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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMarsh Restoration Project in Back Bay Presentation to City Council 05272025Marsh Restoration Project in Back Bay Project Update Toni Utterback, PE | May 27, 2025 Agenda •Project History •Overview •Funding •Environmental Permitting •Next Steps •Four options for City Council to consider concerning the project's future 2 Project History 3 Historical Ecological Decline in Back Bay Loss of > 2,000 acres of marsh habitat Loss of 70% of aquatic vegetation habitat Loss of top waterfowl resting grounds and Largemouth Bass fisheries 4 Figure: City of Virginia Beach drone photograph from November 2021 5 Sunny Day Flooding in Low-Lying Areas in the Southern Rivers Watershed Low-lying land+ Southerly Winds= “Wind-Tides” and Flooding 6 Feasibility Assessment of Alternatives for Flood Risk Reduction in Back Bay •High-level conceptual exploration of alternatives suggested by local stakeholders •Purpose and Need – provide a near-term, cost- effective means to reduce wind-driven flooding in the Back Bay •4 Alternatives Evaluated •Artificial Inlet Unlikely to obtain permits •Inverted Siphon Expensive ~$200 M – $500 M •Pump Facility to construct •Marsh Restoration Selected for further evaluation > 7 Overview Marsh Restoration Project in Back Bay 8 Site Location 9 Project Location Bonney Cove 10 Project Scope •Create 41 individual marsh terraces (~47-acre footprint) •Establish •~14 acres of upland habitat •~13 acres of marsh habitat •~16 acres of submerged terrace habitat •Plant over 130,000 native plants •Restore ~310 acres of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) between the terraces 11 Anticipated Project Schedule Assuming Environmental Permits Issued by December 2024 12 Joint Permit Application Submitted August 2023 Permit Issued (Projected) Advertise Project for Construction Q4 2024 Construction Bid Opening Q1 2025 Staging Area & Phase I Terrace Construction Q1 2025 – Q3 2025 Phase II Terrace Construction Q1 2026 – Q3 2026 Phase III Terrace Construction Q1 2027 – Q2 2027 10-Year Post-Construction Monitoring Begins Q2 2027 Time of Year Restriction October 1st – January 31st Featured in the State's Coastal Resilience Master Plan 13 Funding 14 History of Funding •Project 100551, “Stormwater Green Infrastructure”, first appeared in the FY 2020-21 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) •Project supports citywide green infrastructure, including in Back Bay and the Elizabeth River •Marsh Restoration in Back Bay •Elizabeth River Wetland and Floodplain Restoration •Project 100551 included in the November 2021 Flood Protection Bond Referendum 15 Marsh Restoration Project Funding $135,124 November 2020 – National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Grant* $9,886,370 November 2022 – National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Grant $5,000,000 March 2024 – Community Flood Preparedness Fund (CFPF) Grant $15,021,494 Total Grant Funding $31,438,006 Local Funding $46,459,500 Estimated Total Project Cost $46,459,500 Appropriations to Date Project is Fully Funded *Appropriated to project 100365- “Sea Level Rise Recurrent Flooding Analysis” 16 Bond Funding •Total bond financing for CIP 100551 is $39,925,000 •$8,001,022 was included in the May 2024 FPP bond sale •$1.4 M in reimbursement of prior expenditures •$6.6 M in forward issuance •This amount could be reallocated to other Flood Protection Program projects included in the 2024 bond sale if spent within 24 months from bond closing •Or attributed to the Elizabeth River Wetland and Floodplain Restoration project, included in CIP 100551 17 Environmental Permitting 18 Timeline Joint Permit Application Submitted Agencies Confirmed Receipt of Application August 2023 RFI Responses to Agencies November 2023 – May 2024 Agency Coordination Meetings with VMRC, VIMS, USACE, NOAA June 2024 – September 2024 SAV Survey conducted by VMRC, VDWR, USEPA, and USACE September 2024 Stay of the Federal Consistency Certification Review Issued October 2024 Meeting with VMRC and USACE February 2025 Acronyms: USACE – United States Army Corp of Engineers VMRC – Virginia Marine Resource Commission VIMS – Virginia Institute of Marine Science VDWR – Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources NOAA – National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration USEPA – Unites States Environmental Protection Agency RFI – Request for Information SAV – Subaquatic Vegetation 19 Permitting Issues – Historic Properties •The Department of Historical Resources (DHR) disagrees with USACE’s determination that the project won't affect historic properties. •DHR believes the area may contain submerged cultural materials from prehistoric settlements. •DHR recommends conducting an investigation using marine archaeological remote sensing techniques 20 Permitting Issues – Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) •Prior to starting the project in 2020, an SAV survey was conducted. •24 locations within Bonney Cove were surveyed •Little to no SAV was present at the site •September 2024 – SAV survey conducted by VMRC, VDWR, USEPA, and USACE •45 locations within areas of suspected SAV coverage •30 additional locations suspected to be unvegetated •SAV species were found at all 75 sites 21 Permitting Issues – Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) (continued)•October 2, 2024 – Permitting Agency Meeting •Attendees Included USACE, VIMS, VMRC, City Staff and Consultant •VMRC – Due to the extensive amount of SAV, mitigation is not possible with the current design; avoidance is required. •October 17, 2024 – SAV survey conducted by Dewberry and City Staff •7 locations within Bonney Cove were surveyed •Southern project area had a significant amount of SAV, which was visible from the surface •Central project area, located in the deeper open section of Bonney Cove, had a small amount of SAV •Findings were consistent with the SAV survey conducted by VMRC, VDWR, USEPA, and USACE 22 Permitting Concerns •February 10, 2025 – Meeting with VMRC and USACE •Attendees Included USACE, VMRC (Habitat Management Division), LJ Hansen, and Toni Utterback •Habitat Management Division manages the state’s submerged bottomlands •Projects needing permits that impact SAV are evaluated using criteria known as Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Guidance. •A recommendation to deny or approve a permit is made to the nine-member Commission for a decision •SAV Guidance document mandates SAV protection; projects disturbing SAV to establish new SAV are not recommended for approval. •Habitat Management Division will not recommend to the Commission to approve a permit due to the extensive amount of SAV found in the survey. •Since SAV coverage in Back Bay changes, its presence during at least 1 of the last 5 years is considered for permit approval. 23 Next Steps 24 How do we Proceed? 1. Keep the Current Design and put the project on hold •May impact the grant funding •Monitor SAV in the area for 5 years, and if surveys show low to no SAV, re-initiate permitting 2. Redesign the project to avoid SAV •May impact the grant funding •Additional costs for redesign, and will be treated as a new project, restarting the permitting process. •Redesign will eliminate over 50% of the terraces, significantly reducing the project's benefits, while the costs related to the construction staging area will remain unchanged. 3. Delay the Project until after the next General Assembly legislative session •Try to secure a special carve-out in next year’s General Assembly legislative package •May impact the grant funding 4. Cancel the Project and Return the Grants 25Staff’s Recommendation THANK YOU. Discussion 26