DATE: May 8, 2018
SUBJECT:
Title
RESOLUTION APPROVING AND AUTHORIZING ENTERING INTO A MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE SAN DIEGO UNIFIED PORT DISTRICT AND COMMANDER, NAVY REGION SOUTHWEST REGARDING COORDINATION AND COOPERATION RELATED TO SEA LEVEL RISE IN THE SAN DIEGO REGION FOR A PERIOD OF SIX YEARS FROM THE EFFECTIVE DATE (FULL EXECUTION)
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The District and the Commander, Navy Region Southwest (CNRSW) are the two major agencies with management responsibilities for the waterfront of San Diego Bay. The District and CNRSW recognize the need to coordinate sea level rise preparedness to support their operations, safeguard infrastructure, and promote environmental quality. Building on the District’s partnership with CNRSW for implementation of the bay-wide Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan, District staff recommends that the District and CNRWS enter into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) to share information, re-evaluate the best available scientific information and modeling related to sea level rise, and collaborate to identify complementary adaptation policies and measures. This MOA will be in place for a period of six years from the effective date, which takes place on the date of the last signature. This MOA will be the first of its kind between the U.S. Navy and a west coast port in the United States.
RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution Authorizing an MOA with the Commander, Navy Region Southwest to coordinate and cooperate on issues related to sea level rise in the San Diego Region for six years from the effective date.
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FISCAL IMPACT:
This agenda has no fiscal impact.
Compass Strategic Goals:
Aligning sea level rise planning initiatives and coordinating innovative adaptation strategies between the District and CNRSW will support the District goals of economic vitality, safeguarding infrastructure, and promoting environmental quality. This agenda item supports the following Strategic Goal(s).
• A Port that the public understands and trusts.
• A thriving and modern maritime seaport.
• A vibrant waterfront destination where residents and visitors converge.
• A Port with a healthy and sustainable bay and its environment.
• A Port with a comprehensive vision for Port land and water uses integrated to regional plans.
• A Port that is a safe place to visit, work and play.
• A financially sustainable Port that drives job creation and regional economic vitality.
DISCUSSION:
Background
Sea level rise is expected to steadily increase along the coast of California. The District and the Commander, Navy Region Southwest (CNRSW) acknowledge that the impacts of sea level rise pose a threat to the economy, infrastructure, security, and the environment. As the two major agencies with management responsibilities for the waterfront of San Diego Bay, the District and CNRSW recognize the need to align their sea level rise planning initiatives and to coordinate innovative adaptation strategies to support their operations, safeguard infrastructure, and promote environmental quality.
The District and the CNRSW share a long history of partnering on management obligations in and around San Diego Bay. In 2000, the District and the CNRSW adopted the first San Diego Bay Integrated Natural Resource Management Plan (INRMP)1. The INRMP set forth a collaborative strategy for managing the Bay’s natural resources while supporting the ability for the two agencies to achieve their missions in San Diego Bay. Through the INRMP, the District and the CNRSW have supported studies evaluating the biodiversity of the Bay, conducted surveys of sensitive habitats such as eelgrass, fisheries, avian species and restored habitats for threatened and endangered species such as the California Least Tern and Pacific Green Sea Turtles. The INRMP was updated in 2013 and calls for further planning and design initiatives focused on the interface between the built and natural environment in the face of sea level rise.
The Department of Defense (DOD) has been collecting data and assessing installations’ vulnerability to sea level rise on over 700 coastal locations throughout the world. Currently, one of the most at risk naval installations in the United States is located at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia. There, flooding occurs frequently causing interruptions to daily operations. The Navy has partnered with the state of Virginia and local cities such as Norfolk and Virginia Beach to coordinate sea level rise planning efforts for the area.
As a trustee of State tidelands, Assembly Bill No. 691 requires the District to prepare and submit a vulnerability analysis and assessment plan to address sea level rise by July 1, 2019. The analysis must include maps showing areas potentially affected by sea level rise and storm surge in years 2030, 2050, and 2100. Furthermore, the assessment shall describe how the trustee proposes to protect and preserve natural and human-made resources and facilities, and provide an estimate of the financial costs of the impacts of sea level rise. The final report will enable the District to begin preparing for sea level rise and associated coastal hazards by providing a framework for the District to incorporate adaptive measures into its policymaking and planning processes, environmental documents, infrastructure design, and construction practices.
The District is currently conducting the first phase of the AB 691 assessment, which includes a vulnerability assessment of coastal flooding and inundation caused by projected sea level rise and severe storms on District tidelands. During the fall of 2017, District staff worked with a special Ad Hoc Committee of the Environmental Advisory Committee, which included a representative from the CNRSW, to review assumptions and methods to assist in conducting the vulnerability assessment. Staff anticipates the vulnerability assessment to be completed in the summer of 2018. The next phases of the assessment include conducting a fiscal analysis of impacts and identification of adaptation strategies.
Memorandum of Agreement
Expanding on the INRMP partnership with CNRSW to coordinate sea level rise preparedness in San Diego Bay is prudent and necessary. The vitality of the Bay’s waterfront and surrounding region is dependent upon maritime and coastal activities. In addition, the sustainability of military operations in San Diego Bay are critical to national security. As both the District and CNRSW plan for sea level rise, it is appropriate for both agencies to ensure consistency and coordination to ensure that strategies do not conflict nor worsen the conditions of the Bay. Simply put, it is smart planning and the right thing to do. Therefore, a Memorandum of Agreement between the District and the CNRSW will continue the partnership between the two largest waterfront managers along San Diego Bay to jointly plan for and leverage resources to address sea level rise (Attachment A). This MOA will be the first of its kind between the U.S. Navy and a west coast port in the United States.
The MOA will be in place for a period of six years from the effective date, which takes place on the date of the last signature. The MOA may be renewed or extended as both agencies deem appropriate upon its conclusion. The MOA provides an organizational structure for collaboration and the sharing of non-confidential information, studies, and data related to sea level rise and its impacts. The MOA also establishes responsibilities between the District and CNRWS and identifies milestones for initiating these responsibilities. The MOA does not commit either agency to financial obligations.
General Counsel’s Comments:
The General Counsel’s Office has reviewed the agenda sheet and attachments, as presented to it, and approves them as to form and legality.
Environmental Review:
The Board’s action, including without limitation, approval of a memorandum of agreement between the District and Commander, Navy Region Southwest, regarding coordination and cooperation related to sea level rise in the San Diego region for a period of six years, does not constitute an “approval” or a “project” under the definitions set forth in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Sections 15352 and 15378 because no direct or indirect changes to the physical environment would occur. CEQA requires that the District adequately assess the environmental impacts of projects and reasonably foreseeable activities that may result from projects prior to the approval of the same. Any project developed as a result of Board’s action or direction that requires the District or the Board’s discretionary approval resulting in a physical change to the environment will be analyzed in accordance with CEQA prior to such approval. CEQA review may result in the District, in its sole and absolute discretion, requiring implementation of mitigation measures, adopting an alternative, including without limitation, a “no project alternative” or adopting a Statement of Overriding Consideration, if required. The current Board direction in no way limits the exercise of this discretion. Therefore, no further CEQA review is required.
The project complies with Section 87 of the Port Act, which allows for the construction, reconstruction, repair, and maintenance of highways, streets, roadways, bridges, belt line railroads, parking facilities, power, telephone, telegraph or cable lines or landings, water and gas pipelines, and all other transportation and utility facilities or betterments incidental, necessary, or convenient for the promotion and accommodation of any of the uses set forth in this section. The Port Act was enacted by the California Legislature and is consistent with the Public Trust Doctrine. Consequently, the proposed project is consistent with the Public Trust Doctrine.
The proposed Board direction or action does not allow for “development,” as defined in Section 30106 of the California Coastal Act, or “new development,” pursuant to Section 1.a. of the District’s Coastal Development Permit (CDP) Regulations because they will not result in, without limitation, a physical change, change in use or increase the intensity of uses. Therefore, issuance of a Coastal Development Permit or exclusion is not required. However, development within the District requires processing under the District’s CDP Regulations. Future development, as defined in Section 30106 of the Coastal Act, will remain subject to its own independent review pursuant to the District’s certified CDP Regulations, PMP, and Chapters 3 and 8 of the Coastal Act. The Board’s direction or action in no way limits the exercise of the District’s discretion under the District’s CDP Regulations. Therefore, issuance of a CDP or exclusion is not required at this time.
Equal Opportunity Program:
Not applicable.
PREPARED BY:
Philip Gibbons
Program Manager, Energy
Attachment(s):
Attachment A: Memorandum of Agreement Between Commander, Navy Region Southwest and San Diego Unified Port District Regarding Coordination and Cooperation Related to Sea Level Rise in the San Diego Region
Integrated Natural Resources Management Plan. SDUPD Clerk Document No. 41659 and updated in 2013 Clerk Document No. 62321.