North Atlantic 

 Coastal Region 

 Piers, piling, 

 structures 



and other support 



North Atlantic 

 Coastal Region 7 

 Jetties 



Great Lakes 

 Coastal Region 8 

 Bulkheads and associated 

 dredging 



Great Lakes 

 Coastal Region 8 

 Groins (biological) 



It was the consensus of project 

 personnel that small boat harbors had a 

 high potential for environmental impact. 

 Small boat harbors can contain all of 

 the other structures mentioned in this 

 report. Harbors would, therefore, make 

 good case studies within each region of 

 the United States. The effects of num- 

 erous structures could be studied at 

 one location and within the budgetary 

 constraints of one study. Sites will 

 have to be carefully chosen, however, 

 to assure that the effects of one struc- 

 ture type are not overpowering the ef- 

 fects of another or that secondary ef- 

 fects, such as petrochemical pollution, 

 are not of far greater significance than 

 the strictly structural effects. 



Project personnel also considered 

 bridges and causeways to have a high 

 potential for environmental impact. Un- 

 like many other structures, their effect 

 can extend over an area much larger 

 than the immediate vicinity where they 

 are constructed. Such regional impacts 

 are discussed in the case history stud- 

 ies on bridges and causeways in Florida 

 (Coastal Regions 3 and 4). Detailed 

 studies on the effects of bridges and 

 causeways would help to determine if 

 fears, arising largely from conjecture, 

 are factually based. It would be very 

 helpful if several locations could be 

 studied both before and after construc- 

 tion. The effects on tidal circulation, 

 biological productivity, and flood con- 

 trol should be prime concerns of the 

 study. 



In summary, there are numerous 

 studies that would enhance the state of 

 the art relative to the prediction of the 

 biological impacts of minor shoreline 

 structures on the coastal environment. 

 One avenue of approach that will result 

 in timely and cost-effective answers to 

 many structure-related questions is the 

 integration of the purely biological, 

 purely engineering, and structure im- 

 pact related data bases currently in 

 existence. In addition to this approach, 

 there are several field studies which, if 

 undertaken, would contribute substan- 

 tially to the presently available data 

 base. 



143 



