David Y. Igé | DBEDT press release: Hawai’i joins the Silver Jackets program

HONOLULU – The State of Hawaii partnered with the US Army Corps of Engineers in a Hawaii Government-sponsored Interagency Silver Jackets Collaboration Team Hawaii Ocean Resource Management Plan (ORMP). The Coastal Zone Management Program of the State Planning and Sustainable Development Office will serve as the primary coordinating agency for the State. The Silver Jackets are a national program focused on reducing the risk of coastal flooding. Now that the state team is officially recognized, Hawaii is now eligible for support from the US Army Corps of Engineers through technical advice and annual funding opportunities.

“From a national perspective, this marks an important milestone for the vision of the Silver Jackets, with Hawaii becoming the 50th state to form a Silver Jackets team, ”said Ellen Berggren, National Silver Jackets program manager. “The US Army Corps of Engineers affirms our commitment to support Hawaii, bringing our expertise and resources and a collaborative spirit to work together to identify and implement solutions to deal with flooding and coastal risks in the Pacific.

The Hawai’i Silver Jackets team will operate under the state’s Hawai’i Ocean Resource Management Plan and its already existing multi-agency framework. “We welcome this partnership which further strengthens the Corps’ commitment to supporting local approaches to address our state’s significant risks associated with coastal flooding. Coastal risks, including flooding from sea level rise, are listed as one of ORMP’s three main focus areas and the Silver Jackets team will play a key role in providing support technical and leveraging resources to best solve this problem, ”said Justine Nihipali, Coastal Area Management Program Manager and Head of State.

As a partnership-based program, the Hawaii The Silver Jackets team will create and facilitate inter-agency coordination on strategies to reduce coastal flood risk. Other participating agencies include the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Hawaii Emergency Management Agency (HI-EMA), Department of Lands and Natural Resources (DLNR) and University of Hawaii Marine Subsidy Program. The Silver Jackets are a national program, and with the creation of Team Hawai’i, there are now Silver Jackets Teams in all 50 states, three territories, and the District of Columbia.

The quarterly meeting of the ORMP working group held on August 5^e, 2021, marked the first official meeting of the Hawaii Team of silver jackets.

To learn more about the Silver Jackets program, visit https://silverjackets.nfrmp.us/State-Teams/Hawaii

To find out more about The Hawaii Ocean Resource Management Plan, visit https://arcg.is/1rmiae0 or download the plan on http://planning.hawaii.gov/czm/ormp/

# # #