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Coastal zone and floodplain management

An introduction to coastal zone and floodplain management

The Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) works closely with local councils and communities to reduce threats from flooding and coastal storms and to ensure that people in NSW are well informed about these risks and better equipped to adapt to climate change. OEH also works with local councils and communities to maintain or improve the health of our estuaries.

To achieve this, OEH supports local government in:

• Coastal zone management program - which now includes both coastline management planning and estuary management planning
• Floodplain management program - which provides assistance to councils in coastal areas and urban centres in western NSW.

OEH is also the NSW agency responsible for rural floodplain management in western NSW within floodplains designated under Part 8 of the Water Act 1912 (to be replaced by provisions within the Water Management Act 2000).

Coastal and floodplain management grants

Annual grants for estuary, coastal and floodplain management are approved by the Minister for the Environment. The Minister sends a formal letter of offer to each successful council early in the new financial year.

Coastal erosion management reforms

The legislative arrangements for coastal erosion management in NSW were updated in January 2011.  The Minister for the Environment, the Hon Robyn Parker MP, announced in a media release on 14 September 2011 that she was seeking feedback on these arrangements and ideas for improvement.