Following the February 2022 draft release of the State Agency Sea-Level Rise Action Plan for California (SLR Action Plan), public comment was reviewed and incorporated. OPC is now releasing the final 2022 SLR Action Plan (PDF). The SLR Action Plan is considered a working document with Tribal consultation ongoing and annual updates to reflect the state’s evolving progress to address coastal resilience. The next round of state agency updates will occur in Spring 2023. … read more
The California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) is pleased to announce the release of a solicitation for projects that build resilience on the coast to prepare for and adapt to the impacts of sea-level rise. Specific project types include research-based projects that focus on coastal habitat mapping, contaminated sites, and socio-economic impacts, and implementation projects that work to provide resilience to climate change through restoration and/or habitat enhancement. … read more
August 18, 2022 Update: OPC Releases the Final State Agency Sea-Level Rise Action Plan for California
At its February 23 Council meeting, OPC presented the State Agency Sea-Level Rise Action Plan for California (Action Plan), a first-of-its-kind, highly coordinated effort to outline a roadmap toward coastal resiliency for the state of California. Developed through intense collaboration from the 17 state agencies that make up the State Sea-Level Rise Leadership Team, the Plan is a living document that fosters accountability and collaboration for planning and implementing sea-level rise (SLR) action over the next five years. It builds on Senator Atkins’ landmark legislation, Senate Bill 1, which was signed into law by Governor Newsom in 2021 and drives California’s efforts to achieve coastal resilience in the face of rising seas.
Sea-Level Rise (SLR) Leadership Team
The SLR Leadership Team is made up of 17 California state agencies who work collectively to achieve coastal resilience for the entire coast of California. These agencies hold jurisdiction over the coastal region through authorities that regulate, develop, and implement local, regional, and state policies. Following the development of the SLR Principles in 2020, the SLR Leadership Team was tasked with the creation of an actionable plan to implement SLR resiliency.
These principles are listed here: … read more
Coastal flooding across the United States coastline will increase significantly over the next 30 years, according to Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States, a new report by an interagency sea level rise task force including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other federal agencies. The report forecasts sea level rise to the year 2150 and projects that sea levels along U.S. coastlines will rise between 10 to 12 inches on average above today’s levels by 2050. The Ocean Protection Council will use this latest science to update California’s 2018 Sea Level Rise Guidance in 2023. 
The report offers four key takeaways:
- The Next 30 Years of Sea Level Rise: Sea level along the U.S. coastline is projected to rise, on average, 10-to-12-inches in the next 30 years, which will be as much as the rise measured over the last 100 years (1920 – 2020). Sea level rise will vary regionally along U.S. coasts because of changes in both land and ocean height.
- More Damaging Flooding Projected: Sea level rise will create a profound shift in coastal flooding over the next 30 years by causing tide and storm surge heights to increase and reach further inland. By 2050, “moderate” (typically damaging) flooding is expected to occur, on average, more than 10 times as often as it does today, and can be intensified by local factors.
- Emissions Matter: Current and future emissions matter. About two feet of sea level rise along the U.S. coastline is increasingly likely between 2020 and 2100 because of emissions to date. Failing to curb future emissions could cause an additional 1.5-to-5 feet of rise for a total of 3.5-to-7 feet by the end of this century.
- Continual Tracking: Continuously tracking how and why sea level is changing is an important part of informing plans for adaptation. Our ability to monitor and understand the individual factors that contribute to sea level rise allows us to track sea level changes in a way that has never before been possible (e.g., using satellites to track global ocean levels and ice sheet thickness). Ongoing and expanded monitoring will be critical as sea levels continue to rise.
Fortunately, California is investing to protect our most vulnerable communities, save our beaches and build coastal resilience:
- Sea Level Rise California: Find out more about how sea level rise is expected to impact California at the California Natural Resources Agency’s “The Ocean is Moving In” website.
- Prop 68 Climate Resilience Miniseries: This video series goes on location to tell the stories of where and how California is helping promote climate resilience on the coast in the face of rising seas.
- Making California’s Coast Resilient to Sea Level Rise: Principles for Aligned State Action: California state agencies with coastal, bay, and shoreline climate resilience responsibilities, including for coastal infrastructure and Californians’ safety, have endorsed a set of Principles for Aligned State Action. These Principles will guide unified, effective action toward sea-level rise resilience for California’s coastal communities, ecosystems and economies.
Find the Global and Regional Sea Level Rise Scenarios for the United States and accompanying FAQ here, and explore the Interagency Sea Level Rise Scenario Tool here.
“As we look to 2022, our goal at the agency is to… continue California’s global leadership, combating climate change, transitioning our economy, and protecting our people and nature in the meantime. I believe strongly that people are resilient and that nature is resilient. We can adapt and weather these changes we are experiencing right now, and we at the Natural Resources Agency and across state government are focused on strengthening the resilience of our communities, our residents, and of our natural places to these changes we are experiencing. I’m optimistic that we will work harder than ever before and make unprecedented process toward building this resilience.” – from California Natural Resources Secretary and Ocean Protection Council Chair Wade Crowfoot’s end of the year video message
As 2021 brought global challenges to the forefront, the state of California responded with bold, decisive actions to protect our coast and ocean. OPC staff led multiple projects designed to restore wetlands, improve water quality, prevent plastic pollution, respond to environmental justice inequities, promote sustainable fisheries, protect marine wildlife and build resilience to climate change.
Despite the many looming threats, we continue to find hope in the form of scientific solutions to the planet’s biggest problems and in the promising work done by our grantees on the front lines. Join us in celebrating specific achievements from the past year below: … read more
At its December 7 meeting, the California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) for the first time approved funding exclusively for coastal water quality projects that directly benefit Environmental Justice (EJ) Communities. A total of $7.5M in Proposition 1 funds will be disbursed to six projects that support multi-benefit ecosystem and watershed protection or restoration, habitat enhancement, resilience to climate change and community engagement.
While OPC regularly funds important ocean- and coast-related projects throughout the state, this is the Council’s first time soliciting projects that provide direct benefits to state-defined disadvantaged and severely disadvantaged communities, California Native American tribes, and communities that score above 80 percent on CalEnviroScreen results.
Secretary for the California Natural Resources Agency and OPC Chair Wade Crowfoot commended the state’s investment in the proposed community-driven projects, saying, “This effort is a really powerful model for how the state can prioritize funding that more effectively advances both natural resources protection and environmental justice.”
OPC Wetlands Program Manager Maria Rodriguez agreed. “This is OPC’s first step in accomplishing a dedicated pathway for funding EJ communities and projects that put community benefits at the forefront and emphasize social and economic benefits,” she said. “These are elements that OPC is working to incorporate into other funding opportunities to ensure community benefits are meaningful, direct and can be delivered through projects or programs OPC is leading.”
Funded projects span California’s coastline
… read more
(SACRAMENTO, California) – The California Natural Resources Agency today launched the nation’s first statewide campaign to raise awareness about the urgent threat that sea level rise poses to coastal and inland communities.
Dubbed “The Ocean Is Moving In,” the campaign features humorous videos and posters of various sea creatures taking up residence in people’s homes with the goal of inspiring people to visit the state’s new sea level rise website. While the tone is light-hearted, the messaging underscores the very serious impacts sea level rise will have on quality of life unless Californians start actively preparing:
- 60 percent of California beaches are highly vulnerable to sea level rise.
- $150 billion in California property is threatened by severe flooding.
- Salt-water intrusion could compromise groundwater and drinking supplies.
- Transportation hubs like the Pacific Coast Highway and SFO could be immobilized.
… read more
