About The Intergovernmental Planning Pilot Project

Norfolk, Virginia SkylineMission

The mission of the Pilot Project is to develop a regional “whole of government” and “whole of community” approach to sea level rise preparedness and resilience planning in Hampton Roads that also can be used as a template for other regions. View the Pilot Project Charter for an in-depth look at the Pilot Project’s intentions.

Vision

Upon completion of the Pilot Project, Hampton Roads will have in place an intergovernmental planning organization that can effectively coordinate the sea level rise preparedness and resilience planning of Federal, state and local government agencies and the private sector, taking into account the perspectives and concerns of the citizens of the region.

The project planning will address the four major impacts of sea level rise:

  • Permanent inundation
  • Increased tidal flooding
  • Increased storm surge, both frequency and magnitude. This is also referred to as recurrent flooding.
  • Combined impact of sea level rise, precipitation and groundwater elevation on storm water drainage.

A letter from the U.S. Department of Defense announcing the Pilot: Distribution Memo to Services Announcing DoD Led CEQ Climate Change Plan….

Timeline

The Pilot Project will be conducted in two phases, each tentatively lasting one year.

Phase I. June 2014 – June 2015
The goal of the first phase is to develop a Memorandum of Agreement setting the organizational structure and operating procedures for coordinating intergovernmental sea level rise preparedness and resilience planning. Phase I will include a review of key Federal, Commonwealth of Virginia, and regional reports and policy documents that may provide guidance or recommendations applicable to this regional planning effort, lessons learned and best practices from other regional sea level rise planning efforts in the United States and abroad, and other studies and analyses related to sea level rise adaptation that may help inform this planning effort. The Steering Committee should assess the value of modeling and simulation tools for the initial planning efforts to be launched in Phase II.

Phase II. June 2015 – June 2016
The initial intergovernmental planning organization developed in Phase I will commence coordination of sea level rise preparedness and resilience planning by Federal, state and local government agencies and the private sector, with inputs from the public. The lessons learned in Phase II will be used to refine the organizational structure and operating procedures to allow a permanent intergovernmental planning organization to commence operations immediately upon conclusion of the Pilot Project.

Committees and Working Groups

Members of the committees and working groups are dedicated volunteers with the experience and knowledge to further the Pilot Project’s goals. Current groups are:

The list may expand as the project progresses.