Water Resources Planning for the Upper Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway (2005) / Chapter Skim
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3 Improving UMR-IWW Resources Planning and Management
3 Improving UMR-IWW Resources Planning and Management
Pages 24-41
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From page 24... ...
Concerns over the limited degree of integration within the Corps' UMR-IWW feasibility study were expressed in this committee's second report (NRC, 2004b)
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UMR-IWW Interagency Coordination As discussed in Chapter 2 the 216 reports call for better coordination among federal agencies, and for better coordination among federal agencies, state and local governments, nongovernmental organizations, and water resources users. The Adaptive Management Committee report, for instance, recommends a strengthening of federal interagency coordination mechanisms to promote adaptive management.
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From page 26... ...
Within the feasibility study the Corps convened over 30 governmental and nongovernmental organizations in the Upper Mississippi River region to discuss the study's overall direction and to address specific issues as they arose in the course of the study. A stakeholder group -- including other federal agencies, state resources agencies, and nongovernmental organizations -- actively participated in the design of ecosystem restoration plans.
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From page 27... ...
These 216 panel reports thus issued calls, for example, to Congress and the administration to help clarify inconsistencies or to more carefully define priorities within this large body of national water "policy." On the UMR-IWW, examples of this large body of legislation are the 1930 Rivers and Harbors Act that authorized the 9-foot channel project on the Upper Mississippi River, numerous Water Resources Development and Flood Control Acts that authorized various water- and flood-related projects, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and the Upper Mississippi River Management Act of 1986. As pointed out in this committee's second report (NRC, 2004b)
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This 22-year-old document is regarded by many as the conceptual basis of U.S. federal water resources planning studies, yet it is silent on the subject of ecosystem restoration.
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· Adaptive management does not represent a panacea for water resources management yet it holds great promise for helping the Corps to better accommodate shifting social preferences and new scientific knowledge. · Adaptive management is not an end in itself, and its value ultimately wil be measured by its ability to meet environmental, social, and economic goals and to enhance scientific knowledge.
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Although the UMR-IWW feasibility study contemplated adaptive management
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. The 216 Adaptive Management Committee report offers a similar recommendation: "Post-construction evaluations should be a standard for adaptive management of Corps projects and systems" (NRC, 2004c)
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The administration and the Congress should support the Corps in its efforts to integrate adaptive concepts into the operations of its entire UMR-IWW portfolio, including ecosystem restoration projects, transportation infrastructure, and waterway traffic management. Retrospective comparisons and studies can improve future forecasts and other aspects of UMR-IWW decision making and should be seen as integral to an adaptive approach.
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Valuation Methods for Ecosystem Restoration Benefits Despite thorough understanding and extensive experience with a range of nonmarket valuation techniques, the application of these methods to ecosystem restoration has been controversial. In his seminal 1993 treatise on valuation methods A
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In examining valuation methods potentially applicable to ecosystem restoration outputs, the NRC report adopts the usual distinction between revealed preference methods (values are imputed from observedmarket behavior involving complementary goods) and stated preference methods (values are expressed directly by responses to a survey)
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Even analyses of conventional water resources projects have generally failed to value all project effects, such as all environmental costs associated with the construction of a dam or channelization of a stream.
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As scientific knowledge accumulates and, in particular, as more is learned about linkages between ecosystem functions and services, opportunities for valuation of ecosystem services will expand. The current state of ecosystem science and economic analysis clearly supports valuation of the benefits of ecosystem restoration.
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issues within a feasibility study, however, is a process separate from the conduct of an environmental impact statement. The former is part of a sound water resources planning study, while the latter is conducted pursuant to federal statute to determine the environmental impacts of a proposed federal action.
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From page 38... ...
In its more complicated planning studies, the Corps often is required to provide credible, science-based forecasts of future conditions (e.g., waterway traffic levels) ; to create and apply sophisticated, large-scale economic models; or design a program for large-scale ecosystem restoration.
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From page 39... ...
The NETS program is consistent with recommendations in this committee's 2004 reports regarding river traffic forecasts, navigation benefits estimation, and consideration of nonstructural measures to improve waterway traffic management. The Corps deserves credit for allocating resources to this potentially valuable research; the NETS program holds promise for helping reduce waterway congestion and thus increasing overall benefits from UMR-IWW system operations.
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From page 40... ...
Reviews that are initiated in the early stages of a long-term planning study like the UMR-IWW feasibility study may entail challenges in attracting qualified reviewers who are willing to follow a decades-long planning study over its entire course. The Peer Review Committee report recognizes some of the problems with long-term reviews, noting the following: The Corps' most challenging planning studies .
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From page 41... ...
It is worth pointing out that the NRC serves as an adviser to the Corps and to its other study sponsors, and the Corps is thus free to accept or reject any comments from an NRC committee. During the review process, the Corps was cooperative and open in sharing information, participating in discussions with the committee, and hosting committee visits on the Upper Mississippi River.
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