Urban Waters Partnership Meeting Cano Martín Pena San Juan PR July 11 2018


Urban Waters Partnership Meeting
Cano Martin Pena, San Juan, PR
July 11,2018
Meeting Notes

I.	Participants

Refer to Attachment 1 for list of participants.

II.	Welcoming remarks

Jose Font, Deputy Director of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA)
Caribbean Office, offered welcoming remarks to meeting participants highlighting
EPA's continued commitment to the Cano Martin Pena (CMP) project. He encouraged
participants on continuing to work towards improving conditions in these communities
and collaborating to further CMP dredging efforts.

Ingrid Vila, Urban Waters Ambassador (UW Ambassador) also offered introductory
remarks highlighting the impact of Hurricane Maria on the Cano Martin Pena
communities and the resilience demonstrated that allowed them to respond effectively
to residents' needs. She encouraged partners to identify and pursue funding
opportunities that will accelerate the dredging and the related projects, as Hurricane
Maria clearly exposed the vulnerability and risks that the clogged channel represents
for community residents.

III.	San Juan Bay Estuary Program Relief Efforts

Dayamiris Candelario and Argenis Catala, both Urban Waters Coordinators for the San
Juan Bay Estuary Program (SJBEP), presented work performed in the communities of
Caimito (San Juan), Juana Matos (Catano) and Loiza to provide relief and recovery
assistance following Hurricane Maria. Brenda Torres, SJBEP Executive Director and
Ingrid Vila, UW Ambassador, collaborated in defining objectives for the Urban Waters
Program Relief Efforts in the Urban Watershed of the San Juan Bay Estuary. These
are: improve access to safe and clean water, improve watershed quality and
connectivity, promote sustainable materials / debris / solid waste management and
enhance community preparedness and resilience.

Javier Laureano, EPA Region 2 Clean Water Division Director, requested that context
be provided as to how these communities were selected for the relief program. Ingrid
Vila informed the group that following the impact of Hurricane Maria on the Island, a
need was identified to expand the work being conducted by San Juan Bay Estuary
Program to directly assist communities. The intention was to provide support to
communities that proved vulnerable to weather events, faced environmental justice

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issues, had high poverty levels and lied within the San Juan Bay Estuary footprint.
Caimito, Juana Matos and Loiza complied with all these requirements.

The Urban Waters Coordinators explained that work in communities, which began
during the month of January 2018, has included distribution of water filters, assessment
of roof repairs and preparation of proposals for funding, installation of solar panels in
community center (Caimito), evaluation of river channel obstructions, among other
initiatives. Community meetings to assess post-hurricane conditions and self-
preparedness measures are helping tailor community preparedness plans and
assistance.

IV. Cano Martin Pena Update

Lyvia Rodriguez, Executive Director for the Enlace Corporation (Enlace), provided an
overview of the impact of Hurricane Maria in the Cano Martin Pena communities, as
well as, community response and relief efforts. In summary: Hurricane Maria
completely destroyed approximately 75 homes; 1,000 houses lost their roofs partially
or totally; 70% of the communities were affected by floods; and there was significant
loss of vegetation further clogging the channel.

The strong partnerships the community has developed over the years enabled a quick
response including receiving 800 tarps within 30 days, the installation of over 500 blue
roofs, as well as transitioning from tarps to permanent roofs. Direct relief was also
coordinated with partners including providing hot meals, drinking water and health
related assistance. Debris removal was also facilitated by partners, as well as,
providing three community centers with solar energy installations and storage.

The "Mi Casa Resistente" (My Resistant House) competition will enable the
construction of three homes during FY 2019 that will provide greater resiliency to
homeowners in future weather events.

Lyvia Rodriguez also offered an update on the dredging of the Cano Martin Pena and
related infrastructure projects, including housing acquisitions.

Eli Diaz, President of the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (PRASA)
announced during the meeting that an agreement between Enlace and PRASA will
allow the start of construction, by January 2019, of the Borinquen Potable Water
Relocation. This is a critical project for the dredging of the channel. Eli Diaz also
announced that PRASA had also finalized an agreement with the Puerto Rico Highway

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and Transportation Authority to work on the rehabilitation of the Barrio Obrero Marina
wastewater vacuum system.

Lyvia Rodriguez informed that unfortunately the Cano Martin Pena project had not
been included as a construction start for the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
for this year and had not been presented in the list of projects to be addressed by the
USACE through the supplemental funding as part of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018.

Estrella Santiago, Environmental Affairs Manager for Enlace, explained that Enlace is
expanding the Scope of Contract 1 to include dredging of the San Jose Lagoon and
other components that are shovel ready so that when funding arrives the project can
move at a faster pace. Among other strategies, Enlace seeks to work with local
government so that Community Development Block Grant- Recovery Program funds
that are allocated to Puerto Rico be used for the Cano Martin Pena project.

Jose Javier Rivera, Infrastructure Design Director for PRASA, recommended that
Enlace review the Recovery Plan prepared by the government of Puerto Rico, provide
feedback and request that the Cano Martin Pena be explicitly included as a project for
recovery funding. PRASA President, Eli Diaz, indicated they have talked to central
government officials about the importance of the Cano Martin Pena project.

Louise Legonis from USDA-NRCS asked whether housing units within the CMP were
mainly single family or multi-family units. Lyvia Rodriguez responded that there was
a little bit of everything.

V. USDA- NRCS Emergency Watershed Protection Program

Luis Hernandez, USDA-NRCS Acting Emergency Watershed Protection (EWP)
Manager for the Caribbean Region, and Damaris Medina, from USDA-NRCS,
provided an overview of the EWP Program which is designed to help people and
conserve natural resources by relieving imminent hazards to life and property caused
by floods, fires, drought, windstorms, and other natural occurrences. All projects must
be related to a sudden watershed impairment and erosion control. Projects may fall
within two categories:

•	Urgent and Compelling (Exigency) - An imminent threat to life and property
exists and requires immediate federal action. To be completed within 10 days
of accessing the site in order to protect life and property.

•	Emergency (Non-Exigency) - A situation where the threat to life and property
is high enough to constitute an emergency, but is not considered urgent and

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compelling. Does not require immediate action, but should be completed as
soon as possible (within 220 days from starting work).

The current 100% cost share deadline is December 10, 2018.

Luis Hernandez offered a summary of work done to date and collaborations that have
enabled the work to progress effectively, and encouraged meeting participants to
consider the EWP Non-Exigency program if there are situations caused by the
hurricane that are causing channel/watershed obstructions resulting in threats to life
and property.

VI.	Resiliency Hubs and Urban Resilience SRN

Tischa Munoz-Erickson, from the U.S. Forest Service's Institute of Tropical Forestry,
briefed participants on work done by the Urban Resilience to Extreme Events
Sustainability Research Network (UREx SRN). San Juan is one of ten cities that are
part of the network. UREx SRN is an interdisciplinary network of scientist and
professionals seeking to promote, design and implement resilient urban infrastructure
to provide eco-systemic services, improve social well-being and harness technology in
ways to benefit all citizens equitably.

Several workshops/meetings have been held in San Juan that have allowed for the
development of Urban Resilience Scenarios and, more recently, for the discussion on
the Resilient Coastal Cities Smart and Connected Communities Project that seeks to
develop a resiliency hub in Santurce. The network is now working on:

•	Finalizing analysis and evaluation of scenarios through a second participatory
workshop;

•	Continuing work with communities, including the Cano Martin Pena, to
establish hubs in Santurce;

•	Preparing proposals for development of visualization and communication
platforms to serve community hubs.

VII.	Closing

As the meeting came to an end, Ingrid Vila, encouraged participants to identify possible
programs or funding opportunities that could help advance the various initiatives and
projects that were discussed.

A follow up UW Partnership meeting will be coordinated for September 2018.

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Meeting Notes
July 11,2018
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Attachment 1 - Sign-in sheet

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Cano Martin Pena
Meeting Notes
July 11,2018
p. 6

Urban Water Partnership meeting Sign-In Sheet

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Urban Waters Partnership Meeting
Cano Martin Pena
Meeting Notes
July 11,2018
p. 7

Urban Water Partnership Meetins Sign-In Sheet

tJtf Localon: Cato M>Sin Ptfia, Sam Juan. PR	«§ Date; Juty 11,2017

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Guaynabo. PR

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