Hurricane Ian Recovery
Please visit https://www.leegov.com/hurricane/storm for a list of county resources and recovery efforts.
Hurricane Ian Post Storm Assessment
Visual Assessment
Emergency Response Plan
The scope of the project to be implemented by this Emergency Maintenance Plan generally consists of restoration of the volume of fill lost to a major storm, together with sufficient fill to provide efficiency of construction, improved stability, and economic viability. The focus is on storm damage impacts and recovery on Captiva Island. The Emergency Response Plan assumes the implementation of a beach renourishment project using material dredged from offshore sand sources. However, it is recognized that, as part of the immediate response to storm damage, structures may need to be stabilized temporarily to prevent further damage. These interim repairs will be made using beach compatible fill trucked from inland sources, scraped from undamaged beach segments if permitted, or dredged from Redfish Pass. The Emergency Response Plan consists of two parts: a major renourishment project (implemented earlier than planned) and hot spot repair. The major renourishment or hot spot repair shall be implemented to respond to major storm damage within 90 days of an event. Consideration should be given to timing of funding from Corps, FEMA and State Department of Emergency Management, which
may require a delayed response subject to approval and funding of the emergency project by Federal and State agencies.
The Emergency Response Plan after a major storm event is broken into the following phases:
Post-Storm Activities
Once a damaging storm has occurred, there are a number of activities required to immediately implement the Emergency Response Plan. Pursuant to the Board’s resolution adopting this Plan, these activities will be implemented automatically when the criteria for emergency response are met or exceeded, and will allow for construction to begin within 90 days.
- Conduct a visual survey of the beach and provide an estimate of losses to FEMA, the Corps of Engineers, FDEP, FDEM and the County Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The decision to declare a Federal disaster is based on the cumulative impact of all reporting communities. - Completed.
- If a disaster is likely to be declared or the threshold is exceeded, perform poststorm topographic and bathymetric surveys and analysis to determine the fill volumes and placement locations. These surveys can take place as soon as the area is accessible and be completed within weeks. The information from the surveys and analysis will be used to finalize the permits, plans and specifications for a dredging contract and make definitive loss reports to the State FEMA and the Corps of Engineers. - Completed
- Based on the District Engineer’s recommendation and information provided by emergency agencies, the CEPD board should decide on one of the following courses of action:
- Take no action and wait for natural recovery or routine nourishment to restore the beach.
- Decide on immediate nourishment to begin within 90 days.
- Plan for a deliberate emergency nourishment, subject to eligibility and funding approval to restore storm losses. - In Progress
- Approve a hot spot nourishment project using an upland sand source.
- Finalize plans and specifications (P&S) with the information from the post storm surveys. These will provide instructions to the dredging contractor on the specific project needs. Plans and specifications can be completed within a month following the storm event and are needed to secure a notice to proceed from FDEP. The P&S will be based on updating the latest used for construction or those prepared for the next project.
- Activate permits with the final information from the post-storm surveys. Activation will consist of the notice to proceed from the State and Federal agencies, and should be completed within a month following the storm event.
- Activate the bid procedure by issuing a bid announcement that establishes a bid date and availability of plans and specifications. This activity can be completed within two months from the storm event. This is a multi-step process: including providing a project description to contractors, bid announcement, provide P&S, provide proof of permit, and bid opening after a shortened bid period.
- Activate financing plan with the final project costs. This will include a short term loan, based on the established line of credit, or the sale of bonds. The bond validation process and sale can be completed within three months. Reserve funds may be needed to start the process prior to loan or bond activation.
- Implement restoration operations. Based on notice to proceed, the dredging contractor could be on site within three months of the storm event, if bidding is initiated early and contractors (dredgers) are not superseded by Federal emergency directives.
- Request reimbursement of funds from appropriate sources. Sources may include the Federal government, the State of Florida, Lee County, and the City of Sanibel.
- For a deliberate planning and construction process, the steps are the same but
timing may extent for up to a couple of years.
Preliminary Plans and Specifications
Construction documents, including plans and specifications, will be prepared in anticipation of the need to award contracts quickly to allow for immediate response to storm damage. The preliminary plans and specifications will include all required information to construct the beach restoration, with the exception of final fill volumes and locations. The plans and specifications will also anticipate the loss of the vegetated dune system and provide for its restoration along with beach fill placement. Plans and specifications will be based on previous prepared documents to expedite process. The latest set of P&S shall be kept on hand for use in emergencies.
Offshore Borrow Areas and Sand Search
Potential offshore borrow areas will be identified through a review of existing studies and surveys. These areas include existing borrow sites utilized in the previous beach renourishment projects, and other borrow areas with sufficient sand to provide for an emergency restoration as well as the next two scheduled nourishments. Verification of borrow area options may require additional field
investigation and analysis. Sufficient sand sources should already be approved in
the multi-use permits for use in emergencies.
Final Plans and Specifications
After the storm, post-storm surveys and analyses will be performed to determine the fill volumes and placement locations needed for recovery. Final plans and specifications will be completed based on post-storm information.
Construction Contract Award
For the District to respond to storm damage in a timely manner, a dredge contractor should be brought to the project within 90 days of the storm event. The following bidding procedure has been selected to meet this time frame:
A request for proposal will be advertised, based on preliminary plans and specifications (or plans and specifications from the last project), with no bid opening date. After the post-storm survey, an addendum will be issued, updating the plans and specifications based on the post-storm survey and giving short
response time to bid opening. The contract may then be awarded by the Board.