Wilmington District Regional Sediment Management

1. Wilmington DistrictRegional Sediment Management John McCormick USACE, Wilmington Cape Hatteras Cape Fear Cape Lookout

2. Regional Sediment Management Agenda • What is RSM? • RSM Elements • Operations Perspective • MHC RSM Activities • Future Actions

3. Regional Sediment Management What is Regional Sediment Management?

4. Regional Sediment Management Regional Sediment Management (RSM) refers to the effective utilization of littoral, estuarine, and riverine sediment resources in an environmentally effective and economical manner.

5. Regional Sediment Management Regional Sediment Management is … …a “systems-based approach” that seeks to solve sediment-related problems by designing solutions that fit within the context of a regional strategy.

6. Regional Sediment Management Regional Sediment Management is a holistic approach that… …recognizes sediment as a resource integral to economic and environmental vitality. …integrates the management of littoral, estuarine, and river sediments to achieve balanced and sustainable solutions to sediment-related problems. …makes local project decisions in the context of the sediment system and considers the regional implications.

7. Regional Sediment Management Regional Sediment Management is a holistic approach that… …recognizes sediment management actions have potential economic and ecological implications beyond a given site, beyond originally intended effects, and over long time scales (decades or more). …establishes partnerships with stakeholders to balance objectives and leverage resources.

8. Regional Sediment Management Worldwide movement toward watershed and regional management of sediment and other resources. The Corps is committed to this concept: “We need to move to a watershed approach as it applies to water resources projects so that each of our projects fits into the context of a regional plan.” - LTG Robert Flowers in an e-mail to USACE on 19JUN02, commenting on his testimony to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on Corps of Engineers water resources programs.

9. Navigation Ecosystem Restoration Recreation Storm Protection Stakeholder Objectives

10. Regional Sediment Management Why do Regional Sediment Management?

11. RSM Benefits • Cost savings – reduced rehandling of material; extended dredging cycles; equipment sharing between projects; sharing disposal and borrow sites. • Increased knowledge of regional sediment system – benefits all projects in a region. • Reintroduction of sediment into littoral systems – reduced erosion; habitat restoration; marsh creation.

12. RSM Benefits • Shared regional-scale data management systems – shared and accessible information, avoid duplication in data collection. • Improved interagency and stakeholder relationships – generate opportunities for collaboratively leveraging financial and other resources; streamline regulatory process.

13. RSM Implementation Factors Goal: maximize beneficial use of sediments, minimize environmental impacts, optimize expenditures Technology + Data + Tools + Coordination = Implementation Must integrate into management practice

14. “Institutionalization” of RSM Objective: Incorporate regional sediment management concepts in the standard District/Division business process. • Product Delivery Teams – serve as RSM “champions” and educate others in the District/Division. • Program Management Plans – provide a “roadmap” for how RSM concepts are incorporated in projects related to sediment handling and funding through project resources. • Regional DMMP development – expand focus of DMMP from project-based decisions to regional, systems-based decisions • Broader initiative (NCRSM) – expand demonstration project to encompass the entire State.

15. Observations from the Ops Chair • We deal with projects but we need to address RSM as part of the • watershed approach • Our policy doesn’t properly value sediment as a resource • What should be our driving motivation ? • Costs • Economic benefits • Environmental benefits • Multiple beneficiaries • All of the above • We need an investment strategy for RSM in the Corps • Unsure as to whether we are aligned ERDC, IWR, HQ, Field

16. WRDA The Secretary may select, with the consent of the non-Federal interest, a disposal method that is not the least cost option if the Secretary determines that the incremental costs of the disposal method are reasonable in relation to the environmental benefits, including the benefits to the aquatic environment to be derived from the creation of wetlands and control of shoreline erosion.

17. End State The Corps working cooperatively with partners to invest in RSM to better understand with greater predictability sediment transport to effectively manage this valuable resource in solving water resources problems in cost effective ways.

18. RSM Implementation RSM Engineering Tools Stakeholder Partnering “Institutionalization” of the RSM philosophy

19. RSM Engineering Tools Objective: Develop and apply RSM tools to understand the sediment system and solve sediment related problems. • Regional sediment budgets – understand how sediment moves through the system. • eGIS and eCoastal implementation – provide efficient data management and analysis capabilities and facilitate data sharing. • GIS Coastal Sediment Analyst decision support tool – provide a management support tool for decision makers to evaluate the optimal use of sediment resources through cost/benefit analysis. • Sediment needs assessment – connect supply and demand for sediment within a region.

20. PRODUCTS OF RSM • Regional Sediment Management Plan • Calibrated Regional Sediment Budget • Calibrated Regional Numerical Prediction System • Geographic Information System These tools will assist in making management decisions and increase benefits resulting from improved sand management throughout the region.

21. Regional Sediment Management Demonstration Program Program Objective: To improve sediment management practices within the Corps by demonstrating how to implement a system-based approach and how such an approach provides opportunities to achieve greater effectiveness and efficiency.

22. Morehead City HarborRegional Sediment ManagementDemonstration/Pilot Study

23. MHC RSM Components • GIS Development • GIS Applications • Coastal Process Modeling • Sediment Budget • Sediment Management Plan Alternatives Assessment • Sediment Management Plan

24. RSM GIS • Provides RSM scientists and engineers an interface to hydrographic, topographic, photogrammetric, and historic dredge material data for the RSM region, as well as custom applications designed to facilitate engineering analyses.

25. Dredging Management Sediment Budget Analysis Environmental Impact Evaluation Data Management Dredging Management • Geospatial • Reports • Historic Information • Model Results • Time Series Sediment Budget Analysis Environmental Impact Evaluation Regional Sediment Management GIS ArcIMS Applications Coastal eGIS

26. Beach Profile / Shorelines

27. Bathymetry

28. ADCIRC – Water-Levels and Circulation Tides Storm Surge Currents

29. Sediment Budget

30. Benefits of RSM to Carteret County • Improved Understanding of Regional Coastal Processes • Efficient Analysis and Distribution of Data • Suite of Tools to Rapidly Analyze Alternative Sediment Mgmt Actions • Improved Coordination with Stakeholders • Capability to Develop and Continually Update Sediment Management Plan

31. Regional Sediment ManagementDomain