PWS_Oregon_ESA_Implementation_NewContract (003).pdf

Support for the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Flood Insurance Program implementation in accordance with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Opinion Reasonable and Prudent Alternatives for the state of Oregon

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT (PWS)

February 23, 2021

PURPOSE

FEMA’s mission is to reduce the loss of life and property and protect the Nation from all hazards, including natural disasters, acts of terrorism, and other man-made disasters by leading and supporting the Nation in a risk-based, comprehensive emergency management system of preparedness, protection, response, recovery, and mitigation. To this end, the FEMA Region 10 Mitigation Division strives to create safer communities by reducing the risks to loss of life and property. Mitigation measures enable individuals to recover more quickly from floods and other disasters and lessen the financial impact of disasters on the nation. Within this Division, the Floodplain Management and Insurance Branch administers the floodplain management and insurance aspects of the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP was created by Congress in 1968 as a voluntary, quid pro quo program with the intent of regulating the nation’s floodplains with minimum standards for state and local building codes and zoning regulations to assure that new development and substantial improvements located in a floodplain are constructed to prevent or minimize future flood damage. Participating communities located in high flood risk areas must adopt and enforce these requirements for property owners to be eligible for insurance under the program.

The NFIP provides a mechanism to steer development away from floodplains and protect public health and safety, but the minimum standards were not intended to address other floodplain management concerns, such as riparian habitat protections. Due to the potential impacts of these development standards on natural floodplain function and riparian habitat, FEMA must consider whether NFIP activities affect listed threatened or endangered species protected by the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Under Section 7 of the ESA, FEMA is required to consult with the US Fish and Wildlife Service and/or the National Marine Fisheries Service (“the Services”) when any action the agency carries out, funds, or authorizes may affect a listed endangered or threatened species.

BACKGROUND

FEMA has consulted with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) to determine whether implementation of the NFIP in the state of Oregon impacts the survival of listed species. In 2016, NOAA Fisheries issued a Biological

Opinion (BiOp) analyzing the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) implementation of the NFIP in the State of Oregon. The BiOp concluded that FEMA’s proposed action is likely to jeopardize the continued existence of 17 marine and anadromous species (including eulachon and Southern resident killer whales, in addition to salmon, steelhead, and sturgeon species) and adversely modify critical habitat for 16 of these species. For this reason, a Reasonable and Prudent Alternative (RPA) included within the BiOp proposed measures to ensure that FEMA’s continued implementation of the NFIP will avoid jeopardizing listed species and avoid adversely modifying designated critical habitat. As a condition of the RPA, and pursuant to Section 7(a)2 of the ESA, FEMA must ensure that NFIP-participating communities within the BiOp action area adopt measures needed to avoid continued jeopardy and/or adverse modification and collectively achieve no net loss of the ESA-listed species identified in this BiOp and RPA.

Throughout 2020 and in early 2021, FEMA along with a team of agency partners and subject matter experts convened an extensive stakeholder engagement effort that was the driver for beginning the development of an Implementation Plan, and specifically addressed the need to identify implementation strategies for Oregon communities to pursue as a future condition of participation in the NFIP. This team of experts developed a draft set of strategies that, once fully articulated, should allow communities to assess their impact potential and choose a strategy that, when implemented in conjunction with those taken by other communities, will not contribute to continued jeopardy or adverse modification of critical habitat for the ESA-listed species identified in the BiOp.

SCOPE

The work to be addressed in this contract will build upon the activities already completed and will support FEMA’s efforts to develop a comprehensive Implementation Plan that not only addresses the floodplain management criteria of RPA Element 4, but supports FEMA’s greater efforts to address the entire RPA and ultimate goal of no net loss of floodplain function throughout the action area. Agency coordination will continue to be key in this process, as will some degree of stakeholder engagement as the planning process transitions into drafting and guidance development.

The resulting Plan, along with any related guidance resources, should ensure that Oregon communities have strategies available to be able to adopt the measures needed to avoid or mitigate for impacts to critical habitat within their jurisdictions. As highlighted above, it is expected that the consultant will work with FEMA to conclude any remaining stakeholder engagement priorities that are crucial for maintaining the strong relationships that were built over the course of various meetings in 2020. Additionally, the work under this contract will lean on the expertise of the selected consultant to provide other tools that build upon a robust knowledge base regarding land use and regulatory frameworks within the state of Oregon. This will include building upon previous GIS analysis work to assess development potential within a given community’s Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). These activities outlined here will ultimately support FEMA’s next step in the implementation process – a NEPA review of the final product.

For the duration of this contract, no Sensitive or Personally Identifiable Information (S/PII) will be shared with the vendor through this contract’s activities.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The consultant will work with FEMA to refine an Implementation Plan that proposes an approach to implementing the requirements of the BiOp RPA in accordance with FEMA’s authority to implement the NFIP under the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended. The consultant will work with FEMA and a working group made of representatives from Federal and State agencies (to be referred to as the Core Team) to develop this implementation strategy in the spirit of the full implementation of the BiOp RPA and based on knowledge gained through extensive stakeholder and partner agency communications since 2016. The approach to the final Plan may employ alternative methods to those outlined in the RPA to meet equivalent performance standards and habitat protections but will be focused on the RPA’s goal of achieving the conservation standard of no net loss.

The consultant will assume a significant level of capacity for planning, coordination, and collaboration with diverse stakeholders and agency partners for this project. The consultant will also demonstrate a capacity for building partnerships and provide evidence of experience working across the state of Oregon on similar land use management, natural resource management, and mitigation issues. These skills will be directed toward assisting FEMA in finalizing an Implementation Plan that addresses each element of the RPA, with special attention directed toward developing the options provided to communities under RPA Element 4 (Floodplain Management Criteria). Additional support on building connections between RPA Elements 3 (Mapping and Flood Related Hazard Areas), RPA Element 5 (Data Collection and Reporting), and RPA Element 6 (Compliance and Enforcement) may be required but will be pursued under the interpretation that all elements of this Implementation Plan are interconnected and influence the ultimate ability for the Plan to achieve its intended goal. Primary work outside of RPA Element 4 has been or is currently being undertaken via separate FEMA initiatives.

APPLICABLE DOCUMENTS

Relevant and applicable documents for developing an appropriate implementation strategy include the items listed below.

1. NOAA Fisheries Biological Opinion Reasonable and Prudent Alternative for the Implementation of the NFIP in the State of Oregon (Issued April 16, 2016)

2. Errata to the Oregon BiOp RPA (letter and Errata sheet published January 24, 2017)

3. 44 CFR § Part 60 – Floodplain management criteria for flood-prone areas (with particular emphasis on FEMA’s obligations under 44 CFR § 60.3(a)(2))

KEY MILESTONES & DELIVERABLES

The milestones outlined below will be the responsibility of the consultant to complete. It is anticipated that this project will have a contract duration of approximately 6 months, with activities to be completed no later than September 30, 2021.

A. Contract Kick-Off Meeting Hold a virtual Kick-Off Meeting with FEMA Region 10 to refine a Project Plan and identify key personnel roles and responsibilities within 2 weeks of contract award.

B. Project Plan Coordinate with FEMA Region 10 to include in the Project Plan, at minimum:

i. Project schedule

ii. Spend plan

iii. Identification of key personnel

iv. Deliverables

C. Quarterly Status Reports

The consultant shall provide quarterly status reports to FEMA Region 10 for the duration of the period of performance. The reports shall include descriptions of technical progress and cost performance, in reference to the expectations outlined in the Project Plan. Each quarterly report shall update the project delivery dates of future deliverables with explanations, as needed.

D. Core Team Activities An interagency working group consisting of federal, state, and local agencies shall be convened on a regular schedule throughout Implementation Plan development to discuss progress and address project needs. This working group will support the stakeholder engagement wrap-up activities as well as deliverable development, as outlined below.

E. Final Deliverables The consultant shall deliver final documents and supporting materials via an appropriate digital delivery method. Final deliverables are to include:

https://archive.fisheries.noaa.gov/wcr/publications/habitat/2016_04-14_fema_nfip_nwr-2011-3197reducedsize.pdf https://archive.fisheries.noaa.gov/wcr/publications/habitat/2016_04-14_fema_nfip_nwr-2011-3197reducedsize.pdf https://archive.fisheries.noaa.gov/wcr/publications/habitat/2017_01-24_nfip_rpa_errata_nwr-2011-3197__1_.pdf https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=a88f801866ad3208df344007256c31d7&mc=true&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title44/44cfr60_main_02.tpl

a. Implementation Plan – This Plan will be a comprehensive guiding document for FEMA and affected Oregon communities to meet the requirements of the RPA. The Plan should enable communities to confidently carry out and maintain compliance with the required activities of the Oregon BiOp RPA. As stated in the Project Description, the consultant must ensure the guidance provided within the Plan does not exceed FEMA’s authority under the NFIP and aligns, to the extent practicable, with state land use requirements and planning goals. It is anticipated that the consultant will coordinate on the development of the Implementation Plan with FEMA Region 10 and the Core Team.

b. Technical Assistance Deliverables – additional resources that the consultant may develop in coordination with FEMA to support communities implementing the Plan include:

i. Guidance Documents – Develop guidance, as deemed appropriate, on RPA-required activities for local communities, such as developing model ordinance language, assessing development and avoidance potentials within jurisdictions, or similar topics (final guidance topics to be determined by the working group).

ii. GIS Buildout Analysis –The consultant will complete a GIS-based analysis of development potential in Oregon NFIP jurisdictions to help identify which communities fall into different categories for appropriate implementation strategies under the Implementation Plan. This will also identify areas of potentially high impact to critical habitats for ESA-listed species and may assist with the development of a prioritization framework for compliance measures under RPA Element 6.

Deliverable Deliverable Description Due Date or Completion Date Kick-Off Meeting with FEMA Region 10 Within 2 weeks after award is made

Project Plan – items A(a) through A(d) and any other items added by consultant

2 weeks after award; submit to FEMA Program Manager

Quarterly Status Reports – described in item C

Occurs each quarter after contract award;

submit to FEMA Program Manager and as part of invoicing procedure

Implementation Plan and Technical Assistance Deliverables – described in item E

Six months following award (no later than September 30, 2021); submit to FEMA Program Manager; Deliver final documents and supporting materials via appropriate delivery method.