U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Jersey Back Bays Flood Risk Management Planning Workshop. Background Reading/Pre Workshop Activity

Transcription

1 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Jersey Back Bays Flood Risk Management Planning Workshop Background Reading/Pre Workshop Activity Introduction The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the USACE National Planning Center of Expertise for Coastal Storm Risk Management, the Philadelphia District, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) have commenced the New Jersey Back Bays (NJBB) Flood Risk Management (FRM) Study to assess flooding in the NJBB Region. This feasibility study will recommend adaptable and scalable projects that combine various flood risk management strategies including non-structural, structural and natural & nature-based features. Such comprehensive risk management strategies can be used by stakeholders in the NJBB Region to implement comprehensive FRM strategies to increase resilience and to reduce risk from future storms and impacts of sea level change. The USACE and the NJDEP invite you to participate in a one-day planning workshop focused on the study s objectives in the context of the Region s resilience challenges, opportunities, and constraints. The NJBB FRM Study will build on the information gained at this workshop as well as from previous studies. Following reading the Management Measure List, a request is made for you to become familiar with identifying problems, opportunities, objectives and constraints in your municipality by reading the associated information included on pp of this document. A separate request is also made for you to complete the Problem and Opportunity Profile included on pp of this document and send it back with your RSVP or provide it to a USACE representative at the FRM Workshop. Much of the Break Out Session discussion will be based upon your consideration of these documents. This background reading material provides an overview of the below topics. USACE planning modernization and SMART Planning overview North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study overview Management measure list Identifying problems, opportunities, objectives and constraints Problem and opportunity profile 1

2 USACE Planning Modernization and Smart Planning Overview Planning Modernization The USACE Civil Works project planning process informs Congress as it makes decisions for authorizing and funding water resources investments for the nation. USACE s planning modernization effort is focused on improving the processes and products that support timely and sound decisions regarding our nation s water resource needs. The new planning paradigm is focused on risk-based scoping to define the levels of risk associated with water resources alternatives. This involves defining the appropriate levels of detail for investigations so that recommendations for authorization can be captured, succinctly documented, and completed in a timely manner. The result of this new approach is improved management, performance, execution, and timely delivery of solutions to water resources needs. One measure implemented as part of planning modernization is the 3x3x3 rule for feasibility studies. This rule states that: All feasibility studies will be scoped with a target goal of completion within three years. The target cost for a feasibility study will be $3 million. Any schedule or budget exceeding these guidelines will require HQUSACE approval. The study team will incorporate all three levels of the vertical team (USACE District, Division, and Headquarters). SMART Planning The USACE SMART Planning process was developed as a way to meet the 3x3x3 rule and to enhance USACE planning capability. SMART Planning is Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Risk informed, and Timely. SMART Planning is decision focused rather than the traditional, more task oriented planning. It reorients the planning process away from simply collecting data or completing tasks and refocuses it on doing the work required to reduce uncertainty to the point where the project delivery team can use the USACE sixstep planning process to make an iterative sequence of planning decisions required to complete a quality study. Throughout the feasibility study, all members of the project delivery team (PDT), Vertical Team, and Review Team have the responsibility to ask themselves SMART questions: What is the decision we are going to make? How are we going to make the decision? What criteria will we use to make the decision? What are the key drivers (data, uncertainty, etc.) that will affect the decision? What data is immediately available? Will getting more data change the decision outcome? What are the decision risks (probability and consequence of making an undesirable decision) of using the available data? 2

3 Figure 1. The USACE Six-Step Planning Process Source: USACE, A SMART Planning feasibility study includes five key decision points or milestones as depicted on the graphic below. These milestones mark key decisions along the path to an effective and efficient study. Figure 2. The SMART Planning Feasibility Study Process Source: USACE,

4 The anticipated schedule for these SMART Planning feasibility study milestones is shown in the table below. Milestone Scheduled Date FCSA Execution April 2016 Alternatives Milestone December 2016 Tentatively Selected Plan October 2017 Agency Decision Milestone May 2018 Civil Works Review Board February 2019 Chief of Engineer s Report April 2019 The end of the feasibility study process is marked by the approval of a Chief s Report, which provides the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works [ASA(CW)] with the findings of the feasibility study and recommends a Federal project for authorization. Once the Chief s Report has been signed by the USACE Chief of Engineers, it is transmitted to the office of the ASA(CW) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. After the ASA(CW) and OMB approve, the Chief s Report is sent to Congress, specifically the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, to be authorized into law. Once authorized, Congress must appropriate funds for the project to be implemented. 4

5 North Atlantic Coast Comprehensive Study (NACCS) Overview The NJBB FRM study was identified as a focus area within the NACCS study. The NACCS was conducted to address the flood risks of vulnerable coastal populations in areas that were affected by Hurricane Sandy within the boundaries of the North Atlantic Division of the Corps. The goals of NACCS was to provide a framework, consistent with USACE-NOAA Rebuilding principles and to support resilient coastal communities and robust, sustainable coastal landscape systems, considering future sea level rise and climate change scenarios, to reduce risk to vulnerable population, property, ecosystems, and infrastructure. The findings of the NACCS included a recognition that addressing these issues will be a shared responsibility of all levels of Government including partnerships, that we must rethink our approaches to adapting to risk, and that resilience and sustainability must consider a combination and blend of measures. The Coastal Storm Risk Framework identified within the NACCS is provided below: Figure 3. NACCS Coastal Storm Risk Management Framework Source: USACE, Additional information on the NACCS can be found at 5

6 Management Measure List The full array of coastal storm risk management measures will considered in the NJBB FRM Study. Figure 4. A list of individual management measures, including structural, non-structural, and natural and naturebased features, is also provided below. Structural 1) Seawall/Revetment 2) Groins 3) Detached Breakwaters 4) Berms / Levees 5) Multipurpose Berms/Levees 6) Floodwalls and Bulkheads 7) Flood/Tide Gates 8) Portable Floodwalls 9) Portable Berms/Cofferdams 10) Storm Surge Barrier 11) Road, Rail, or Light Rail Raises 12) Beach and Dune Restoration 13) Stormwater System Improvements 14) Bridge Trash Racks Non Structural 1) Acquisition / Buyouts / Retreat 2) Early Warning Systems 3) Elevating Structures 4) Floodproofing 5) Increase Storage 6) Public Engagement and Education 7) Relocating Utilities and Critical Infrastructure 8) Preservation 9) Resilience Performance Standards 10) Emergency Response Systems 11) Modify/Remove Structures for Better Channel Function 12) Design or Redesign and Location of Services and Utilities 13) Surface Water//Stormwater Management 6

7 14) Building Codes and Zoning 15) Strategic Acquisition 16) Emergency Plans/Hazard Mitigation Plans 17) Wetland Migration 18) Regional Sediment Management (RSM) 19) Coastal Zone Management Natural and Nature Based Features 1) Green Stormwater Management 2) Constructed or Rehabilitated Reefs 3) Salt Marshes 4) Freshwater Wetlands 5) Vegetated Dunes and Beaches 6) Vegetated Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV), Salt Marshes and Wetlands 7) Oyster and Coral Reefs 8) Barrier Island Restoration 9) Maritime Forests / Shrub Communities 10) Living Shorelines Additional information and description of coastal storm risk management measures can be found at and in Coastal Risk Reduction and Resilience: Using the Full Array of Measures (USACE, 2013) located at 7

8 Identifying Problems, Opportunities, Objectives and Constraints Identifying Problems, Opportunities, Objectives and Constraints For a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works Project The identification of the problems and opportunities to be addressed is one of the most important steps in the USACE planning process. This first step produces what is essentially the mission statement of the Federal/non-Federal partnership. The identification of problems and opportunities ensures unanimity of purpose within the partnership. Solving these problems and taking advantage of opportunities provides a basis for allocating the partners pooled resources. The problem definition is the detailed description of the problem. It does not need to be elaborate. Problem definition can be expanded to identify the nature, cause, location, dimensions, origin, time frame, and importance of the problem, as well as an indication of who considers this a problem. An important aspect of the problem definition is describing its cause. There are criteria that characterize good and bad statements of problems and opportunities. For example, good problem statements do not include solutions or the suggestion of a specific solution. Opportunities focus on the positive and future conditions. Something can be made better, or the creation of a future condition considered to be desirable. The table below identifies the differences between problems and opportunities. Characteristic Problem Opportunity Focus Existing undesirable condition; description of what it is. Future desirable condition; description of what could or should be. Message Negative; objection Positive; desire Occurrence Past Usually occurred Past Usually didn t occur Existing Usually occurs Existing May or may not Future without Usually expected to occur Example Coastal flooding of low elevation roads and some residences from 15 th St. to 30 th St. during coastal storm conditions with water levels greater than 1 foot above Mean High Water. Relationship to Other Resources Existing condition may adversely affect other resources occur Future without May or may not be expected to occur Reduce flooding from 15 th St. to 25 th St. with sheet pile bulkheads and gabion, and from 25 th to 30 th St. with submerged breakwater and living shoreline. Existing condition does not affect other resources Consequences of Doing Nothing Usually direct, immediate, and adverse. Usually indirect and long term due to benefits foregone. 8

9 The planning Objectives should specify what the plan should accomplish. An objective is something aimed at or striven for; a statement of the intended purposes of the planning process or what an alternative plan should try to achieve. Good planning objectives are specific (include effect, subject, location, timing, duration) and measurable. Planning objectives for the above example include: manage risk through flood reduction in the municipality associated with coastal events over a 50 year period of analysis to protect human life, populations and infrastructure; or consider adaptive and sustainable solutions for future development that account for climate change and sea level change. Planning Constraints include: specific planning study characteristics that alternative plans should avoid; avoiding adverse impacts to existing management measures or threatened/endangered species; and legal and policy constraints. A simple way to think of a constraint is in the context of don t cause problems or negative effects. Specific constraints for the above example include: No increase in flooding and shoreline erosion along sections of the coastline adjacent to the subject area; highly developed and dense population may limit the amount of space available for staging and constructing a project; and compliance with all Federal laws and executive orders such as the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act. 9

10 Problem and Opportunity Profile U.S. Army Corps of Engineers New Jersey Back Bays Flood Risk Management Planning Workshop Problem & Opportunity Profile Contact Information: Enter your name Affiliation: Phone: Date: 1. PROBLEM Define the problem and its general location in your municipality. 2. PUBLIC CONCERNS a. Advocate Who is the spokesperson for the problem? Identify specific groups, agencies, and individuals. b. Basis What is the advocate s basis for the problem? Examples include homeowners/ businesses/public infrastructure that has experienced flooding. c. Background In the advocate s view, what are the causes and effects? d. Other Stakeholders Identify other stakeholders that have been involved in identifying the problem and/or opportunity. Identify specific groups, agencies, and individuals. 10

11 3. TECHNICAL ANALYSIS a. Problem Has any work been done on analysis, repairs, advocacy for this problem? b. Location Describe the precise location of the problem; provide a map if possible. c. Measurement Identify one (or more) measurable indicators that can be used to measure improvement in this problem. Provide and specific elevation information of existing management measures. d. Conditions Describe past, present and future conditions related to the problem. 4. OPPORTUNITY Given the above problem, what opportunity exists to resolve it? a. Describe the opportunity. b. What agency is capable, or responsible for implementing a solution to this problem? c. What do you see as a potential solution to this problem? d. What do you see as a potential constraint, or roadblock to this solution? 11