By The Star Staff
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) commanding general has signed the Chief’s Report for the Puerto Rico Coastal Storm Risk Management Study, paving the way for a plan to prevent damage to infrastructure and homes from coastal storms.
Lt. Gen. Scott A. Spellmon’s signature on the report starts the process of congressional consideration of project authorization for future construction. The recommended plan is a risk management system of features that will reduce the risk of damage from coastal storms to residential and commercial structures, public infrastructure, and critical facilities.
“After almost six years of relentless dedication, perseverance, and hard work, you have achieved a monumental milestone by getting the Chief’s Report signed,” said Col. Brandon L. Bowman, Jacksonville District commander.
The recommended plan consists of two separable elements – Ocean Park and Rincón. Due to the very different nature of the two study areas, in terms of location, problems, and coastal dynamics, a recommended plan has been proposed for each planning area as a separable element, meaning one can be constructed independently of the other.
The recommended plan for the Ocean Park community is to reduce the risk of coastal flooding, including constructing two floodwalls over a length of 1,600 feet in the Barbosa Park area and 1,200 feet in the vicinity of Las Marías skate park. The plan also maintains recreation access and aesthetic qualities and supports recreational, environmental and regional economic benefits into the future.
The recommended plan for the Rincón area includes acquisition of some 71 parcels, where structures are most vulnerable to structural failure due to erosion along around 1.1 miles of shoreline, and restoration to a natural sandy beach. It uses nature-based and non-structural solutions to proactively prevent 82% of the first-row structural failures that are projected to occur in the future without project conditions. The recommended plan will afford homeowners with structures most at risk to erosion the time and incentive to relocate in a coordinated effort before structural failure of homes occurs in a piecemeal fashion.
In concert with establishing and enforcing a coastal regulatory program, the newly established shoreline will function as a buffer, allowing government entities to manage the shoreline and increase coastal resiliency in the future. The plan also supports future social, recreational, environmental and regional economic/tourism-based benefits.
The overall estimated total project initial cost for the recommended plan is $252.3 million ($112.5 million for Ocean Park and $139.7 million for Rincón). The federal share is $97.1 million and the non-federal share is $155.1 million.
The overall project has been determined to be justified based on comprehensive benefits, both national and regional economic development benefits, other social benefits, and environmental benefits.
Removing at-risk structures and restoring these areas to a more natural state along the coast of Puerto Rico is a worthy endeavor. Future generations of Puerto Ricans will be the benefactors.