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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.
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.html
Florida FHWA Division also provides supplemental
guidance and online training.
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/fldiv/erpfaq.htm (supplemental Guidance)
UPDATED - 2011
http://fhwa.adobeconnect.com/floridaer/ (online training)
UPDATED - 2011
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 applica
Example of FDOT District 3 Emergency Repair Projects and Associated BMPs
NMFS
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