Jeffrey Simson, Provincial Reporter for the Chronicle-Herald (Halifax, NS) wrote this piece after Hurricane Earl visited our province last weekend. He talked with Jennifer Graham and the report appeared in the paper of September 7, 2010. Jennifer makes a good case for why TREPA is supporting the initiatives of the Coastal Coalition.
Hurricane Earl brought with it a reminder of why the province needs to prevent development too close to the coast, an environmental group says.
Another severe storm that strikes Nova Scotia, especially during high tide, could cause surges that swamp homes and buildings next to the ocean, Jennifer Graham of the Ecology Action Centre in Halifax said Monday.
“We might not be so lucky next time,” she said. “Most other places do have some land-use regulations around coastal areas.
“They put setbacks in place that keep people away from the edge, and we haven’t done that.”
Graham said people throughout the province are putting homes and cottages in areas that put them at risk of nature’s wrath, such as on beaches and next to marshes.
“It’s just not a very smart place to build,” she said.
Earl hit during low tide and brought storm surges of up to 1.2 metres, but climate change and any severe weather that coincides with high tide could have disastrous results, Graham said.
Having development too close to the coast also costs taxpayers more money through extra infrastructure such as seawalls to keep the waves out, she said.
“Sometimes people expect the province to pay for that,” Graham said. “When people are deliberately putting themselves in risky positions, it costs a lot more to make emergency plans and rescue them.”
Natural coastlines are usually perfectly designed to defend against rogue waves, she said.
The Ecology Action Centre wants the province’s Sustainable Coastal Development Strategy, now being created, to include a commitment to put a Coastal Act in place with regulations on land use and setbacks.
“It’s a missed opportunity if they don’t,” Graham said.