As a part of President Obama’s continuing commitment to help coastal communities recover from Hurricane Sandy and promote resilient coastal systems, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the State of Rhode Island have signed a two-year cooperative agreement totaling $200,000 to evaluate sand resources for coastal resilience and restoration planning.

Under this agreement, the University of Rhode Island, with advisory support from the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), will map the geology of selected areas offshore. These maps will be used to identify and locate potential areas of sand resources, as well as benthic habitat.