Rising Sea Levels, Extreme Storms and Aging

Infrastructure

Triple Threat or Economic

Opportunity?

Storm Surge Working Group

September 8, 2016www.NICHI.us

Super Storm Sandy

! "# $%&' ( $) *+, $- . +&/"'$012$0340

October, 2012:

Nantucket Light Ship

heads out to sea as

Hurricane Sandy approaches.

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

1982 Boston: Another ThreatA Great City with a Dirty Problem

“Love that Dirty Water?”

Harbor of Shame

From a powerful engine of regional economic development

To the dirtiest harbor in America

The Boston Harbor Clean Up

Lessons to be Learned

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

_

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.”