CITY AND COUNTYC\OUNCIIjOF HONOLULU 530 SOUTH KING STREET, ROOM 202 HONOLULU, HAWAII 96813-3065 TELEPHONE: (808) 768-5010 • FAX: (808) 768-5011
CAROL FUKUNAGA HONOLULUCim’COUNCIL,DISTRICT6 PHONE:768-5006 FAx:768-1199 EMAIL:cafukunagahonolulu.gov
January 22, 2021
MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Tommy Waters, Chair and Members of the Honolulu City Council
FROM: Councilmember Carol Fukunag ir Public Infrastructure and Technolog ommittee
RE: Ala Wai Canal Flood Risk Management Project
Thank you for your January 20, 2021 communication which shares information regarding the Council’s consultant contract for the Ala Wai Flood Risk Management Project.
I am responding first to clarifythe background of the Council’s Permitted Interaction Group consultant’s work on behalf of the Honolulu City Council.
As you are aware, the Council’s Permitted Interaction Group (PIG) was formed to respond to overwhelming community opposition raised in March 2019, when representatives of USACE Hawaii District Office, State Dept. of Land and Natural Resources and City Dept. of Design and Construction convened one of the first community briefings on the project.
At that time, the chances of the project moving forward appeared to be dim, which was why the PIG members were drawn from the districts impacted by the USACE 2017 plan (District 4/Interim Councilmember Formby, District 5/Councilmember Kobayashi and District 6/Councilmember Fukunaga).
To provide further background and context for the actions that occurred between 2019-2020, I have attached a copy of the hard-copy timeline and exhibits distributed to PIT Committee members on January 13, 2021 (see Attachment 1).
1. August 9, 2019: Council Chair Anderson executed a contract with Oceanit for consulting assistance for the Ala Wai Flood Risk Management Project (funding of $100,000 for this project was added to the FY 20 Council budget, Ordinance 19-12).
2. November 25, 2019: Council Chair Anderson executed an amendment to the Oceanit contract to evaluate and develop solutions to address community-supported objectives (e.g., no detention basins, no floodwalls, no condemnation of private property and
COUNCIL COM. 28 ecosystem restoration) and to improve upon the original USACE project (approved by Corporation Counsel).
The scope of this contract expanded partly in response to litigation over features of the Ala Wai Flood Risk Management Project that were strongly opposed by many communities within the Ala Wai Watershed. The consultant was asked to apply its engineering experience with Ala Wai flood risk mitigation and watershed restoration from earlier studies, as well as its decades of Design Thinking experience used to actively listen to community issues.
The contract amendment of $606,250 and the August 2019 contract were funded through the Council’s Operating Budget and comprised 34% of current expenses for the Council’s FY 20 budget.
3. September 9, 2020: City Council adopts Resolution 20-229 and Resolution 20-230 to formally accept the PIG report and the followingrecommendations to provide the Council with comprehensive, practical flood risk management solutions for the Ala Wai Watershed:
• Seek City initiation of an EIS process that evaluates the Oceanit SWIFT engineering solutions in combination with the August 2020 USACE EDR plan, • Expedite the environmental review process for a joint City-State-USACE flood risk management partnership, and • Encourage state legislative and council collaboration in identifying state/county financing mechanisms that equitably
4. October-December 2020: Council Chair Kobayashi authorizes PITS Committee Chair Fukunaga to consult with State Procurement Office, City Corporation Counsel and other City agencies on a second amendment to the 2019 consultant contract (see Attachment 2).
Between October-December 2020, the contract team held four meetings with State Procurement Office (SPO) representatives, City Corporation Counsel and other agencies. In November 2020, SPO opined that a new competitive procurement should be pursued by the Council.
However, the Corporation Counsel’s legal analysis of the contract amendment differed from the opinion of the State Procurement Office in that Corporation Counsel viewed the contract amendment as well within the scope of the original contract.
Under the amendment, the Consultant would undertake additional engineering analyses of the revised USACE EDR features that would: • Integrate SWIFT with the features defined in the USACE EDR, to include relevant community-based input and suggestions. • Incorporate SWIFT with the features of USACE’s EDR and HEC-RAS models and update the SWIFT conceptual design and community-based alternatives to a level sufficient for environmental evaluation required for NEPA/HEPA. • Assess SWIFT bypass rates for different storm intensities in the HEC-RAS models with EDR features. • Examine alternative community-generated recommendations to improve flood mitigation and ecosystem restoration.
This amendment to the contract was executed by Chair Kobayashi, an Oceanit representative and approved by Corporation Counsel on December 31, 2020. An appropriation for $600,000 had been added to the Council’s FY 21 budget early in the 2020 budget review process, and received numerous supportive testimonies.
A BFS form certifying the availability of funds must be attached to final copies of the contract in order for City Dept. of Budget and Fiscal Services to process payments on the contract. This form was the sole item remaining for completion. The contract documents were transmitted to incoming Chair Waters after the January 2, 2021 Inauguration of new members.
Second, I am puzzled by the assertion that, based on USACE’s indication that “...the updated construction estimates significantly exceeded their current scope of the project. . . Even if the State share of $125,000,000 is provided, together with the Federal appropriation, it is no longer sufficient to complete the project under the USACE’s current design.”
Both Resolution 20-229 and Resolution 20-230 assume that further modifications to the USACE EDR version of the Ala Wai Flood Risk Management project are necessary to address community objections to specific features — and that such modifications could also affect the total estimated costs of the project.
To say that the Federal appropriation (and/or State augmentation) is insufficient to complete USACE’s current design does not take into account the many community concerns over features that are unacceptable, nor does it address the likelihoodthat specific Oceanit or community-generated solutions might combine with certain USACE EDR features to produce a cheaper and more acceptable project.
As such, the time for a comprehensive evaluation of the engineering data associated with the revised EDR project is now — and the most experienced and knowledgeable consultant to complete this analysis is the Council’s consultant Oceanit (see Attachment 3).
There have been many years of study on the Ala Wai watershed issue and the risk it poses to the community from a major flood event. This risk is more acute as climate change has caused more severe storm events, significantly impacting coastal communities around the world.
What the PIG successfully delivered was an expert consultant that has actively listened to community concerns, distilled these concerns into alternatives that enable community voices to be reflected within solutions where those community voices live, while reducing the risk of catastrophic flooding of Waikiki - which represents a major economic engine for the State of Hawaii and City and County of Honolulu.
The PIG’s consultant has played a critical role in creating a community voice that gives our Honolulu the best chance of a great outcome. City Council Actions involving the Ala Wai Flood Risk Mitigation Project Thursday, December 30, 2020
September 2018 Release of a final USACEFeasibility Study with Integrated EIS(FEIS)resulted in the signing of a report by the USACEChief of Engineers in December 2017; the project was renamed the Ala Wai Canal Flood Risk Mgt. Project and a Record of Decision was signed by the ASA(CW) in September 2018. The project was funded for construction by Congress with Emergency Supplemental funds under the Bi-Partisan Budget Act of 2018; authorized cost of $345,076,000.
The USACEproject proposes a flood mitigation scheme that includes water detention and debris detention basins in Makiki, Manoa and Pablo sub- watersheds, flood walls in the lower Ala Wai Watershed and pumping to manage flood waters [EXHIBITA — ORIGINALUSACEPROJECTDIAGRAM].
December 2018- Homeowners whose properties would be condemned for development of detention March 2019 basins, environmental groups and mauka Ala Wai watershed neighbors strongly opposed the proposed USACEplan. Seven out of eight neighborhood boards whose residents will be affected by the plan pass resolutions seeking a temporary halt to the project until community stakeholders could weigh in on potential alternatives, and deferral of state legislative funding during the 2019 session.
March 2019 City Council adopts Resolution 19-50, establishing a Permitted Interaction Group authorizing City councilmembers representing Ala Wai Watershed communities “...to meet with members of the State Legislature and other Federal, State and Cityofficials, hold community meetings for the purpose of receiving input from the community stakeholders, and the general public regarding issues and concerns relating to the Ala Wal Canal Flood Risk Management Project.”
May 2019 City Council adopts Resolution 19-108 modifying the membership of the Permitted Interaction Group to substitute the newly-elected District 4 councilmember (Fukunaga, Kobayashi, and Waters). The State legislature adjourns the 2019 session without appropriating funds for the project.
July-August 2019 City Council PIG members select Oceanit from the City’s pre-approved list of environmental engineering consultants, and the Council Chair hires the company to develop draft recommendations for the Council PIG report, which include recommended improvements and any other alternatives for flood mitigation to the USACEAla Wai Flood Risk Mgt. Project and Ala Wai Flood RiskStudy (emphasis added).
Attachment 1 August 9, 2019 Council Chair Anderson executes contract with consultant OCEANIT.
August 20, 2019 City administration seeks Council adoption of Resolution 19-182 (authorizing the City to expend limited-purpose State funds to acquire/convey property to the State of Hawaii in accordance with a Project Partnership Agreement between the City and USACEfor the USACEproject in spite of strong community opposition).
August-Nov. 2019 Consultant Oceanit convenes multiple small group/community stakeholder sessions and larger community forums to obtain feedback for consensus around community-friendly solutions: no detention basins, no floodwalls, no condemnation of private property, and ecosystem restoration if possible.
Sept. 18, 2019 Community nonprofit “Protect Our Ala Wai Watershed” files a lawsuit to prevent the State and City administrations from entering into the Project Partnership Agreement, based on incomplete/inadequate State environmental reviews of the project.
Oct-Dec. 2019: USACEproject representatives schedule numerous meetings with community stakeholders, but do not share specific details in writing of the changes USACEis willing to make to the original Ala Wai flood mitigation project
Oct. 29, 2019 Judge Crabtree issues a temporary injunction against State obtaining financing for the project through Certificates of Participation (COPS) until after an accepted EISis completed.
Nov. 25, 2019 Council Chair Anderson executes an amendment to consultant’s contract to evaluate and develop solutions to address community-supported objectives (e.g., no detention basins, no floodwalls, no condemnation of private property and ecosystem restoration) and to improve upon the original USACEproject.
December 2019 Between October-December, USACEadds City Council participation to Senior Executive Board (SEB)discussions between USACE,City & County of Honolulu and State DLNRrepresentatives at Mayor’s request. PIG members ask that Oceanit be designated to attend Senior Executive Board/Executive Leadership Team meetings on behalf of the Council, and requests USACEengineering data
for analysis . USACErequests Oceanit assistance in developing alternatives to its detention basins in mauka Ala Wai sub-watersheds. February 2020 Oceanit discusses a preliminary Subsurface Watershed Inundation Flow Technology (SWIFT)‘tunnel’ solution with PIG members and USACEteam; it again requests the use of USACEengineering data to compare the efficacy of its ‘tunnel’ solutions and USACEdetention basins through Hydrologic Engineering Center’s River Analysis System (HEC-RAS1D/2D hydrologic and hydraulic
modeling. [EXHIBITB — SWIFTtunneling proposal]
March 2020: USACEseeks Oceanit’s technical/engineering assistance in identifying potential alternatives to the detention basins in the mauka watershed/original plan, but does not commit to incorporate features of Oceanit’s micro-tunneling approach in a revised USACEplan.
April2020 Oceanit receives the initial HEC-RAShydraulic model and USACE engineering data to evaluate its proposed SWIFT‘tunnel’ solution in comparison with the USACEdetention basins.
April-June 2020 Oceanit convenes two Zoom meetings to provide updates on the use of SWIFT ‘tunnel’ solutions with PIG members, USACEand community stakeholders to solicit reactions to the ‘tunneling’ approach. The Council’s Public Information, Technology and Sustainability Committee holds an informational briefing on the SWIFT‘tunnel’ solution.
July 23, 2020: A final State EISdocument on the original USACEAla Wai Flood Mitigation project is published in The Environmental Notice (which does not eliminate legal challenges to City execution of a PPA with the USACE)and accepted by Mayor Caldwell on behalf of the State
August 6, 2020: USACEpublicly unveils its revised Ala Wai Flood Mitigation project as an Engineering Documentation Report (EDR),which eliminates many of the most-controversial features of its original plan. The revised plan does not address anticipated storm water flooding issues in the makai watershed and presents new features that have not received public review/comment.
August 17, 2020 USACEreleases its Engineering Documentation Report (EDR) which identifies changes to the Ala Wai Flood Control Flood Risk Mitigation Project as reflected in the 2017 Feasibility Study Report (EDRis not a decision document. A Validation Report with supporting National Environmental PolicyAct (NEPA) Documentation willserve as the updated decision document). [EXHIBITC — EDRAugust 2020 map of revised USACEproject features for public review/corn menti.
Proposed changes: removal of six detention basins from the upper watershed, (b) addition of limited flood walls at two locations (upstream of the Woodlawn Bridge and the reach between Date Street and the Ala Wai Canal), (c) addition of two bypass diversion culverts around the Woodlawn Drive Bridge stream and (d) at the base of the Makiki Channel into the Ala Wai Canal, and (e) consolidation of two pumps into a single larger one.
August 27, 2020: Council PIG files consultant’s report with recommendations for improvements to the revised USACEplan (EDR)via Council Communication 245. The report recommends that the City and USACE jointly pursue a new [IS that combines elements of the Council consultant’s improvements (e.g., SWIFTmicro-tunnels), other community-proposed features and USACEEDRcomponents that community stakeholders, USACE,city and state agencies and legislators can agree upon.
The USACEEDRis a completely different project from the original USACEAla Wai Flood Risk Management Project upon which Consultant conducted its technical/engineering evaluations. Evaluation of the USACEEDRrequires a new analysis of engineering modeling data associated with the project’s revised features, as well as determining whether the new EDRfeatures can achieve the goal of reducing stormwater flooding in a manner that is acceptable to community stakeholders, city and state agencies and legislative leaders.
September 2020 City Council adopts Resolution 20-229 and Resolution 20-230 to formally accept the PIGReport and unanimously endorse the following recommendations to provide the Honolulu City Council with comprehensive, practical flood risk management solutions for the Ala Wai Watershed: 1. Seek City initiation of an [IS process that evaluates the Oceanit SWIFTengineering solutions in combination with the August 2020 USACEEDRplan, 2. Expedite the environmental review process for a joint City-State USACEflood risk management partnership, and 3. Encourage state legislative and council collaboration in identifying state/county financing mechanisms that equitably distribute costs of the project among the three partners.
October 2020 City Council proposes amendment of 2019 Consultant contract to undertake additional engineering analyses of the revised USACEEDR features, and: 1. Integrate SWIFTwith the features defined inthe USACEEDR,to include relevant community-based input and suggestions. 2. Incorporate SWIFTwith the features of USACE’sEDRand HEC-RAS models and update the SWIFTconceptual design and community- based alternatives to a level sufficient for environmental evaluation required for NEPA/HEPA. 3. Assess SWIFTbypass rates for different storm intensities in the HEC RASmodels with EDRfeatures. 4. Examine alternative recommendations to improve flood mitigation and ecosystem restoration.
November 2020 USACEannounces public scoping meetings to obtain public feedback on its EDRmodifications to the original Ala Wai Flood Risk Management Project on November 14, 21, 28 and December 5, 2020.
As stated in the Council’s PIG Report, Oceanit’s SWIFT‘tunnel’ solution is not included within the scope of the USACEEDR.However, USACEhas submitted its engineering data and HEC-RASmodels of the EDR recommendations to Oceanit and plans to work expeditiously with the Council consultant to complete the public scoping/comment and review period in preparation for an USACEEIS/NEPAprocess in February or March 2021.
Alternatively, the City & County of Honolulu/USACE pursue a joint EIS process based on the best combination of engineering solutions for the Ala Wai Flood RiskManagement Project with strong community support.
•
•
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-
Project
NOT
Urban
Lower
Upper
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EXHIBIT
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USACE
Map
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Website USACE SWIFT Preliminary Draft (Subsurface Watershed Inundation Flow Technology) Technology Innovation for Resilient and Sustainable Engineering Solutions
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The Ala Wai Flood Mitigation project is the first large-scale climate impact project in Hawaii’s modern history. The USACEis working to develop solutions that address public safety, habitat management and economic viability with engineering design solutions. If left unaddressed, a 100-year rainfall storm event could inundate Waikiki, one of Hawaii’s key economic engines. The current USACEsolution, based on standard engineering design approaches, is firmly opposed by the Ala Wai communities. SWIFToffers a novel approach using a series of micro-tunnels that will remove significant stormwater via an underground bypass, thereby mitigating many of the contentious community concerns related to significant modifications to the Ala Wai canal. If properly designed and implemented SWIFTcould address many of the community concerns while minimizing environmental impacts and maintaining safety during a 100-year rainfall event. Feasibillty Features as Authorized by Congress in 2018
Optirni7e Fcatur within E-easihiIiy Authority
Pinove Fur -and RIlocato F3udgt to Modi tion undur VaIdatio,; Study Authority Modification evduatod (or Value Engineering under VaHdation Study Authorty
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