TT h e M o f f a t t & N i c h o l N e w s l e t tt ee rr

Vol
Vol 10 Issue11
7 Issue

DESIGN, ADAPT,
SUSTAIN
Rising Above the Tides in SF Bay
AFTER 80 YEARS OF CELEBRITY STATUS,
NATIONAL SERVICE, ANDULTIMATELY
BASE CLOSURE, TREASURE ISLAND
EMBRACES THE TIDES OF CHANGE.
SAN FRANCISCO BAYS TREASURE ISLAND REDEVELOPMENT is emerging as a signature coastal
community of the future, incorporating green planning and designand an adaptive approach
to rising sea levels. To help tackle this 21st Century challenge, Moffatt & Nichol is providing coastal
engineering expertise, assisting in the analysis of potential impacts of climate change and sea
level rise, and developing a strategic plan to address potential flooding and coastal erosion.
Continued on Page 2

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 C r e a t
WELCOME ABOARD!
M&N strengthens Latin American presence
IN BRAZIL:
JSE ZORMAN will serve as
Moffatt & Nichols Business Unit Leader,
establishing the firms Rio de Janeiro office.
With a career spanning more than 40 years as
an engineering professional, Zorman brings
a wealth of regional experience. His previous
work has included projects with Anglo Ameri-
can, MMX (the mining division of Brazilian
conglomerate the EBX Group) and Vale, the
largest iron ore exporter in the world. Zorman
brings to Moffatt & Nichol a deep under-
standing of the Brazilian marketplace and
unmatched knowledge of industrial projects,
including ports.
Zorman holds a Bachelor of Science in
mechanical engineering from the Univer-
sidade Federal do Paran. He is a member
of the Brazilian Metals Association and the
Brazilian Petroleum Institute.
IN COLOMBIA:
CARLOS NOGUERA joins
Moffatt & Nichol as General Manager for the
Colombia S.A. office, bringing more than 30
years of experience and an in depth knowl-
edge of Colombias engineering industry.
He has coordinated and directed multidis-
ciplinary projects, including economic and
technical feasibility studies, environmental
consulting, water quality evaluations, air
quality studies, navigation channel design,
and dredging.
Carlos comes to Moffatt & Nichol
after a long career with HMV Ingenieros, a
Colombia-based engineering firm, where he
served as the firms legal representative and
engineering director since 2002. He earned
his engineering degree from University of La
Gran Colombia and a diploma in Environmen-
tal Impact Assessment from the Universidad
Jorge Tadeo Lozano-Tufts University coopera-
tive program in Bogot, Colombia.
Moffatt & Nichol NEWS
i v e P e o p l e . P r a c t i c a l S o l u t i o n s .
CONTINUED FROM COVER...
RISING ABOVE THE TIDES IN SF BAY
WITH AN ESTIMATED INVESTMENT OF MORE THAN $1.5 BILLION, master
developer Treasure Island Community Development, LLC and
the Treasure Island Development Authority, in a public-private
partnership, envision an environmentally sustainable mixed-
use community, in contrast to the islands early days: In the
1930s, the federal government used dredged material to build
the flat, artificial island to serve first as a venue for the 1939
Golden Gate International Exposition and later as an airport
for Pan American World Airways fleet of flying boats serving
the Pacific Rim. However, as World War II escalated, the 400-
acre island was called into service, functioning as a U.S. Navy Above Image: Treasure Island Development Project
base from 1941 to 1997. (Image Courtesy of Treasure Island Community Development LLC)
Today, as redevelopment moves forward, one of the biggest On the cover: Treasure Island may be reached via the San Francisco-
design challenges is the islands elevation and flatnessgreat
Oakland Bay Bridge (foreground). Moffatt & Nichol currently provides
design services for the bridges east span replacement project.
MOFFATT & NICHOL PROVIDED for runways in the 1930s, but
A HIGHLY INNOVATIVE AND only two feet higher than Fed- accommodate a sea level increase of about 3 feet (from pres-
ADAPTABLE SOLUTION TO eral Emergency Management ent levels), at the end of construction. Proposed solutions call
PREPARE FOR POTENTIAL SEA
for the implementation of a shoreline protection system paired
LEVEL RISE AT TREASURE ISLAND, Agencys (FEMA) maximum
CONTRIBUTING TO A TRULY expected 100-year flood with a storm drain systemboth of which can be adapted to
FORWARD-THINKING, SUSTAINABLE, elevation along its periphery. keep up with changing sea levels. Thus, the construction pro-
AND ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND To compensate, the design gram avoids creating a levee-protected community today, al-
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT."
Kheay Loke, Senior Development Manager strategy includes raising the lowing for an ongoing adaptive strategy to address future SLR.
for Treasure Island Development, LLC Joint development footprint to Approved and certified by the City and County of San
Venture Partner, Wilson Meany Sullivan Francisco, development plans include 8,000 new residential
units, 500 hotel rooms, a 400-slip marina, restaurants, retail
and entertainment venues, and about 300 acres of parks and
READY FOR open space, well served by public transportation, including
NEXT MISSION ferry, municipal bus service to San Francisco and the Eastbay,
When it came time to replace the oldest structure in San Diego and on-island shuttles. Projected to be the most environmen-
Bay, engineers designed the new fuel pier at Naval Base Point tally-sustainable large development project in U.S. history, the
Loma to meet a new challenge: Sea level rise. project is one of 16 founding projects of the Clinton Climate
Initiative's Climate Positive Development Program.
F
or the last 27 years
Moffatt & Nichols inspec-
tion and rehabilitation team has
been involved in maintenance
and rehabilitation projects to
extend the service life of this
mission-critical facility. Now,
new work at the pier will incor-
porate an adaptive approach to
sea level rise.
Under a Defense Logistics
Agency fuels-related multiple-
award contract held by Burns
HOW
& McDonnell, the team has
HIGH
been tasked to design a new
$70-million facility and demolish the existing structure. The
project will include design for the new pier structure, dredging
IS THE TIDE?
and disposal of contaminated material, planning documentation, Image courtesy John J. Helly, Supercomputer Center and
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego.
and the preparation of design-build repair solicitation packages.
The new fuel pier structure, with a design life of 75 years, MOFFATT & NICHOL IS PROVIDING COASTAL ENGINEERING EXPERTISE,
features a state-of-the-art double deck pier that will remain func- as the U.S. government looks to plan ahead to protect federal
tional over its full design life. The deck elevations of the structure assets that may be vulnerable to sea level rise. As a key member
have been carefully analyzed and set at heights that work for of a research team under a 3-year government contract,
the short term and will remain functional over the long term, Moffatt & Nichol has been tasked with developing a methodol-
providing an adaptive approach to SLR. ogy to assess the impact of SLR on the operational capability
of federal coastal installations for the Strategic Environmental
Research and Development Program (SERDP).
The study area focuses on sites in Southern California and
the Southwest that represent a wide range of coastal features,
including low-lying terrain, beaches, bluffs, canyons, and rivers.
In collaboration with the larger project team, Moffatt & Nichol
is using a GIS platform and a high resolution digital elevation
Im ag e co ur te model to analyze the impacts of a range of high water level sce-
sy : Go og le Ma
ps , 2 012 Go
og le narios that include four sea-level rise conditions in combination
Construction is anticipated to be complete in 2015. with the effects of tidal variation, waves and storm surge.
2
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K NOWN AS A FISHERMANS PARADISE and
the gateway to Pamlico Sound
and the Outer Banks, Belhaven,
North Carolina is perched on the
east bank of the Pungo River, with
ground elevations at a mere 0 to 5
feet. Vulnerable to wind tides, in
recent years, low-lying downtown
Belhaven has experienced chronic f looding. Just 15 miles
away, the Atlantic Ocean feeds the Pamlico Sound, and sea
level rise in the sound has the potential to increase the fre-
quency of f lood events in Belhaven.
To address the challenge long term, the City of Belhaven
retained Moffatt & Nichol to provide planning and design
services in an effort to mitigate current and future f lood
events for the town, which is home to about 2,000 people.
In Belhaven, typical storm or wind events cause up to a
foot of f looding; however, when Hurricane Irene arrived on
Main Street, f lood waters rose up to nine feet, becoming the
worst recorded incidence of inland f looding related to surge
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO SAFELY STAGE A 140-TON WIND TURBINE NACELLE BOUND FOR OFFSHORE INSTALLATION?
To help the Quonset Development Corporation answer that question, Moffatt & Nichol is providing planning and design
services for the Quonset Wind Energy and Surface Transportation Project, at the Port of Davisville in Rhode Island.
The project is anticipated to improve freight transportation at
the port, bring about much needed repairs, extend the useful
life of waterfront infrastructure, and increase port capac-
ity. It will also improve access to industrial properties being
marketed to alternative energy producers (particularly off-
shore wind), which will help increase energy independence.
To date, Moffatt & Nichol has completed the detailed
design of infrastructure improvements at Pier 2, which
will upgrade the facility to handle Offshore Wind Con-
struction Staging Operations. The improvements include
a pile supported grade beam system designed to support
the heavy loads associated with Mobile Harbor Crane
operations, two new heavy lift platforms, improved pier
fendering, and new terminal paving. In addition, our
port planners completed a comprehensive study to evaluate
how potential offshore wind operations can be integrated into
the existing terminal plan with the least amount of disruption
to existing tenants.
w . m o f f a t t n i c h o l . c o m
A TALE OF
THREE
WETLANDS
In advance of mandated guidelines to address sea level
rise, Moffatt & Nichol has taken SLR to task over the last
two decades, as reflected in the design of three Southern
California restorations, even as local, state and federal
agencies come to terms with codifying the inevitable.
BOLSA CHICA WETLANDS:
Designed to adapt to future SLR, 2006.
Planning started in 1997 to restore the Bolsa Chica Wetlands
in Orange County, California. As the massive 880-acre project
wound through permitting and preliminary design, SLR proved to
from the Pamlico Sound.
Belhaven is still in disaster
recovery mode.
be an emerging concern. In response, Moffatt & Nichol factored
SLRs unpredictability into levee and tide gate design. The
Pacific Coast Highway Bridge, which spans the ocean inlet, was
After Irene, it became constructed approximately 1 foot higher than required to provide
clear more than the town's freeboard during high water.
one existing pump station
was needed to address severe
f looding. However, develop-
ing a single solution for one extreme event would be cost-
prohibitive. Instead, Belhaven elected to seek an adaptive
management strategy to provide relief from smaller, more
frequent events.
To establish a line of attack, Moffatt & Nichol visited
Belhaven post-Irene and during smaller wind tide events HUNTINGTON BEACH WETLANDS:
to collect data to calibrate and verify a hydraulic model, SLR incorporated into design of nesting berms, 2008.
which will help evaluate the level of protection needed and The Huntington Beach Wetlands provides a migratory resting spot
the related cost/benefit return for a range of events. Once for more than 80 bird species. An early project concern was the high
the numbers are in, the design team will explore potential population of bird nests in low-lying vegetated areas. In response,
solutions that may include structural modifications, pump Moffatt & Nichol designed elevated nesting berms to keep nests
stations, f loodgates, and protective berms. dry, regardless of existing and near-term future conditions,
accounting for about one foot of SLR.
SAN ELIJO LAGOON:
SLR incorporated into design, construction begins, 2014.
At San Elijo Lagoon, all eyes are on the future. Design began just
as the State of California released the Governors Executive Order
S-13-08, providing a roadmap for SLR design standards. One of the
few remaining coastal wetlands in San Diego County, the lagoon
provides vital habitats for wildlife and endangered plant species.
Preliminary design provides adaptive SLR management for the
restored lagoon. At present, the National Science Foundation is
conducting a study for the State of California to establish SLR design
standards, with a planned 2012 release.
Pier 2 improvements are currently under
construction and expected to be completed
by summer 2012.
Moffatt & Nichol NEWS
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 TT h e M o f f a t t & N i c h o l N e w s l e t tt ee rr

As global interest in the GREENING of shoreside ship power grows, Moffatt & Nichol
provides clients GUIDANCE and design expertise to plug in a wide range of vessels.

COLD IRONING GAINS MOMENTUM

A
t Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Most recently, construction nears com-
Emirates, Moffatt & Nichol designed electri- pletion for Moffatt & Nichol-designed
cal systems for the automated terminal with shore power systems at three berths
provisions for cold ironing. Stateside, the Port of Long in the Port of Oakland. Design to
Beach inaugurated cold ironing at Pier G, where power these first of 12 berths at
Moffatt & Nichol designed a new shore the Northern California
power facility at deepwater Berth G232, port reflects the adaptability needed to
and retrofitted two others, allowing successfully implement shore power
vessels at berth to power down and programs, as government emissions
plug in to clean power from shore. standards evolve, and power needs
COLD And with a new class of security and configuration vary from ship to
IRONING cutter on delivery, the U.S. Coast ship. Moffatt & Nichols design in-
OFFERS CLEAN Guard retained Moffatt & Nichol to cludes 7.5MVA (megavolt-amperes)
SHORE POWER upgrade existing cold ironing power substations and shore-power outlet
FOR SHIPS OF mounds to power the new vessels boxes, with dual 350A receptacles
ALL SIZES berthed at Coast Guard Island in Alam- at four locations along each berth. The
eda, California. To the south, in San Diego, design incorporates the international shore-
Moffatt & Nichol is completing detailed design for the power standard the ISO IEC/PAS 60092-510:2009. At
10th Avenue Marine Terminal Shore Power system, present the next seven installations are out to bid, with
which will power refrigerated container vessels. Con- construction expected to begin the first quarter 2012,
struction is expected to be complete by the end of 2013. and the last two out to bid this summer.

Image: Crew plugs in at Pier G in the Port of Long Beach

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Vol 10
Vol Issue11
7 Issue

r t e t e l w s e N l o h c i N & t a t f f o M e T h

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