New Search
cooperation on the direction of the study. This is especially critical given the high <br /> amount of in -kind service being furnished by the local sponsors. We will rely on many <br /> mechanisms including keen coordination of the tasks being jointly performed by the <br /> Corps team members and local team members. We expect to be jointly conducting work <br /> meetings, public involvement, production and distribution of study updates, technical <br /> review, and other actions. <br /> The feasibility study will require—and achieve significant general public involvement. <br /> The public will help formulate solutions; help the team develop strategies and projects to <br /> implement those solutions; be given opportunity to review study work products; and be <br /> apprised of implementations throughout the life of the effort. The local sponsors and the <br /> watershed councils will play an active role in advising, facilitating and guiding the <br /> appropriate public involvement activities. The proper launch and handling of the public <br /> involvement effort within the first two years is critical for study success. <br /> This work will be formulated and completed according to Corps planning guidance, and <br /> in compliance with federal and local laws and regulations. We will address the <br /> requirements of environmental protection statutes including the Endangered Species Act, <br /> the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, the Clean Water Act, the National Historic <br /> Preservation Act, and numerous other laws. <br /> OVER VIEW OF WORK ACTIVITIES FY 04 -05 <br /> The expected work for federal FY 04 -05 was forecast by fitting individual tasks against <br /> their most likely occurrence within the six -step planning process mentioned above. Using <br /> this, we can plug in and create an expected sequence and relative chronology for all of <br /> our study activities – in essence create an assembly line for solutions. This order gives us <br /> a progressive way to attack the specific work described in the next section. We expect in <br /> two years time to work deeply within at least the first three steps of this process, and <br /> potentially into later plan/alternative evaluation and comparison stages: <br /> 1. We know the local waterway problems in varying levels of detail. At the beginning, <br /> we need to very specifically identify and describe problems and opportunities in spatially <br /> explicit manner, as well as research and precisely characterize their root causes and <br /> associated drivers. This is a foundational step – it enables us to target data and <br /> information efforts, and key our plan formulations. Therefore, immediately, planning <br /> goals and objectives for particular watersheds and waterway localities will be refined, <br /> and constraints to actions will be precisely identified. Factors that will influence the <br /> success of waterway projects will be described. We will utilize our baseline information <br /> development ( #2 below) to revisit and test the validity of these planning foundations. We <br /> expect to fully complete this step within two years, recognizing we may well improve <br /> and modify these products as information improves and planning progresses. <br /> 2. Existing and future "without- project" conditions will be identified, analyzed, and <br /> forecast. ( "Without project" refers to what would exist in the human environment absent <br /> any implementation of a study solution.) Characterizations will be completed for the <br /> physical /natural environment, socio- economic conditions, and about the institutional <br /> 4 <br />