USACE in the Age of Climate Change

The US Army Corps of Engineers is one of the world’s largest public engineering organizations, with over 37,000 Civilians and Soldiers across 90 countries.  Formed in 1775, the agency has a proud lineage of public works projects dating back to the surveying of the American continent and its riverine resources.  Today, USACE is responsible for a multitude of tasks including military facilities construction, providing engineering support to disaster relief operations, environment engineering, and harbor and inland waterway maintenance.

USACE has a very significant hand in preparing the Nation to cope with the effects of climate change.  Increasing severity and duration of drought cycles will stress water supply capabilities – think of the Colorado River basin and already-low Lake Mead which work to supply much of the municipal water resources for the American southwest – and rising sea levels will exacerbate already deficient water retention features – consider the retention levees protecting New Orleans from the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain.

The Ohio River watershed provides great context for the importance of USACE’s mission.  Nearly $43bn in commodities, representing 35% of the Nation’s waterborne trade, transit the 2500 miles of waterway annually.[i]  The waterway is an irreplaceable product pipeline for the hundreds of chemical plants, refineries, and terminals which service the Great Lakes and Ohio River regions, not to mention the multitude of state level properties, municipalities, and waterfront businesses which owe their existence to stable and predictable riverine navigation.[ii]  While water control structures and river navigation systems are designed with multi-decade lifespans, many are already at or past their design lives.  Increased quantity and severity of flood/drought cycles will likely accelerate deterioration of the existing civil infrastructure which places the economic strength of the region at risk.

To its credit, USACE has already commenced significant efforts to understand and categorize the ramifications of climate change on its public works projects.  The USACE Climate Change Adaptation Plan, published in 2011 and revised annually, identifies several lines of effort in evaluating the preparedness of existing and upcoming projects and in training staff on a going-forward basis.  Sea level change guidance, provided in the form of engineering circulars, already informs the project planning and design for water retention structures.  Drought contingency plans, many originally conceived in the late 70’s and early 80’s, are being reevaluated in light of new meteorological data to evaluate their feasibility and effectiveness to mitigate the stresses of enhanced drought cycles.  Environmental studies, like the North Atlantic Coastal Comprehensive Study, have been commissioned or completed to reassess the flood risk vulnerability of coastal areas given rising sea levels.[iii]  These studies serve to inform local civil agencies about their most significant local vulnerabilities and what methods or preparatory actions will be most effective in offsetting the identified risks.

Pathways to Just Digital Future

Watch this tech inequality series featuring scholars, practitioners, & activists

Proactive measures additionally include major studies on carbon sinks.  USACE is seeking to understand exactly how efficiently or inefficiently the lands and aquatic areas under its control consume and/or contain excess carbon from the environment.[iv]  The results of these studies will presumably inform future guidance on land-use management and possibly inform National policy on the distribution of woodland leases.  Ultimately, these studies and revisions will be added to the litany of existing documentation which serves as the source of guidance for climate change prevention and response measures.

Unfortunately, actions to date have primarily been constricted to studies and surveys – little real preparation appears to have been started in a ‘shovel to earth’ sense.  USACE formal policy states that it, “…has not yet identified a climate risk during the adaptation planning process that is deemed so significant that it impairs USACE’s statutory missions or the operations addressed.”[v]  Close examination of the 463 page Civil Works FY 2017 Budget Justification Information circular published by USACE in February 2016 reveals a mere 7 uses of the word ‘climate’, all used in reference to 5 studies and surveys of major waterway/harbor projects (i.e. Ports of NY and NJ, etc.).[vi]  Furthermore, the Mississippi River and Tributaries project portfolio indicates a grand total of ~$90mm for new flood control construction in FY16.[vii]

This evidence appears to paint a picture that costly – but necessary and vital – civil construction programs have not yet risen to the top of Federal legislators’ priorities of importance.  Business leaders, now and in the future, would do well to note the importance of their local water resources and to talk with their legislators about ongoing efforts.

772 Words

[i] [ii]Pennsylvania DCNR, “Ohio River Basin Facts”, http://dcnr.pa.gov/cs/groups/public/documents/document/dcnr_20031262.pdf, accessed November 2016.

[iii] [iv][v]USACE, “Climate Change Adaptation Plan”, http://www.usace.army.mil/Portals/2/docs/Sustainability/Performance_Plans/2014_USACE_Climate_Change_Adaptation_Plan.pdf, accessed November 2016.

[vi] USACE, “FY2017 Budged Justification Information”, http://cdm16021.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16021coll6/id/12#img_view_container, accessed November 2016.

[vii] USACE, “FY 2016 Work Plan – Mississippi River and Tributaries”, http://www.usace.army.mil/Portals/2/docs/civilworks/budget/workplan/fy2016_wp_mrt.pdf, accessed November 2016.