2014/07/16 Council Agenda Packet

Work with regional and statewide organizations, governments and NGOs to develop partnerships aimed at reducing GHG emissions, and Look toward incentives for clean fuel production. The Boeing Co. is already fully engaged in such efforts related to aerospace and jet fuels. The City may be able to play a role in attracting businesses in this economic cluster. Adaptation - Evaluate risks and adopt policies to mitigate them, and plan for impacts to major infrastructure. Look at long lead planning horizons such as 30 years or more, particularly with regard to sea level. Adaptation begins with a risk assessment of climate impacts most likely to present a threat or challenge to the local jurisdiction. For the City of Everett, these include storm and extreme weather events, flooding, sea level rise, water and agriculture. A. Storm events Extreme weather events (primarily heavy rains and flooding) have been recorded with greater frequency and intensity over the past 20 years. Like Boulder, Colorado, flood events in excess of the normal statistical frameworks (20, 50 & 100 year flood events) are happening with greater frequency. Recent storm and rain events resulted in significant property damage as surface water combined with waste water, exceeded the design capacity of the combined sewer overflow system in some parts of the City - flooding basements with sewage. The City is now in the process of evaluating the cost and time necessary to repair and upgrade these systems, in addition to paying damage claims. A solution to this problem will not likely be cheap or quick given the nature of the challenge. B. Sea level rise The effects of sea level rise are just beginning to become apparent. As extreme high tides, called king tides, occur in conjunction with major storm events carrying significant precipitation - and when that precipitation is accompanied by warm temperatures and rapid snow melt - the result is significant flooding. New assessments need to be made to better understand these risks. Such assessments would likely identify different sea level rise scenarios and at -risk properties. In addition, soil subsidence contributes to risk as some properties may sink relative to surrounding water levels. Several cities, including Everett, have significant waste water treatment facilities behind dikes within the Snohomish River estuary. More detailed examination of sea level rise (and soil subsidence) is appropriate and necessary to evaluate risks and better understand the timing for sea level rise. A key question is at what point in time will at risk properties be underwater? Since building major capital facilities is both expensive and requires long lead time frames (often more than 20 years from planning to completion) it is not too early to begin such evaluations. Moreover, if sea level rise is accelerating as some studies now indicate, it is prudent to include these changing circumstances and new projections in the revised evaluations and probability scenarios, and extend the time frame for evaluations from 20 years to 30 years or longer. The longer time frame is consistent with financial tools to pay for mitigation. Moreover, sea levels will continue to rise for hundreds of years into the future. 8