US Army Corps of Engineers

BUILDING STRONG®

Bridging the Gap

Between Civil Works

Planning and

Ecosystem Services

Janet Cushing

Institute for Water Resources

ACES

December 2012

BUILDING STRONG®

• Congress established Corps of Engineers as a separate branch of the Army in 1802

• Main categories of public service:

Navigation Flood Risk Management

Hydropower Coastal Storm Damage Reduction

Recreation Ecosystem Restoration

Water Supply

• Regulates §404 Clean Water Act and §9 & 10 Rivers & Harbors Act

• National emergency response

• Service to other agencies

USACE Civil Works

BUILDING STRONG®

• US Ports & Waterways convey > 2B Tons Commerce

• Foreign Trade alone creates > $160 B Tax Revenues

•Cumulative Flood Damage Prevented >$821B

Recreation areas 365 M Visitors/yr

Generate $16 B in economic activity, Supports 270,000

jobs 12,000 miles of

Commercial Inland

Waterways:

½ the cost of rail

1/10 the cost of

trucks

400 miles of

Shore protection

Destination for

75% of U.S.

Vacations ~11,750 Miles of

Levees

299 Deep Draft

Harbors

Emergency

Operations Stewardship of

11.7 Million Acres

Public Lands Ecosystem

Restoration

627 Shallow Draft

Harbors

43,000 permits

3% of Nation’s

Electricity: $800 M

+ in power sales

Civil Works Value to the Nation

Environmental

Infrastructure 136 Projects

Water Supply

422 Lakes & Reservoirs

BUILDING STRONG®

• Principles & Guidelines - 1983

o 4 accounts established - NED, RED, OSE, EQ - to determine project viability

• Water Resources Development Act of 1986

o Reestablished and refined by purpose, the Federal

interest in water resources development

• Water Resources Development Act of 2007

o Called for review and update of the P&G

Guiding our Civil Works Activities

BUILDING STRONG®

• 1986 - Environmental quality improvement authorized

o Secondary purpose in existing Corps projects

o Viewed as post-project mitigation actions

o Mostly use values – such as wildlife-based recreation

• 1996 – Ecosystem restoration and protection

authorized

o Primary purpose justified

o Protection aspect implied heritage preservation

o EQ benefits quantified in non-monetary units

Environmental Investment

Authorities

BUILDING STRONG®

How We Get There

• Civil Works - Provide local communities and

sponsors with opportunities to meet water

resources needs where there is both a local and

Federal interest.

BUILDING STRONG®

How We Get There - Six Step

Planning Process

1) Identifying Problems & Opportunities • Context of the project’s authorized purpose(s)

2) Inventorying & Forecasting Conditions

3) Formulating Alternative Plans

• Identification of management measures

(potential “fixes” for each problem)

• Tied to objectives

BUILDING STRONG®

Six Step Planning Process cont.

4) Evaluating Alternative Plans • Alternative-specific

• Characterization of costs and benefits

• Validation of assumptions

• Satisfaction of constraints

• Realization of objectives

5) Comparing Alternative Plans •Relative satisfaction of objectives

• Trade-offs, uncertainties, and risk

• Judgment and preferences

6) Selecting a Plan

BUILDING STRONG®

National Economic Development

Outputs

• Main projects: Commercial navigation (waterway

transportation service), flood risk management, and

coastal storm damage reduction (flood storage &

conveyance service)

• Congressional authorization language, federal

budget priorities, and the preferences of non-federal

cost share sponsors direct the formulation of plans.

BUILDING STRONG®

National Economic Development

Outputs

• NED plan formulation - Emphasizes engineering

works to reduce the adverse consequences to

people and commercial activity from extreme high-

and low water conditions

• NED plan evaluation - Based on the objective of

national economic efficiency

• NED plan comparison and selection - Plan

benefits are compared with estimated plan costs to

recommend the plan that maximizes net economic

benefits

BUILDING STRONG®

National Ecosystem Restoration

Outputs

• NER plan formulation - Emphasizes types of

interventions to improve ecological functions; e.g.,

replicating historic high and low flows on the

hydrograph, reconnecting rivers to floodplains

• NER plan evaluation - uses metrics that

correspond to the place-specific biological

objectives

• NER plan comparison and selection - Outputs

are related to the costs or each plan through a cost-

effectiveness analysis and incremental cost analysis

BUILDING STRONG®

Cost Effectiveness and Incremental

Cost Analysis

• To inform decisions in support of sound financial

investments

• Cost Effectiveness: No other plan provides the

same output for less cost or no other plan provides a

higher output level for the same or less cost

• Incremental Cost Analysis: A way of addressing

whether the next increment of benefits is worth the

additional cost

12

BUILDING STRONG®

Integrating Ecosystem Services

into Planning

Photo credit:

USGS

BUILDING STRONG® Source: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (2005)

Conceptual Framework Linking Ecosystems

and Human Well-Being

BUILDING STRONG®

Federal Interest Non-Federal Interest

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• Investment

• Return on Investment Economic • Structure

• Function Environmental • Life Safety

• Equity Social Be

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fit

Metric A

Metric B

Metric C

Metric D

Metric F

Metric E

Metric G

Is defined indicator consistent with authority, mission, or priority of the organization? If not, benefits likely accrue to interests to the right.

Typ

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15

Characterization

BUILDING STRONG®

Sample Evaluation Matrix

Benefit

Economic Flood risk reduction

Commercial fisheries

Navigation

Environmental Biodiversity

Water treatment

Social Recreation use

Social vulnerability

Federal Interest Non-Federal Interest

BUILDING STRONG®

Potential Benefits

1. Manage natural resources for the highest possible “return” on investment ► Appropriately comparing locations and designs

► Appropriately measuring benefits & risks at multiple scales (e.g., site, watershed, ecoregion)

2. Improved communication of social benefits for ecosystem restoration and NR management ► Fulfilling the Corps’ mission

► Engaging local communities

► Securing federal support

3. Provide supporting material for the Army to recommend the best projects for funding

BUILDING STRONG®

Questions?