Throwe Launches Military Installation Resilience Review in East Central Florida

June 13, 2024

Image: Site visit of Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. (MARK BELTON/Throwe Environmental)

By JUSTIN GIFFEE and KYLE GRAY/Throwe Environmental

CAPE CANAVERAL, F.L. — Earlier this spring, Throwe Environmental (TE) kicked off a Military Installation Resilience Review (MIRR) in East Central Florida. This will be the second MIRR completed by TE, and the third conducted by TE senior leadership.

The MIRR will be led by TE partner Jacobs and conducted in partnership with the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council (ECFRPC). The MIRR will advance mission assurance and community resilience efforts around several installations, including Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS); Patrick Space Force Base (Patrick SFB); Naval Support Activity Orlando (NSA Orlando); Army Command Port Canaveral; US Coast Guard Station Port Canaveral; Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division (NAWCTSD); Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Operations Facility Titusville Detachment (NSWC Carderock); Naval Ordnance Test Unit (NOTU) at Port Canaveral; and Trident Sub-Base. 

The MIRR is a planning-focused project funded by the US Department of Defense’s (DoD) Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation (OLDCC) Installation Resilience program. According to OLDCC, the program is intended to “foster, protect, and enhance the sustainability of our military installations.” Communities that apply for and receive MIRR funds work closely with military and civilian stakeholders across sectors and levels of government, identifying potential threats to installation missions and actionable strategies to address those threats. The OLDCC programming leverages a “one community” approach that brings together “[f]ederal, state, local, and private effort to optimize the capacities and resources each can bring to the effort.”

Given the region’s strategic location on the Atlantic Coast and close to the equator, the East Central Florida installations driving this MIRR largely focus on aerospace, simulation, and modeling interests. Their unique coastal positioning enhances operational efficiencies and minimizes overflight risks, thus advancing DoD’s space-based military objectives.

However, natural and man-made hazards — flooding, severe weather, and rapid growth patterns — threaten the built and natural infrastructure servicing the East Central Florida installations, putting pressure on the installations themselves, as well as neighboring local communities. 

The MIRR will build upon decades of ECFRPC planning; it will identify actionable resilience projects outside the fenceline, as well as opportunities for innovation and collaboration. The MIRR Project Team (composed of experts from ECFRPC, Jacobs, Pharos Mission Critical, Aptim, and TE) will conduct a resilience assessment to identify natural and man-made hazards; model impacts on infrastructural integrity and economic stability; and put forth action-oriented recommendations aimed at enhancing resilience as “one community.” 

TE’s specific role on the MIRR is centered around addressing encroachment concerns and fostering regional cooperation. TE will identify regional synergies and interjurisdictional partnership frameworks to support resilience. We will also develop recommendations for implementable and sustainable land management, conservation, and housing solutions. Additionally, TE will support stakeholder engagement, site visits, and vulnerability/resilience analyses.

Led by TE President Joanne Throwe, Program Director Mark Belton, and Chief of Staff Kyle Gray, TE will leverage its industry-leading expertise in resilience policy and intergovernmental collaboration to advance MIRR project goals.

Throwe Environmental looks forward to collaborating with ECFRPC and Jacobs in creating sustainable resilience strategies across the East Central Florida region and amongst its nationally-important military installations.

 

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Established in 1962, the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council (ECFRPC) provides project, policy, and planning assistance to governments and organizations within the eight counties (Brevard, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia) and 78 member towns and cities in the East Central Florida region.
With approximately $16 billion in revenue and a talent force of more than 60,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector.
Throwe Environmental (TE) assists federal, state, and local governments; institutions of higher learning; businesses; and nonprofit organizations in finding innovative and effective solutions to a broad array of environmental challenges. TE is committed to developing climate resilience, environmental finance, and policy and governance solutions for its public, private, and nonprofit clients. TE is based in Bristol, RI and helps communities nationwide address their climate challenges.

       For more information, please contact Kyle Gray (Chief of Staff) at kyle@throwe-environmental.com.