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Military Installation Resilience Review
The Northern Virginia Regional Commission (NVRC) was awarded a Military Installation Resilience Review (MIRR) grant from the Department of Defense, Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) in September, 2021. NVRC has a more than decade long history of working with the military and has a dedicated Community, Military and Federal Facilities Partnership Committee. The Committee is currently co-chaired by Fairfax County Supervisor Penelope A. Gross and Prince William County Supervisor Victor Angry.
Military resilience is defined as the capability of a military installation to avoid, prepare for, minimize the effect of, adapt to, and recover from extreme weather events, or from anticipated or unanticipated changes in environmental conditions, that do, or have the potential to, adversely affect the military installation or essential transportation, logistical, or other necessary resources outside of the military installation that are necessary in order to maintain, improve, or rapidly reestablish installation mission assurance and mission-essential functions.
A MIRR provides the installations and the surrounding communities the opportunity to identify gaps in utility connections, transportation, housing, and other shared amenities that may exist. The MIRR process brings the installation personnel and the community together to discuss big picture, long-range planning issues that may not get discussed during regular planning sessions. By focusing on the resilience of the installation and community to future climate change scenarios it is easier to identify the gaps that exist between the installation and the community.
Once the grant is awarded most recipients hire a contractor to manage the grant and prepare the final report. OLDCC will establish measures of progress for the grant recipient and goals to consider the grant complete. Examples of goals for completion are an Executive Summary with high level recommendations; support documentation; and a presentation of the final report. The MIRR focuses on Resilience Risks and Resilience Impacts. Resilience Risks include flooding, wind, drought, wildfire, and earthquakes. Resilience Impacts may include water availability, stormwater, wastewater, installation energy, operational energy, transportation, installation access, and communications.
To assess the threats and vulnerabilities to the installation and surrounding jurisdiction the grantee should convene a Policy Committee and a Technical Review Committee. The Technical Review Committee will work with the grantee to assess threats and vulnerabilities, identify strategies, and analyze costs for mitigations. The Policy Committee will provide guidance and direction to the grantee and review the final report before submission to OLDCC.
During the Technical Review Committee meetings potential projects can be identified by the installation or the county. Arlington County identified a water line project that could improve resilience for Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. Communication with the installation resulted in a new water line connection during the MIRR process. Additional gaps have been identified and strategies for mitigating the gaps are being evaluated and presented to the Technical Review Committee and the Policy Committee during the MIRR process. 85 strategies have been identified for the three installations and four counties involved in the project. An additional 47 strategies have been identified for the region surrounding the three installations.
NVRC is the first in the National Capital Area to do a regional look at the MIRR with three bases and four counties. Chris Landgraf, who is managing the MIRR project for NVRC, spoke about the MIRR process at the Association of Defense Communities in Phoenix, AZ on November 1, 2022, and again at the Virginia Military Advisory Council (VMAC) in Quantico, VA on November 17, 2022.
NVRC held an Industry Day on September 22, 2022 to help identify funding sources to implement the projects identified during the MIRR process. 20 projects were discussed during the meeting. A total of 65 people attended the presentation. Attendees from businesses, local governments, federal grant agencies, and state government engaged in the conversation and discussed opportunities for collaboration and additional project development. A second Industry Day was held February 28, 2023.
NVRC is 100 percent complete with the MIRR process. A draft final report is scheduled to be ready for approval in May 2023. For information about the MIRR grant or process reach out to Chris Landgraf at clandgraf@novaregion.org.