This report presents the findings of a task force review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Shoreline Protection and Beach Erosion Control Program. The assessment of the program was in response to Fiscal Year 1994 "Passback Language" from the Office of Management and Budget. The report responds to concerns about the shoreline protection program, particularly concerning costs, benefits, environmental effects and the related influences on shoreline development. The study was performed in two phases. The initial phase was completed in January 1994 and published as IWR Report 94-PS-1, Shoreline Protection and Beach Erosion Control Study. Phase I: Cost Comparison of Shoreline Protection Projects of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The purpose of the first phase report was to provide early input to the Office of the Management and Budget regarding the scope and cost of Federal Civil Works shore protection. This second and final phase of the study incorporates: additional analysis of project costs and sand emplacements; and overview of risk management in the coastal zone; a comparison of actual versus anticipated benefits; a discussion on environmental considerations; and an analysis of any induced development effects associated with the Federal shore protection and beach erosion control program. Also, included is a summary of study findings and conclusions. The basis of this report and the data compiled by the task force reflects conditions as of 1 July 1993.

For more than a century, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been building fortifications along the American coastline in an effort to protect our vulnerable shores. With the prospect of seaborne invasion becoming increasingly unlikely, the Corps has turned its attention to a more subtle but no less dangerous threat: the insidious effects of coastal erosion.In "The Corps and the Shore," Orrin H. Pilkey, the nation's most outspoken coastal geologist, and Katharine L. Dixon, an educator and activist for national coastal policy reform, provide a comprehensive examination of the impact of coastal processes on developed areas and the ways in which the Corps of Engineers has attempted to manage erosion along America's coastline.Through detailed case studies of large-scale projects in Texas, Maine, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and South Carolina, the authors demonstrate the shortcomings of the Corps's underlying assumptions and methodology. As they discuss the role of local citizens in the project process, they highlight the interaction between local Corps offices and community officials and residents. By focusing on different types of problems in various regions of the country, Pilkey and Dixon clearly show how the Corps has repeatedly failed to act in the best interest of those most affected by the projects. As well as criticizing Corps practices, the authors provide numerous suggestions for reforming the Corps and making it both more scientifically accountable and more accountable to the citizens it is intended to serve."The Corps and the Shore" is essential reading for coastal residents, environmentalists, planners, and coastal city officials as well as geologists, civil engineers, marine scientists, and anyone concerned with the impact of human society on our shorelines.