North Carolina Sea Level Rise Risk Management Study
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NORTH CAROLINA DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT OFFICE OF GEOSPATIAL AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT North Carolina Sea Level Rise Impact Study Flood Impact Management Strategies Report December, 2012 Version 1.0 CONTENTS Contents CONTENTS ..................................................................................................................................... 2 DOCUMENT VERSION HISTORY .................................................................................................. 4 1.0 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 PROJECT OVERVIEW ................................................................................................................. 5 1.2 STATE CASE STUDIES: LESSONS FROM MARYLAND, CALIFORNIA AND FLORIDA ........................................................................................................................................................ 6 1.3 CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT ..................................................................................................... 9 2.0 METHODS ............................................................................................................................ 27 2.1 STUDY OBJECTIVES AND SCOPE ...................................................................................... 27 2.2 DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS ............................................................................... 28 2.3 STUDY LIMITATIONS ............................................................................................................. 30 3.0 FLOOD IMPACT MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES ................................................................ 32 3.1 LAND RECEPTOR ..................................................................................................................... 32 3.2 ECOLOGICAL RECEPTOR ..................................................................................................... 37 3.3 AGRICULTURAL RECEPTOR ............................................................................................... 39 3.4 CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE RECEPTOR ................................................................... 42 3.5 BUILDINGS RECEPTOR ......................................................................................................... 46 3.6 SOCIETAL RECEPTOR ............................................................................................................ 50 4.0 APPENDIX A: STATE CASE STUDIES ................................................................................ 56 4.1 MARYLAND ................................................................................................................................. 56 4.2 CALIFORNIA ............................................................................................................................... 65 4.3 FLORIDA ...................................................................................................................................... 74 5.0 APPENDIX B: CAPABILITY ASSESSMENT ........................................................................ 82 5.1 NORTH CAROLINA LEGISLATURE ................................................................................... 83 5.2 NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION .................................. 87 5.3 NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSUMER SERVICES ................................................................................................................................................... 90 5.4 NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE ................................................ 92 5.5 NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION ............................................. 94 5.6 NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY ........................................ 95 NC Sea Level Rise Impact Study Page 2 5.7 NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................................ 104 5.8 NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES .. 128 5.9 NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF INSURANCE .............................................. 131 5.10 NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ............................... 131 5.11 NORTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF STATE BUDGET ..................................................... 136 5.12 NORTH CAROLINA PORT AUTHORITY ........................................................................ 136 5.13 NORTH CAROLINA UTILITIES COMMISSION ........................................................... 137 5.14 UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA SYSTEM .......................................................... 138 5.15 LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION ON GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE .......................... 145 5.16 U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY ....................................................... 146 5.17 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE: NATIONAL OCEANIC ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION (NOAA) ............................................................................................................. 155 5.18 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY (FEMA) ................................................................................................. 171 5.19 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE ........................................................................ 182 5.20 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE .................................................................................... 190 5.21 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ...................................................................................... 197 5.22 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR .................................................................................. 198 5.23 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION ....................................................... 213 5.24 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT .......................... 222 5.25 SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION ................................................................ 223 NC Sea Level Rise Impact Study Page 3 DOCUMENT VERSION HISTORY Version 1.0 – December 17, 2012 – Final Draft NC Sea Level Rise Impact Study Page 4 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 PROJECT OVERVIEW The Center for the Study of Natural Hazards and Disasters, located at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, was tasked with developing and evaluating strategies to address flood impacts associated with sea level rise and increased storminess as part of the North Carolina Sea Level Rise Impact Study (SLRIS). Consistent with the impact assessment performed in the study, the flood impact management strategies (FIMS) are organized across six different receptors: physical landforms, ecology, agriculture, critical infrastructure, buildings, and the social well-being of North Carolina’s residents. We accomplished this task by developing three primary outputs, which this section details. First, we analyzed existing state-level adaptation programs, preparing case studies on Maryland, California and Florida to see how existing management strategies could guide the formulation of flood impact management strategies for North Carolina. Next, to identify the process through which North Carolina could begin to implement an impact management strategy at the state level, we prepared a capability assessment of state and federal agencies to better understand how existing legislation, policies, plans and programs that are influencing the ability for North Carolina to adapt to changes in sea level and storminess. Finally, based on the findings of the case studies and the capability assessment, we identified a suite of flood impact management strategies (FIMS). These FIMS are not intended to serve as recommendations. Rather, they represent a range of potential options that North Carolina could pursue to address flood impacts associated with sea level rise, and the subsequent evaluation of the FIMS conducted in this study provides information that state agencies could use in the initial development of an approach to manage sea level rise impacts. The assessment of the FIMS in this study relied on the use of both qualitative and quantitative techniques. First, all of the FIMS were evaluated qualitatively by developing an inventory of the most pertinent laws, regulations, pre-and post-disaster policies, programs and other existing authorities that the State of North Carolina currently has in place. The inventory includes a brief description of selected programs, and a limited evaluation of how they pertain to sea level rise and/or the impacts of increased storminess. Based on the initial capability assessment, the identification of other strategies found through case study research, and an evaluation of the data needed and derived from the Study’s impact assessment, we identified a smaller number of FIMS that could be assessed quantitatively using traditional benefit/cost techniques. The remainder of this section will present the lessons derived from each of the three state- level case studies, the findings of the North Carolina capability assessment, and a NC Sea Level Rise Impact Study Page 5 discussion of the FIMS. The state case studies and the North Carolina capability assessment can be found in their unabridged form in Appendix A and B, respectively. 1.2 STATE CASE STUDIES: LESSONS FROM MARYLAND, CALIFORNIA AND FLORIDA Given the complexity of planning for sea level rise at the state level, it is informative to study the experiences