Beach Report: Alabama
Alabama Home Beach Description Beach Access Water Quality Beach Erosion Erosion Response Beach Fill Shoreline Structures Beach Ecology Surfing Areas Website
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