{"id":9735,"date":"2016-11-03T22:29:00","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T02:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usace-in-the-age-of-climate-change\/"},"modified":"2016-11-03T22:29:48","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T02:29:48","slug":"usace-in-the-age-of-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usace-in-the-age-of-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"USACE in the Age of Climate Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"usace_logo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The US Army Corps of Engineers is one of the world\u2019s largest public engineering organizations, with over 37,000 Civilians and Soldiers across 90 countries.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

USACE has a very significant hand in preparing the Nation to cope with the effects of climate change.\u00a0 Increasing severity and duration of drought cycles will stress water supply capabilities \u2013 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 \u2013 and rising sea levels will exacerbate already deficient water retention features \u2013 consider the retention levees protecting New Orleans from the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain.<\/p>\n

The Ohio River watershed provides great context for the importance of USACE\u2019s mission.\u00a0 Nearly $43bn in commodities, representing 35% of the Nation\u2019s waterborne trade, transit the 2500 miles of waterway annually.[i]<\/a>\u00a0 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]<\/a>\u00a0 While water control structures and river navigation systems are <\/em>designed with multi-decade lifespans, many are already at or past their design lives.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

To its credit, USACE has already commenced significant efforts to understand and categorize the ramifications of climate change on its public works projects.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Sea level change guidance, provided in the form of engineering circulars, already informs the project planning and design for water retention structures.\u00a0 Drought contingency plans, many originally conceived in the late 70\u2019s and early 80\u2019s, are being reevaluated in light of new meteorological data to evaluate their feasibility and effectiveness to mitigate the stresses of enhanced drought cycles.\u00a0 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]<\/a>\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Proactive measures additionally include major studies on carbon sinks.\u00a0 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]<\/a>\u00a0 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.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, actions to date have primarily been constricted to studies and surveys \u2013 little real preparation appears to have been started in a \u2018shovel to earth\u2019 sense.\u00a0 USACE formal policy states that it, \u201c\u2026has not yet identified a climate risk during the adaptation planning process that is deemed so significant that it impairs USACE\u2019s statutory missions or the operations addressed.\u201d[v]<\/a>\u00a0 Close examination of the 463 page Civil Works FY 2017 Budget Justification Information<\/em> circular published by USACE in February 2016 reveals a mere 7 uses of the word \u2018climate\u2019, all used in reference to 5 studies and surveys of major waterway\/harbor projects (i.e. Ports of NY and NJ, etc.).[vi]<\/a>\u00a0 Furthermore, the Mississippi River and Tributaries project portfolio indicates a grand total of ~$90mm for new flood control construction in FY16.[vii]<\/a><\/p>\n

This evidence appears to paint a picture that costly \u2013 but necessary and vital \u2013 civil construction programs have not yet risen to the top of Federal legislators\u2019 priorities of importance.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

772 Words<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[i]<\/a> [ii]Pennsylvania DCNR, \u201cOhio River Basin Facts\u201d, http:\/\/dcnr.pa.gov\/cs\/groups\/public\/documents\/document\/dcnr_20031262.pdf<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[iii]<\/a> [iv]<\/a>[v]<\/a>USACE, \u201cClimate Change Adaptation Plan\u201d, http:\/\/www.usace.army.mil\/Portals\/2\/docs\/Sustainability\/Performance_Plans\/2014_USACE_Climate_Change_Adaptation_Plan.pdf<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[vi]<\/a> USACE, \u201cFY2017 Budged Justification Information\u201d, http:\/\/cdm16021.contentdm.oclc.org\/cdm\/ref\/collection\/p16021coll6\/id\/12#img_view_container<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n

[vii]<\/a> USACE, \u201cFY 2016 Work Plan \u2013 Mississippi River and Tributaries\u201d, http:\/\/www.usace.army.mil\/Portals\/2\/docs\/civilworks\/budget\/workplan\/fy2016_wp_mrt.pdf<\/a>, accessed November 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Understanding the importance and current status of retrofits to our nation’s civil infrastructure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1782,"featured_media":9736,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[],"class_list":["post-9735","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/climate-change-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\nUSACE in the Age of Climate Change - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usace-in-the-age-of-climate-change\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"USACE in the Age of Climate Change - Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Understanding the importance and current status of retrofits to our nation's civil infrastructure.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/usace-in-the-age-of-climate-change\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Technology and Operations Management\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-11-04T02:29:48+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2016\/11\/usace_logo-1.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"500\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"72\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/usace-in-the-age-of-climate-change\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/d3.harvard.edu\\\/platform-rctom\\\/submission\\\/usace-in-the-age-of-climate-change\\\/\",\"name\":\"USACE in the Age of Climate Change - 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