Demystifying Alternatives Analysis for Federally Funded Projects

ABSTRACT ONLY - Federally funded infrastructure projects have unique requirements for analyzing alternatives that go beyond engineering criteria. Dam owners need to understand how to develop, evaluate and select alternatives that will be approved for federal funding, in order to access the significant new funding for dam safety programs provided by the two recent multibillion-dollar federal infrastructure laws. We will present considerations for designing an alternatives analysis that meets criteria established in the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) as well as federal dam funding agency guidance. Our presentation will include the less common categories of alternatives that may need to be considered (e.g., decommissioning, non-structural, floodproofing and relocation), and how these vary by federal agency, funding source, and project type. We will discuss the role of risk analysis in alternatives evaluation. Benefit-cost analysis is a key aspect of alternatives analysis but is not widely understood. We will cover what can and can’t be included in a benefit-cost analysis of alternatives, and how to capture benefits without a straightforward dollar value, such as ecosystem service benefits. We will highlight recent changes to ecosystem services guidance by federal agencies including FEMA, USACE and NRCS.Nature-based solutions, or actions to improve the health of ecosystems and benefit society, are receiving new emphasis in federal alternatives analysis guidance. We will discuss the umbrella concept of nature-based solutions, and where practitioners can find guidance on the integration of nature-based solutions into alternatives formulation and evaluation. Our presentation will cite the nature-based solutions initiatives described in Executive Order 14072, Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities, and Local Economies, and the subsequent November 2022 report on accelerating nature-based solutions published by the White House Council on Environmental Quality.We will demonstrate alternatives analysis best practices using recent examples from federal watershed planning projects in Arizona and Hawaii that exhibit the implementation of federal guidance on alternatives analysis design, risk analysis and benefit-cost analysis of alternatives, and the integration of nature-based solutions.