California Coastal Analysis and Mapping Project (CCAMP)

​In the California Coastal Analysis and Mapping Project Open Pacific Coast study area there are many primary frontal dunes (PFD) which will be included in the Coastal High Hazard Area (CHHA), also known as a VE Zone on FEMA flood maps. Although this is not a new FEMA hazard zone designation, these areas have not previously been incorporated within FEMA coastal flood studies in California. The mapping criteria for these zones was adopted by FEMA in 1988, after most California coastal flood studies were last updated. This VE Zone criteria and mapping requirement will only influence the hazard zone mapping in coastal areas with PFDs.

​A community’s hazard mitigation plan (HMP) must include a number of elements to attain FEMA approval, required as a condition for receiving certain types of non-emergency disaster assistance.  Stakeholder and public involvement during the planning process, as well as specific requirements to profile hazards, are two of the important elements in this process.  Meeting activities associated with FEMA Region IX’s coastal studies as well as mapping-related products resulting from the Open Pacific Coast  and Bay Area Coastal Studies will provide documentation and data to incorporate in community HMPs to meet stakeholder/public involvement and hazard profile requirements. 

During the first week of December 2012, the FEMA Region IX Office hosted a series of technical meetings and a stakeholder workshop in Oakland, California. The technical meetings were facilitated by FEMA’s Production and Technical Services contractor, BakerAECOM and included study partners from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Oceanweather Inc. as well as members of the Open Pacific Coast Study Technical Advisory Panel. The federal and state agencies participating in the stakeholder workshop included: NOAA Coastal Services Center, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - South Pacific Division, California Department of Water Resources, California State Lands Commission, California Geological Survey, Caltrans, California State Coastal Conservancy, Ocean Protection Council, and California Emergency Management Agency.  

​FEMA brought together two key partners, Oceanweather Inc. and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, to provide deepwater and nearshore wave modeling expertise for the California Coastal Analysis and Mapping Project (CCAMP) Open Pacific Coast (OPC) Study. In collaboration with FEMA’s study contractor, BakerAECOM, the study team is producing a 50-year hindcast of wave climatology for the entire California coastline – the most comprehensive dataset of its kind ever created for a west coast flood study.