Partnering for Military Installation Resilience (Panel Discussion if possible)
Climate change is already producing impacts that are affecting the U.S. military such as increased precipitation and storm severity, rising sea levels, and rising temperatures. These trends place increased risk and pressure on existing infrastructure systems and services to withstand impacts and reliably deliver critical services necessary to support both the military missions and surrounding communities. The Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) is in the process of completing a Military Installation Resiliency Review (MIRR) funded by the Office of Defense Community Cooperation. The project involves Fort Belvoir, Marine Corp Base (MCB) Quantico, and Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall and the host counties of Fairfax, Prince William, Stafford, and Arlington. All three installations rely upon services that originate outside the fenceline and the interdependency between the installations, counties, and public and private utility providers for services such as water, transportation, and energy, reinforces the need for coordinated planning across jurisdiction lines. Panelists will provide an overview of the MIRR process, share findings of the MIRR asset vulnerability analysis, and discuss regional and site-specific priority strategies included in the MIRR to address climate readiness and infrastructure resilience. The group will discuss the challenges inherent in planning for climate resiliency at a regional level. The input offered by NVRC, MCB Quantico, and AECOM will provide different perspectives and lessons learned about the opportunities and challenges of resiliency planning across jurisdictions in the Northern Virginia area. Combined with increased growth and development, increased precipitation and more intense storm events are already creating on the ground impacts for MCB Quantico that are projected to worsen over time. The panel will share results of a collaborative watershed analysis and evaluation of stormwater management facilities and sources of flooding from the headwaters of Little Creek to U.S. Route 1, a major north/south arterial roadway and primary route to access MCBQ and the Main Gate for MCB Quantico at Fuller Road. Concepts and preliminary design solutions for addressing the pluvial and fluvial flooding and stormwater management issues both inside and outside the fence will be discussed including retrofit of existing facilities and natural infrastructure solutions.Author Bio
Melissa Bernardo Hess PE, CFM, ENV SP has more than 27 years of experience in water resource engineering. She is the Department Manager for AECOM’s Civil/Water Resources Department and has extensive experience in assisting federal and municipal clients with stormwater management design and planning. Peggy Tadej directs the Northern Virginia Community, Military & Federal Facility Partnership that meets bi-monthly with academic, military, community, and non-profit organizations to protect, preserve and enhance NOVA military installations and community partnerships. Chris Landgraf is the Community Planning Liaison Officer (CPLO) at Marine Corps Base Quantico. He was the Program Manager for the Military Installation Resilience Review at the Northern Virginia Regional Commission until 2023. Andrea Sweigart, AICP is a Principal with AECOM’s Federal Planning practice and has over 23 years of experience managing and directing multi-disciplinary planning projects.
