Change is Coming pre paring for a decade of infr astr ucture constr uction CATALINA CARRASCO The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA 2018) or Public Law 115-123, which provides funding and authority for the Corps to address impacts caused by natural disasters, allocated more than $2.5 billion to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands for several massive flood risk reduction projects and studies that will help protect communities. “We are on the verge of doing a generation’s worth of infrastructure in the next decade, more than we have done in the last 50 years,” said Jacksonville District Commander, Col. Drew Kelly. “We are going to do it as quickly as possible and, more importantly, we’re going to get it right.” This meant a significantly busy fiscal year 2019 for the Antilles area, where in addition to issuing contracts for design and construction, other activities took place ranging from hosting “Industry Days” to participating in public meetings which helped inform the community.
Informing the Public In tandem with the non-Federal sponsor, the Puerto Rico Department of Environmental and Natural Resources, the Corps has hosted several public meetings to inform residents about the scope, the affected areas and the benefits the projects will provide to the communities. In November 2018 and also in June 2019, the Corps hosted scoping meetings for the Puerto Rico Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) Feasibility Study and the San Juan Metro Area Back Bay Study. Each of these two studies have a $3 million cost and will take three years to complete.
The San Juan Metro Back Bay Feasibility Study’s purpose is to determine federal interest in a recom-
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mended plan to reduce damages to infrastructure as a result of flooding from coastal storms and hurricanes along the San Juan Metro and Back Bay Areas in the municipalities of San Juan, Cataño and Carolina. The Puerto Rico CSRM Feasibility Study will assess the shoreline problems and provide possible coastal storm risk management alternatives for the benefit of infrastructure located along approximately 15 miles of the island’s coastline. In March, the Pittsburgh and Jacksonville Districts participated in the public scoping meeting for the $1.2 million Rio Grande de Manatí at Ciales Flood Risk Management (FRM) Feasibility Study, which reviews approaches that will reduce flood risk to structures in the community. Each of the meetings, which took place in San Juan, Rincon, Aguadilla, Loiza and Ciales, were attended by more than 100 residents in each locality. Following each presentation the panel of presenters urged attendees to provide additional information that could be helpful in assessing possible future projects as well as to express their concerns as residents, which would help the Corps further define future plans. “We are looking at the different options we have,” Jacksonville’s Deputy District Commander, Maj. Alexander Walker, said. “We want to see which option is most viable, the most cost-effective and the one that will provide the most benefit for the community.” The Corps also hosted “Industry Day” events in Puerto Rico in December and February, and a webinar in May.
