Challenges and Solutions to Permitting Living Shoreline Projects

Despite growing interest and investment in nature-based solutions such as living shorelines in the United States, it has been difficult to expand their use. One major hurdle is permitting challenges. Florida, North Carolina, and Virginia are three states where living shoreline installations have increased. We examined what policy conditions exist in these locations to enable project permitting, as well as how to address any remaining hurdles. This paper summarizes findings from a series of expert conversations and a literature review that investigated specific permitting challenges and suggested actions and reforms that could help improve the living shoreline permitting process.