Alternative A1 (Non-Structural)
Description
Description of Alternative A1 from 2024 USACE Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Page numbers reference the 2024 DEIS Main Report unless otherwise specified.
Description of Alternative A1 from 2024 USACE Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). Page numbers reference the 2024 DEIS Main Report unless otherwise specified.
FEMA "Wet Floodproofing"
Alternative A1 includes elevation of residential structures up to 13 feet above ground level, and floodproofing of nonresidential structures up to 3 feet above the ground level. Approximately 143 structures, 81 residential and 62 nonresidential, are included. The option of nonstructural property acquisition (buyout) on a voluntary basis is also included in the implementation plan. Participation in the non- structural plan would be on a voluntary basis by the individual property owners.
Based on 100% participation, the project first cost of $50 million is estimated to produce nearly $2 million in net benefits. Alternative A1 benefit to cost ratio (BCR) is 2.2 (the greatest net economic benefit of any Alternative considered) and is consistent with USACE policies for protecting the environment and applicable environmental laws and regulations.
The option of nonstructural property acquisition (buyout) on a voluntary basis is included in the nonstructural implementation plan. Acquired properties would become permanent/perpetual greenspace that is publicly owned and maintained by a Non Federal Sponsor.
Alternative A1 is anticipated to have very minimal adverse impacts to the environment and would not be expected to require compensatory habitat mitigation.
The Alternative A1 plan proposed in a USACE August 2023 internal presentation and referenced in the 2024 DEIS (Main Report, PDF page 134-135) provides non-structural measures like elevations, flooding, and voluntary buyouts for 600 structures at a cost of $198.5 million. The 2023 Alternative A1 plan provided a benefit cost ratio of 2.7, much higher than the benefit cost ration of any other Alternative posed in the USACE 2024 DEIS. For unknown reasons, the 2024 DEIS reduced the number of structures included in Alternative A1 from 600 to 143.
Based on 100% participation, the project first cost of $50 million is estimated to produce nearly $2 million in net benefits. Alternative A1 benefit to cost ratio (BCR) is 2.2 (the greatest net economic benefit of any Alternative considered) and is consistent with USACE policies for protecting the environment and applicable environmental laws and regulations.
The option of nonstructural property acquisition (buyout) on a voluntary basis is included in the nonstructural implementation plan. Acquired properties would become permanent/perpetual greenspace that is publicly owned and maintained by a Non Federal Sponsor.
Alternative A1 is anticipated to have very minimal adverse impacts to the environment and would not be expected to require compensatory habitat mitigation.
The Alternative A1 plan proposed in a USACE August 2023 internal presentation and referenced in the 2024 DEIS (Main Report, PDF page 134-135) provides non-structural measures like elevations, flooding, and voluntary buyouts for 600 structures at a cost of $198.5 million. The 2023 Alternative A1 plan provided a benefit cost ratio of 2.7, much higher than the benefit cost ration of any other Alternative posed in the USACE 2024 DEIS. For unknown reasons, the 2024 DEIS reduced the number of structures included in Alternative A1 from 600 to 143.
A1 with Canton Club Levee
2024 USACE DEIS, PDF p 154
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Alternative A1 was assessed as a standalone nonstructural plan and as a combination nonstructural plan with construction of the Canton Club Levee. The Canton Club Levee is a levee segment of approximately 1.5 miles proposed on the west bank of the Pearl River in northeast Jackson. This area is bounded by North Canton Club Circle on the north and by Beechcrest Drive to the south. This levee would provide additional flood risk reduction for approximately 100 acres of high density developed neighborhoods and reduce flood risk for over 250 homes.
"All of the structures in this subdivision would no longer flood from a cumulative 100-year event." PDF page 241. Cost estimate for the Canton Club Levee is $10 million. |
Public Participation in Alternative A1
Click to view Commander's Report
The USACE Commander's Report recommends "using a whole-of-government approach" to bridge the financial gap so that eligible residents in disadvantaged communities can participate in the elevation plan. To increase participation rates in Alternative A1, for homeowners who cannot afford the cost associated with the nonstructural plan, the following items may be considered, but may require additional Congressional authority:
- Allowances to provide temporary relocation assistance to voluntary homeowner participants in nonstructural projects.
- Future agreements developed with Rankin Hinds Pearl River Flood and Drainage Control District may include provisions that reduce the expenses required of landowners who want to make their properties eligible for participation in the nonstructural project.
- Develop an assistance program to help connect preliminary eligible homeowners to other programs in order to meet some of the USACE secondary eligibility criteria such as repair condition of the structure. An example would be the Mississippi Disaster Recovery Division Elevation Grant program currently in coastal Mississippi Counties.
- Investigate potential utilization of programs similar to the Homeowner Elevation Grant Program which provided grants of $30,000 to approved applicants of the Homeowner Assistance Program (Phase I and Phase II) in Hancock, Harrison, Jackson, and Pearl River counties. This grant program helps these homeowners defray the cost of elevating their homes to the most recent FEMA elevation requirements.
Pearl Riverkeeper asks that everyone make his or her own decision regarding the Pearl River Flood Risk Management Project using sound science and engineering. We encourage the review and thorough analysis of all available information. We welcome comments and feedback. Please email Pearl Riverkeeper or visit our Facebook for comment space. Our publishing, or re-publishing, of anyone else's research or opinions is not an endorsement on our part of those conclusions.
