CCRUN Green Infrastructure, Climate and Cities Seminar Series

January 4, 2017

www.NICHIusa.org

The Bifurcation of Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge Plans for Metropolitan Areas: New York and New

Jersey Metropolitan Area, A Case Study

Super Storm Sandy

NYC Coastal Demographics

• 520 mile coastline, longer than Miami, Boston, Los Angelos and San Francisco combined

• 535 Million Square Feet of Built Structures in the 100 year Flood Plain

• 400,000 residents living in the 100 year Flood Plain

NYC Impact of Super Storm Sandy Storm Surge

• $19 Billion in Damages

Impact of Sandy on Transportation in the

Port of New York

• Brooklyn Battery Tunnel

New York City’s Response to Sandy

• Despite Katrina here is no Federal resiliency plan

• Despite a 2009 proposal for a regional storm surge barrier, there is no regional plan

• City Focuses on Local Plans

Mayor Bloomberg’s Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency

(SIRR)

Mayor’s Criteria

• Plans must be Local

• Plans must be economically feasible

• Plans must be initiated within his term (18 months)

• Plans must be fully funded

The “SIRR” Report

The SIRR Report : Analyzes Climate Risks and Makes Recommendations

• 250 Specific Recommendations

• Plan is fully formulated but will not be completed in the Mayor’s term

Rebuild by DesignThe Federal Government’s Resiliency Program

for New York and New Jersey

Goals: To: Dramatically Improve Coastal Resiliency

To: Foster Intergovernmental and Cross Discipline Collaboration

To: Develop Locally Responsive Proposals

Method: Design Competition Between 10 Finalists

Funding: $1 Billion

RBD Projects Awarded in 2014

• NYC, Manhattan: “Big U” ($335 million)

• Hoboken, Jersey City and Weehawken NJ

“Little U” ($230 Million)

• NYC, Hunt’s Point (NYC, South Bronx)

($20 Million)

• NY, Long Island Living with the Bay

• ($125 Million)

• NJ, New Meadowlands ($150 Million)

• NYC, Staten Island: Oyster Reef ($60 Million)

NYC Future Coastal Resiliency Vulnerability

• According to the Mayor’s 2012 Reconvened NYC Panel on Climate Change

• By 2050

• Projected NYC Sea Level Rise is 2.5-3 feet

• Over 60% Increase in Rainfall Days of 2” or more

• Increase in the strength and frequency of major storms

• Increase in the height and frequency of storm surge

• BY 2055

• $90 Billion in Damages from a Sandy Level Event

The Triple Threat of Rising Sea Levels,

Extreme Storms and Aging Infrastructure

The Challenge

• Threat to Our National Security

• Threat to our Home Land Security

• Threat to our National Economic Security

It is time to Re-Imagine our Coasts

• To Protect our Coastal Communities

• To Protect, Preserve and Nurture on Natural

Coastal Environment

• To Invest in the Globally Competitive Economic

Future of the 22nd Century

Boston Harbor Clean Up and A Port of New York Surge Barrier

Lessons to Be learned

Political Will Is Critical to Defining the Problem and the SolutionInform, educate, organize: media, stakeholders, general public

The Stick and the Carrot is Critical to ActionThe Unacceptable, Unavoidable Alternative and the Multi Beneficial

Alternative

Governance is Critical to Success: Create: Independent Agency with balanced public oversight, bonding

authority and exclusive, defined revenue sources

The Problem Wasn’t the ProblemThe Solution Was the Problem

• The problem was not a polluted harbor…. we had the technology to clean it up.

• The Problem was the failure to Identify and address the missing critical components of the Solution

– Political Will: Building a Constituency for Action– Strategic Path to Action: The Unacceptable Alternative– Governance Structure : Institutional Capacity & Funding

Boston Harbor Lesson Learned 1

Political Will is Critical: There will be no solution to the issue of rising sea levels, extreme storms and aging infrastructure without the critical element of Political Will.

To establish the necessary Political Will to plan, design, fund and construct a major infrastructure project we must first:

Educate, Inform and Organize Stakeholders; and

Create a Powerful Advocacy Alliance Focused On Both the Problem and the Solution.

Boston Harbor Lesson Learned 2

Use Both a Stick and a Carrot as

Drivers

• The Stick: Focus on the Impacts of the Triple Threat: The Unacceptable Alternative of Continuing Loss of Life, Unsustainable Severe Economic Damages and Increasing Peril to Our National Security - Drivers: The next storm, insurance/finance cost and availability, building codes, litigation, GAAP

• The Carrot: Focus on the Economic and Community Development Opportunities, Not Only on the Avoidance of Loss, but also on the Multiple, Beneficial Impacts on Economic and Community Development that will Occur as a Result of this Major Regional Infrastructure Investment – Drivers: Transportation, Real Estate, Development, New Utilities and Power Generation, Recreation and Environmental Protection

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New Infrastructure Investment

$3.8 Billion investment in new coastal infrastructurerelates to

$34.2 Billion in economic development.

Boston Harbor Lesson Learned 3

Governance Matters

Mission Success Depends on Governance Structure

Creation of the Massachusetts

Water Resources Authority

Confronted with the

Unacceptable

Alternative,

The Legislature did the

right thing

MWRA: A New Governance Structure

• Mission Focus

• Balanced State, City and Town Political Oversight

• Independently Controlled Revenue Sources

• Independent Bonding Authority

• Professional Staff

MWRA: The Results of Mission Focus, Financial Independence and Balanced

Political Control• The MWRA Worked Cooperatively with the Federal Court On

Facilities Planning and Water Quality Goals

• The MWRA Built the Clean Up Facilities On Time and Under Budget

• The MWRA Communicated Clearly and Directly with All Stakeholders Including Rate Payers

• The MWRA used its Independent Bonding Authority to Moderate Rate Increases and to Maintain Stakeholder Support

Meeting the Challenge and Seizing the

Opportunity of Sea Level Rise, Extreme Storms

and Aging Infrastructure

The Alternatives• Ignore the Reality of Scientific Data

• Retreat from the Sea

• Build Local Projects to Protect Only Selected Communities

• Invest in a Multi Beneficial Regional Surge Barrier

• Or…

Charter an ARK(Nantucketlightship.com)

We are Equal to the Challenge

“Together, we can build our coastal infrastructure

to be as strong as our people.”