Flood Risk Management: Minnesota Silver Jackets Team

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Published Feb. 26, 2015
Updated: Sept. 25, 2023
Purpose

Silver Jackets teams are collaborative, state-led, interagency teams that are continuously working together to reduce flood risk at the state level. Through the Silver Jackets program, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, additional federal, state, and sometimes local and tribal agencies provide a unified approach to addressing a state’s flood risk priorities. Often, no single agency has the complete solution, but each may have one or more pieces to contribute.

Location

Silver Jackets team activities and projects occur throughout Minnesota.

Description

The Silver Jackets program has multiple primary goals:

  • Facilitate strategic lifecycle flood risk reduction;
  • Create or supplement a continuous mechanism to collaboratively solve state-prioritized issues and implement or recommend those solutions;
  • Improve processes, identifying and resolving gaps and counteractive programs;
  • Leverage and optimize resources;
  • Improve and increase flood risk communication, and present a unified interagency message; and
  • Establish close relationships to facilitate integrated post-disaster recovery solutions.

The Minnesota Silver Jackets team has been active since 2009. The team conducts monthly meetings and supplemental meetings as necessary. The team participates in regional and national flood risk management planning events. Team actions have also been instrumental in successful support of response to and recovery from recent flood events.

Status

The Minnesota Silver Jackets team currently has two interagency projects in Minnesota.

Projects:

  • Mississippi River at St. Paul high water-mark signs, floodplain interpretive public displays and a brochure on floodplain information, expected completion in fiscal year 2023.
  • Flood Emergency Action Plan Workshops are funded for Wright, Clay and Goodhue Counties in fiscal year 2022.

Other activities include updates of the Minnesota all-hazard mitigation plan, the Minnesota Recovers Task Force, the Minnesota Resilient Communities Goal Team, and support of the FEMA RiskMAP flood hazard mapping meetings.

Authority

The Silver Jackets team is a national coordination program activity funded by various authorities: Section 206 of the Flood Control Act of 1960; Section 22 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1974; and the Flood Control Act of 1955 (PL 84‒99).

Funding

Total Federal Project Funds Allocated to Date

Fiscal Years 2012‒2023                                 $803,000