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Study for City of Boston Coastal Storm Risk Management

The Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) Feasibility Study led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District will assess coastal storm risks to the City of Boston, the 23rd largest city in the United States, home to Boston Harbor the largest regional port in New England. The Study will consider near-term and long-term risks that include routine storms; nor’easters; storm surge; as well as incorporating sea level change along the 47 miles of coastline in the city. It will consider existing city, federal, state, and local plans and projects to ensure a complete system approach toward community resilience. It will assess the effects on populations, ecosystems, property, transportation and infrastructure across the city. The Study will result in a recommended plan to manage coastal storm risk that may include construction.

Through an integrated Feasibility Study with a NEPA document, the project team will develop recommendations for structural, non-structural, as well as natural based features to reduce the risk of coastal flooding on the community, the economy, and the infrastructure.  Evaluations will be made to assess impacts to the Nation, socio-economic impacts to the community, environmental impacts to the natural resources, as well as impacts to the cultural and archaeological resources in the project area. 

The Study is authorized under a 1969 Senate Resolution and funding was received in 2022 to initiate and execute the study.  

Partnership with City of Boston

The U.S Army Corps of Engineer's partnership the the City of Boston will build on the work of the Climate Ready Boston initiative. This initiative works to prepare Boston’s waterfront for the near- and long-term effects of climate change. Climate Ready Boston has completed neighborhood coastal resilience plans to protect Boston's 47-mile coastline from flooding. These plans include solutions for the East Boston, Charlestown, Downtown/North End, Dorchester, and South Boston waterfront.

Important Documents

Project Updates

July 24, 2026 Status Update: Boston Coastal Storm Risk Management Study

In accordance with DoD NEPA rules, ER 1105-2-103, and EP 1105-2-61, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District, and its partners at the City of Boston invite the public to comment on the Draft Integrated Feasibility Study with Programmatic Environmental Assessment for the Boston Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) Study. The report and appendices are available on this website (see Documents Section to the right) and on Boston.gov (https://www.boston.gov/news/plan-summary-boston-csrm). The public comment period runs from July 24 to September 18, 2026. Comments may be submitted through any of the links below.

The study, projected for completion in 2028, evaluates measures to reduce coastal flood risk across Boston's shoreline neighborhoods, including East Boston, Charlestown, Dorchester, downtown, the North End, and South Boston. An estimated 40% of Boston residents live in areas vulnerable to coastal flooding, and approximately 20,000 buildings are at risk of severe damage without additional protection. Once the specific Action Plan is endorsed by the Chief of Engineers, the city is eligible for up to 65% federal cost-sharing toward construction of resilience measures identified in the plan.

Over the past several years, USACE has worked closely with the City and stakeholders to develop baseline conditions for the study area, defined potential impacts to the affected environment, structure inventory, cultural resource and archaeological surveys, a catalog of existing and planned city development projects, and an inventory of subsurface utilities and critical infrastructure. USACE also assessed social characteristics across neighborhoods — including socioeconomic, housing, mobility, and economic characteristics — to inform a more equitable understanding of community needs. This work, together with the City's Climate Ready Boston initiative, formed the future-without-project (no-action) baseline used to formulate and screen measure and alternative plans, which resulted in three potential Action Plans:

  1. No Action
  2. Comprehensive Plan
  3. Early Actionable Increment

Details on these plans are provided in the draft report available in the DOCUMENTS panel of this page. We encourage residents and stakeholders to review the draft report, attend additional public meetings as they are announced, and submit comments through the channels provide below before the September 18, 2026 deadline.

Reports

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978-318-8238
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