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Environmental Management Office

Environmental Management Office / EMO Resources / Hurricane Coordination

Hurricane Coordination

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FDOT | EMO | Hurricane Coordination Information

Guidance on Environmental Considerations During Hurricane Recovery

Last Updated 7/18/2011

On behalf of Marjorie Bixby, Manager of the Florida Department of Transportation's (FDOT's) Central Environmental Management Office (CEMO), the information below is being sent to you regarding further guidance on environmental considerations and coordination during hurricane recovery efforts as a follow-up to the memorandum dated May 19, 2005 with referenced attachments sent previously to the Districts from Assistant Secretary Thibault.

The previous correspondence recommended increased communication and coordination with District Environmental personnel in identifying and coordinating any necessary consultations to address environmental issues with applicable regulatory resource agencies during storm-related recovery activities.

It is recommended that District Environmental Management personnel, in districts where transportation roadways or corridors have been damaged by storm-related events, closely coordinate with their District Emergency Operations Center (DEOC) and District Emergency Coordination Officer to identify potential road projects in need of emergency recovery-related repair or rebuilding activities which may require emergency environmental coordination with regulatory agencies.  A suggested approach for District Environmental personnel in order to receive this information more efficiently is to monitor the DEOC missions and obtain damage assessment reports on any transportation facilities as they become available.  Potential locations where coordination may be necessary include coastal areas, shorelines, flood-prone areas, bridges, and areas containing wildlife and habitat resources, particularly critical wildlife habitats and rare and sensitive habitat types.  It is also recommended that if at all possible potential debris storage areas be reviewed and predetermined in each District prior to any storm-related emergencies.  It may be useful to find out from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection whether some of the debris storage sites that were designated and used during the 2004 hurricane season can be used again.

In addition, it is highly recommended that the District Environmental personnel coordinate with the District Permit Coordinator, FDOT damage assessment personnel, Operations personnel including Construction and Maintenance Offices and providing them with a District Environmental Contact List.

Upon notification of new and updated guidance and/or procedural information by a regulatory resource agency [such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP), the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), etc.], this office notifies each FDOT District via email notification.  Since this information is continuously being monitored and updated during this hurricane season due to approaching tropical storms or emergency storm recovery/repair efforts required by the FDOT Districts as a result of storm impacts and damages, CEMO will continue to post new and updated storm recovery guidance and procedural information on this website. For ease of access and review, the pdf files and links provided are broken out by regulatory resource agency.

General Guidance

Guidance

Link

Florida Weather Warnings and Public Advisories

http://www.floridadisaster.org/

FDOT Emergency Management Office

http://www.dot.state.fl.us/emergencymanagement/default.shtm

Beach Restoration and Coastal Clean-Up Information

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/mainpage/em/beach.htm

FDEP Staging Area Guidance During 2005 Hurricane Season

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/mainpage/em/files/0922_debris_guidance.pdf

FDEP Staging Guidance for Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Debris UPDATED

http://www.dep.state.fl.us/mainpage/em/files/debris_guidance.pdf



FDOT CEMO Follow-Up Guidance Notifications to the FDOT Districts

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

FHWA Emergency Relief Program and Emergency Response Manual - Please note that Chapter 5 of the Manual describes the evaluation process of determining whether a project can use Emergency Response (ER) funds and completion of Detailed Damage Inspection Reports (DDIR). This manual and general information can be found at the following link: http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/erelief.cfm

Florida FHWA Division also provides supplemental guidance and online training.

FDEP

FWS and FWC

Note:  Some of these BMPs and Standardized Conditions applied to FDOT District 3 for previous hurricanes, but may be of use in your District pertaining to road repair and construction, debris removal, structural repair, fill material, sand fencing, and other recovery-related activities if we have any future hurricanes that impact such species and/or habitats.  However, the final decisions and approvals of BMP procedures and emergency permit conditions would need to come from the FWS, FWC, US Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), US Coast Guard, and/or other regulatory agencies, as applicable.

NMFS