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Jay Charland, NOAA

Mississippi's Gulf coast has experienced rapid growth in population and economic activity since the advent of dockside gaming in 1994. In response, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (DMR), the lead agency for the State's Coastal Management Program, hosts the Comprehensive Resource Management Plan (CRMP). The CRMP seeks to balance natural resource protection and economic development through cooperation among local, state, and federal agencies and the private sector. The CRMP Team is also responding to a new EPA Stormwater pollution rule that will impact coastal cities.

History and Motivation for the CRMP
Mississippi's casino resort industry began in 1989, when cruise vessels with gaming paraphernalia were permitted in the Mississippi Sound. The vessels opened casinos as they cruised beyond the state's boundaries, into U.S. and international waters. This proved problematic, however, as it was difficult to determine how much income was earned within Mississippi and subject to state taxes. By 1990, legislation allowed vessels to remain docked on the Mississippi River or on the Gulf and operate casinos.
 While gaming remains legal for vessels cruising the waters of Mississippi, casino operators have found it advantageous to locate casinos on stationary vessels, usually barges, and to locate hotels and other amenities near the casino. Thus, the Gulf coast resorts feature casino barges, hotels, parking lots or structures, and other infrastructure generally within ¼ mile of the water. The casino industry has grown steadily since the first casino opened in 1994, and casino revenue on the coast should pass $1 billion in 1999.¹ Growing along with the industry, the Gulf coast's population and economy has reached unprecedented levels with new residents coming to the coast to find work in the casinos or other businesses.²

 As the casino industry expands, there are fewer non-sensitive locations available for placement of casino resorts. The permitting of casino developments in areas not foreseen as casino sites prompted the Commission on Marine Resources to direct the DMR to develop guidelines for coastal planning, and to evaluate the future impacts on coastal resources of casino construction and associated economic expansion. Charged with this challenge, the DMR began development of a Comprehensive Resource Management Plan (CRMP).

 The CRMP began with meetings between federal, state, and local regulatory agencies, and coastal counties and cities to discuss impacts of development. The CRMP has grown to include over 60 organizations and agencies, representing most of the private and public interests on the Mississippi coast. The CRMP is envisioned as an aid to local planning entities to assist in evaluating the long-term and environmental impacts of their decisions, and to help guide future development toward the least overall impact on coastal resources.

CRMP's Current Projects
The CRMP is currently working on four projects: stormwater management; land availability analysis; a Coastal Development Strategies Conference; and water quality versus watershed development analysis.
 Stormwater Management. All eleven cities and three counties along the coast are required by the EPA to develop stormwater management programs under implementation phase II of the NPDES permit program for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (called MS4; see page 10). The CRMP is working to facilitate and assist local governments develop and implement their programs. The CRMP staff is collecting stormwater management programs from around the southeast and the nation which, along with the technical assistance available from EPA, will be used to craft stormwater programs for the coast.
 The CRMP is also investigating the idea of creating a stormwater management district on the coast. Mississippi law provides for the creation of special districts to manage water and wastewater. The principal advantages of a district are stable, independent funding, simplified administration, and the ability to work across existing political boundaries and on a watershed basis. A single stormwater management district would simplify administration of the programs, and provide a separate, stable source of funding for stormwater programs.

 Land availability Analysis. The CRMP has conducted two analyses on population growth and land availability in the coastal counties to ascertain how much land is available for development and how much land will be required in the coming decades. The first study, based on census tracts, allocates new population to census tracts that are below their maximum capacity. Capacity is determined by multiplying the maximum population density within a tract by the tract's area. This analysis demonstrates that there is sufficient room to accommodate the expected population growth over the next several decades.
 The second study assesses where developable land is located. Using GIS analysis techniques, land in Hancock County was parsed into three categories: land unavailable for development, land with no constraints, and land with potential environmental constraints such as wetlands and floodplains. Looking only at land with no constraints and specifying that new developments occur near an existing major road or sewer system, the analysis determined that there are over 23,000 acres of undeveloped land in Hancock County meeting the criteria. At an average population density of just over 3.5 persons per acre, Hancock County would be able to accommodate over 80,000 new residents while locating them near existing infrastructure and away from important natural areas. Population in Hancock County is expected to grow by 16,500 over the next 20 years.

 Coastal Development Strategies Conference. Most neighborhoods lack parks, open space, nature trails, and other outdoor recreation areas because typical subdivision designs result in rectangular grids of street and lots, with all land taken up by houses, yards, and streets. Using seed money from the EPA, the CRMP will sponsor a Coastal Development Strategies Conference on March 23-24, 2000, to discuss alternatives to traditional subdivision design. The symposium, featuring planner and landscape designer Randall Arendt, will explain to landowners, developers, realtors, and lenders ways to design subdivisions that preserve open space. Studies have shown that subdivisions featuring nature trails, playgrounds, scenic wild areas, or other open areas experience greater initial and long-term property value. Subdivisions avoiding wetlands also reduce flood damage.

 Water Quality v. Watershed Development Analysis. Development in a watershed, particularly residential development using septic tanks, likely results in greater water pollution, especially nutrients and pathogens. Few studies and little data exist to quantify the impacts to a watershed from increasing development. The CRMP, using satellite imagery and water quality data for the Bay of St. Louis, will develop a measure of watershed development and relate that measure to water quality parameters in the bay and its tributaries to help avert future water quality problems.

CRMP Products & the Future
The most challenging aspect of the CRMP is the development and dissemination of a comprehensive vision for managing growth on the Gulf coast. As the CRMP Team develops that vision, relevant aspects will be published along with the data necessary to its support or implementation, including reports that describe the data or tool, how it was developed, and how it may be used. In this way, it is hoped, at the end of the current period of intense activity by the CRMP Team, a comprehensive vision for the Mississippi Gulf coast will have already been developed, published, and implemented.

Jay Charland is a Coastal Management Specialist with the Coastal Programs Division of NOAA. A graduate of Oregon State University and the University of California at San Diego, Jay worked for the Tillamook Bay National Estuary Project in Oregon prior to moving to Mississippi. Jay is currently on loan to the Department of Marine Resources to assist with the CRMP and related projects. You may contact him at DMR, (228) 374-5000 or through the DMR website at http://www2.datasync.com/dmr/.

ENDNOTES

1. Mississippi Gaming Commission Report, available at http: www.msgaming.com/.
2. For population reports, see U.S. Census Bureau Report, available at
thttp://www.census.gov/main/www/cen1990.html See also Estimates of 1998 population in Mississippi counties, available at http://www.census.gov/population/ estimates/county/co-98-1/98C1_28.txt .

University of Mississippi