Application Guide for the 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report Now Available

The 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report provides the most up-to-date sea level rise projections available for all U.S. states and territories. This multi-agency effort offers projections out to the year 2150 and information to help communities assess potential changes in average tide heights and height-specific threshold frequencies as they strive to adapt to sea level rise.

22 June, 2022

Community planners and decision makers now have an application guide to help them plan for the significant sea level rise the United States is expected to see in the next 30 years.

The guide is a response to the Interagency Sea Level Rise report, which projected about a foot of higher waters, on average, along U.S. coastlines by 2050. That is as much sea level rise in 30 years as the country witnessed in the previous century.

For each community, and for each project, there are many factors to consider. The Application Guide for the 2022 Sea Level Rise Technical Report is a first-of-its-kind effort to help individuals and organizations wade through various local considerations to arrive at the best approach for their community. In this way, they can advance coastal resilience on their own terms and adopt planning and adaptation initiatives that make the most sense for their situation.

The application guide is national in scope and includes examples from different geographic regions, providing broad guidance regarding where to start and how to consider the right approach for using projection data. Also included are recommended practices for using these data in the face of uncertainty. The guide does not include regulatory or engineering guidance.

The application guide includes four sections:

• A description of the content within the technical report
• An in-depth discussion of items to be considered when planning for sea level rise
• Approaches for integrating the 2022 sea level rise scenarios into community planning initiatives; and
• Additional resources to be used as communities explore next steps

Intended audiences include coastal decision makers and professionals who need to understand, communicate, and apply the best available sea level rise information.