Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) Responsibilities in North Carolina

In 1982, Congress passed the Coastal Barrier Resources Act to address problems caused by coastal barrier development. The CBRA restricted Federal expenditures and financial assistance, including Federal flood insurance, in the Coastal Barrier Resources System, a defined set of undeveloped coastal areas along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts. Congress explicitly decided what areas would be included in the system. In 1990, the CBRA was amended by the Coastal Barriers Improvement Act which broadened the definition of a coastal barrier and expanded the system. Three important goals of CBRA are to:

Since the devastating hurricane strikes to the North Carolina coast in 1996, the Raleigh Field Office has been exceptionally active in consulting with Federal agencies, especially the Federal Emergency Management Agency, in determining appropriate expenditures of public funds for activities within the system. It is also the Services's responsibility to determine the location of private properties in relation to System boundaries. Currently the Service is working with Dare County, the State, and private surveyors to clarify system boundaries and to make this information available to widest public possible.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - National Flood Insurance Program - Coastal Barrier Resources System web page is at http://www.fema.gov/nfip/cobra.shtm.This site has a database listing communities which have some level of contact with the Coastal Barrier Resources System.

The North Carolina Division of Emergency Management has a website on Hazard Mitigation at http://www.ncem.org/mitigation/main.htm.


For additional information regarding this Web page, contact Tracy Rice, in Raleigh, NC, at tracy_rice@fws.gov


Visit the North Carolina ES Homepage
Visit the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Home Page

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