Marine Affairs Institute and Student Sea Grant Fellow Tackle Tough Environmental/Legal Issues

Amanda Argentieri, 2L, is researching the legal issues surrounding beach access. Megan Higgins, Research Counsel in the Marine Affairs Institute, is researching the impact of global warming on the legal rights of the owners of shorefront property in the face of rising sea levels.  Both will present their work at The Coastal Society’s Annual Conference in Redondo Beach, CA. 

As a Sea Grant Law Fellow, Amanda worked in conjunction with the Lateral Access Commission and the RI Coastal Resources Management Council to prove that a constitutional easement exists above the mean high water mark up to the vegetation line, thus allowing public passage along the dry sand areas without trespassing and increasing lateral access to the shore in the Ocean State.

Higgins will publish her findings on the legal and policy implications of sea level rise impacts on beaches and coastal properties in the Sea Grant Law and Policy Journal (Spring 2008).  The paper will include the causes of sea level rise; the impacts to beaches and coastal property; state regulatory responses to changes in sea level; the legal implications of existing sea level rise policies (rolling easements; takings, nuisance, etc.); and potential solutions.  Higgins will present the paper at both the National Sea Grant Law Center Symposium in Oxford, MS and The Coastal Society conference.