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US Army Corps of Engineers BUILDING STRONG®

Developing a PIANC Standard of Practice for Conducting Initial Assessments of Environmental Effects of Navigation and Infrastructure Projects

Burton Suedel* and Sandra Brasfield USACE-ERDC-EL Vicksburg, MS Smart Rivers Conference New Orleans, LA 14 September 2011

Presenter

Presentation Notes

SOP report is a work in progress. First meeting of the WG 143 was in February 2010, and some pieces of the framework are still under development. Focus here on the components of the framework that are most complete.

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WG 143 Member Organization Dr. Burton Suedel US Army ERDC

Dr. Sandra Brasfield US Army ERDC

Dr. Amy Oen Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI)

Gudveig C. Bellen Nordahl Port of Drammen

Erik Mink Representing IADC/EuDA c/o Interel European Affairs

Henrich Röper Hamburg Port Authority AöR

Ruben Abma Witteveen+Bos

Anneke Hibma EcoShape

Dr. Thomas J. Vanagt Grontmij

Dr. Tomonari Okada National Institute of Land, Infrastructure and Management (NILIM)

Dr. Igor Linkov US Army ERDC

Jorge Nasarre Port Authority of the Balearic Islands

Claudio Luis Daniele Estudio de Ambiente y Desarrollo

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Presentation Notes

PIANC WG 143 members hail from nine countries across multiple disciplines representing government, industry and academia with international representation from the US, UK, Germany, The Netherlands, Norway, Belgium, Japan, Argentina and Spain.

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Background Procedures already developed to assess environmental risks

for navigation and port infrastructure projects

Methodology lacking for identifying stressors and pathways contributing to environmental impacts early in the project

A new standard of practice being developed by PIANC EnviCom WG 143 providing a transparent method for performing the initial assessment process for navigation and port infrastructure projects

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Gap exists in PIANC guidance documents. Risk assessment guidance has been developed, but guidance answering the question as to whether risk assessment is actually required is lacking. Previous EnviCom WGs developed procedures for how decisions can be made when environmental risks were estimated for navigation and port infrastructure projects

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Purpose Identify and describe the events and pathways of

potential environmental impacts, from the possible external driving forces, and the likely environmental receptors that might be affected by navigation and infrastructure projects

Relevant projects include maintenance and new work dredging, port and harbor development, and harbor construction

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Read the slide. Not focused on just dredging.

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Presenter

Presentation Notes

Draft process flowchart showing two primary phases of the framework: Initiation and Exploration and is being used to guide the development of the initial assessment framework. The flowchart was developed to guide the user through the initial assessment process. Initiation includes scoping, planning, and objectives identification, while Exploration includes information gathering, conceptual model development, and impact assessment. The framework also contains a decision making component and is linked at the end to appropriate existing PIANC standards.

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Working with Nature Incorporates Working with Nature philosophy focusing on:

► Achieving project objectives in an ecosystem context rather than assessing the consequences of a predefined project design

► Identifying win-win solutions rather than simply minimizing ecological harm

Working with Nature advocates the following steps: ► Establish project need and objectives ► Understand the environment ► Make meaningful use of stakeholder engagement; identify win-win

options ► Prepare project proposals/design to benefit navigation and nature

Presenter

Presentation Notes

In practice, the design process is usually iterative and the initial assessment is interwoven. The more understanding of the environment is gained in the beginning of the process - as advocated by Working with Nature - the easier it will be to make a good assessment of the environmental effects of navigation projects. Want to improve environmental sustainability. Each step of the framework embodies this philosophy.

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Initiation Phase Scoping and Planning

► Define project scope - Identify the information needed to complete the initial assessment

► Define the problem – Develop problem statement that identifies the essential elements of the problem and explicitly defines the problem

► Establish project objectives – Identify the fundamental project objectives to develop a structured decision making process

► Define project alternatives – Develop a list of alternatives that represents the range of potential choices the decision makers will have for pursuing the stated objectives

► Identify reference locations - To evaluate project alternatives via comparisons with a reference location or baseline alternative

► Engage stakeholders

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The overall objective for the initial assessment will be to determine whether the proposed navigation or infrastructure project is likely to cause adverse impacts on environmental receptor. In the initial assessment the project alternatives do not have to be developed in detail as it can include quite different solutions/strategies with quite different costs and effects. The baseline describes the situation without the project and consists of the present state and the autonomous development.

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Engaging Stakeholders Developing a process to engage stakeholders is

needed to ensure a successful process Stakeholder involvement should start early to

promote transparency and ensure the assessment proceeds effectively, efficiently and credibly

To meet challenges, get the participation right Effective stakeholder engagement involves active

stakeholder participation at appropriate points in the assessment process rather than as passive recipients of the results

Presenter

Presentation Notes

To effectively engage stakeholders, stakeholders wanting to participate in project definition should take part in the initiation phase. Stakeholders with interesting solutions/strategies should be allowed to participate in the exploration phase. This should help avoid problems with stakeholders bringing forth new solutions in the elaboration phase, when the working strategy is already developed.

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Exploration Phase

Define assessment criteria Gather information Develop conceptual model Define project alternatives Assess environmental impacts Case Studies

►Sand hunger ►Port expansion

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Here are the main components to the Exploration Phase. Will be presenting key concepts in the coming slides. Note case studies are hypothetical, but based on real-world projects familiar to WG members.

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Information Gathering - Checklist Identifies potential

environmental receptors and habitats in the project area and the potential for the project to cause adverse impacts

Checklist organized by the description of the: ► Project area ► Environment

potentially affected by the project

► Dredging-related and other operations

Description of Project Area Project Attribute Description

Project and Adjacent Infrastructure Areas •Project boundaries (e.g., water catchment, airshed) •Location, size, general layout (using maps, drawings, etc.) •Geographic siting (e.g., estuary, river, marine inlet, embayment, protected coast, or engineered coastline) •Other relevant project area attributes

Biological Environment of project and adjacent areas •Flora •Fauna •Rare and endangered species •Habitat type(s) (wetland, mangrove, estuary, coral reefs, seagrass beds, etc.) •Sensitive or protected habitats (e.g., parks and preserves) •Species of commercial or recreational importance •Current or potential nuisance species •Other biological attributes, as appropriate

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Presentation Notes

Checklist also includes sections addressing physical, chemical and biological environment, socio-cultural environment, and dredging operations.

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Lines of Evidence (LOE) Broad categories of information such as chemical

concentrations in soil, presence and numbers of a threatened species, etc.

Identified to determine whether stressors related to an infrastructure project are adversely impacting environmental receptors

Use checklist information as a starting point for identifying LOE

Determine which data are needed for sound decision making

Multiple LOE are often required to make a decision during the initial assessment ► Uncertainty is high ► Costs for making an incorrect decision are also high

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Presentation Notes

Also part of information gathering. Broad categories of information such as those presented in the Table 1 checklist can be used as a starting point for identifying LOE for an initial assessment.

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Conceptual Models Projects may result in stressors being placed on the

ecosystem - these stressors must be identified Pathways as links between stressors and environmental

receptors Conceptual models required to fully support the initial

environmental assessment Communicate the rationale behind the selection and integration of stressors, pathways and receptors Developing example conceptual models

Presenter

Presentation Notes

The conceptual model supports the initial assessment framework, so the level of detail should be consistent with the amount of information available used to illustrate each of the main components of the conceptual model - the sources, pathways and receptors. Functional pathways are the qualitative link between the stressors and the environmental receptors in the development of the conceptual model. Two conceptual models are being developed for the report: a generic example and one tailored to one of the case studies.

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Uncertainty Acknowledgment and treatment of uncertainty are key elements

Addressing uncertainty: ► Should be consistent with the overall scope and purpose of the initial

assessment

Initial assessments conducted in data-poor environments

► Much of the information required to quantify uncertainty may be lacking

Projects consistent with the Working with Nature philosophy are expected to exhibit intrinsically high uncertainty

Should characterize the types, sources, extent and magnitude of substantial uncertainties consistent with the available data

The nature, magnitude and implications of uncertainties should be communicated to decision makers and stakeholders

Presenter

Presentation Notes

It is expected that many initial assessments will be conducted in data-poor environments, so much of the information required to quantify uncertainty may be lacking Projects conducted consistent with the Working with Nature philosophy are expected to exhibit intrinsically high uncertainty, as they consist of measures supporting the dynamics of natural systems that are often poorly understood

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•Stagger webinars and meetings for optimal progress

•Describe techniques that can be used to facilitate decision making

•Develop ways of considering various lines and weights of evidence

•Develop assessment of environmental impacts • Investigate and evaluate the possibilities for alternatives

•Draft expected to be completed in early 2012

•Publication by PIANC is expected in late 2012 or 2013

Path Forward

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Read the slide.

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