Planning Commission passes permit exemption for HESCO barriers
- Jasz Garrett
- Jul 23
- 5 min read
Decision made in effort to protect public safety, stay in compliance with National Flood Insurance Program
Phase One of the HESCO barriers in Juneau was completed in May and, on Tuesday night, the Planning Commission granted the project a permit exemption.
The exemption passed 6-3, with Commissioner Jessalynn Rintala making the motion. She said she believed the applicant, City and Borough of Juneau Engineering, had demonstrated good and sufficient cause.
“They’ve demonstrated how this is going to protect public safety, and I do think that, particularly with how these exemptions would allow us to stay in compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program, I think that is important for all of our homeowners here,” Rintala said.
CBJ Engineering applied for the permit exemption due to an April notice from the Federal Emergency Management Agency that a previous “non-formal agreement” establishing a no-rise policy was no longer applicable. The no-rise policy states projects in designated floodways cannot increase the height of a flood if one occurs.
The permit for the HESCO barriers was initially applied for in March, before construction began. In May, the city’s community development department realized it would not be able to issue a permit. The project was completed since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had recommended it following the 2024 federal disaster declaration.
“We still thought operating up through this year that we were OK,” Jill Lawhorne, director of the city’s community development department, said. “And so now fast forward through two GLOFS (glacial lake outburst floods), which are unprecedented and are more like the 500-year flood versus a 100-year flood.”
The flood-year comparison refers to probability, meaning there is a 1% chance in any given year of a 100-year flood. The 2023 glacial lake outburst flood was considered roughly a 500-year flood — with a 0.2% chance of occurrence annually — and the 2024 flood reached an even higher level of improbability.
Lawhorne also serves as the city’s floodplain administrator. She said she issues permits based on flood insurance rate maps from 2018, which dictate who is in the hazard zone and who is not. But the maps became outdated in 2019 when the Mendenhall River’s oxbow split.
“The maps look nothing like the reality that is out there – and yet, I have to permit to the maps, not the reality,” Lawhorne said.
Many projects along the river require permits. The NFIP provides the city with regulations that the community must adopt to participate. The community either adopts these regulations, chooses to opt out, or loses the ability to receive flood insurance through the program.
“The reality is it’s kind of like a bank loan or a mortgage,” Lawhorne said. “You go to the bank, you need money, the bank is going to tell you what you need to do to meet the terms of getting their money. You don’t set the terms for the bank. The NFIP program is much like that. They set the terms.”
She said to remain compliant, the city has been doing its best to ensure all projects along floodways and flood zones adhere to the NFIP regulations. However, when the 2023 glacial outburst flood struck, it was unprecedented and unlike any other disaster the rest of the country was facing.
The no-rise policy meant the complete hydraulic and hydrologic modeling of the entire river was not required — “as you can imagine, for many private property owners who have been impacted, that would be incredibly costly,” Lawhorne said.
This allowed the city and private property owners to complete riverbank stabilization projects, which successfully protected riverfront homes during the 2024 glacial lake outburst flood. It was allowed because, while it took out existing land, it was replaced with riprap that could better withstand the floodwaters.
Property owners will now be required to adhere to the strict CBJ regulations, which are based on the FEMA code, to operate under the NFIP program.
Being out of compliance could put the entire community’s eligibility for floodplain insurance at risk, not just homes along the flood path, according to Lawhorne.
She said she had not received clarification from FEMA as of Tuesday evening regarding the policy changes, but the agency has been involved throughout the HESCO barrier project.
“If at some point too many of us are out of compliance, I believe that’s when FEMA would likely step in,” she said. “We’d receive an audit, and we would go through that process to do our best to regain compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program.”
Lawhorne said she believes the rare and unusual circumstances of the glacial lake outburst flood will be taken into consideration, as they have been in the past.
She said the Planning Commission’s exception became the path forward because, to obtain a floodplain development permit, applicants must provide pre-site conditions. Many property owners and the city do not have that information, as it would have had to be completed before the 2023 flood.
Due to the missing pre-site work, Lawhorne lacks the discretion to issue a floodplain development permit for many armoring projects, including the HESCO barriers.
Lawhorne noted that while it may be cost-prohibitive, any member of the public may apply for a floodplain exception permit, after concerns about fairness were raised by Commission Chair Mandy Cole.
The Planning Commission considered whether they believed the work done by Michael Baker International and CBJ Engineering was equal to or better than FEMA’s modeling.
Nate Rumsey, deputy director of Engineering and Public Works, told the Planning Commission he is highly confident in the hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, and the barrier protection. He used Mendenhall Valley Flood Fighting Inundation Maps as an example to demonstrate how the HESCO barriers should work.
Commissioner Nina Keller put forth public comments submitted by flood zone residents Lori Stedman and Sam Hatch. Hatch is a part of a lawsuit against the city seeking compensation for the forced installation of HESCO barriers. Keller asked what would happen to homeowners who have an increased flood risk following the installation of the barriers.
Rumsey stated that updated riverbed topography data used to determine water depth indicates the Mendenhall River has a higher carrying capacity than previously thought. That means the barriers are likely to have a minimal impact on flood heights, additional threats, or public expense.
He said the updated data is at most a relatively minor refinement to the city’s flood inundation maps.
What it could show, however, is that the HESCO project causes no increase in the risk of a 100-year flood, which is how FEMA wants the city to manage floods.
“Not only are we not causing additional risk at that level of flood, but we're providing protection at much higher flood levels as well,” Rumsey said.
While the Planning Commission approved the permit, it remains unclear what the future holds for the NFIP following mass federal layoffs. President Donald Trump has said he wants to eliminate FEMA and have states take over disaster management.
As of Wednesday evening, FEMA had not responded to a media inquiry seeking clarification on the consequences if CBJ is found to be out of compliance with NFIP.
Residents living in the flood zone have requested direct communication from FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding future flood mitigation efforts, rather than receiving information through the city.
An opportunity to ask questions to representatives from the Army Corps of Engineers Alaska District is scheduled for July 30 at Thunder Mountain Middle School from 6-8 p.m. USACE will provide a brief presentation on the Mendenhall Valley glacial outburst technical study, how it supports a long-term mitigation solution, and offer a question-and-answer session.
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz@juneauindependent.com or (907) 723-9356.
