February 2022

Compatible Use and 

Installation Resilience

Grantee Guide
We are pleased to offer this guide 

to enable States and communities 

to work with their local military 

installations through assistance 

from the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation. Civilian 

leaders and their military counterparts 

routinely work together as a 

community unto themselves, 

strengthening the local public 

infrastructure and services our 

military and defense communities 

alike depend upon, and responding to 

natural and man-made vulnerabilities 

or threats that can adversely impact 

the local mission and well-being of 

their host communities. 

This assistance is highly adaptive to 

meet the specific local needs of any 

given installation and their civilian 

neighbors, and a designated project 

manager will help to optimize this 

support for local needs. Of course, 

any successful effort must first have 

political and financial support that 

leverages local public and private 

civilian leadership and the strengths 

each brings to the effort. This 

publication reflects best practices 

from these partnering experiences 

to date, as well as focus group 

feedback from our prior grantees to 

help understand and work through 

the application of our assistance. 

When read in tandem with our 

Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation Grants Portal Grantee 

Guide, states and communities, along 

with their local installations, should 

find a way forward to work with our 

program of assistance to address 

issues of installation sustainability. 

Our appreciation to Patricia Gray, 

Margit Myers, Scott Spencer, and 

David Kennedy for working on behalf 

of our organization to prepare this 

publication. Additional information 

about the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation, related links, 

and community contacts can be found 

at oldcc.gov.

Patrick J. O’Brien

Director

Letter from the Director
About this Guide

The goal of this Guide is to provide first-time grantees with information on the lifecycle 

of Compatible Use and Installation Resilience projects.

The issues that these types of projects seek to address include, but are not limited to, are: 

• Land use encroachment

• Incompatible development in aircraft runway clear and accident potential zones

• Light pollution

• Energy project siting

• Installation and key infrastructure access (roadway, railway, pipeline, etc.)

• Noise

• Electromagnetic spectrum interference

• Protection from a threat of unmanned aerial and underwater vehicles

• Vertical obstructions

• Incompatible use of land, air, and water resources

• Management of endangered species

• Tidal flooding and storm surge

• Stormwater and floodwater management

• Extreme weather events including wildfire and drought

• Unanticipated changes in environmental conditions

• Energy and water security threats

The Guide serves as a process overview to improve grantees’ grant execution and 

implementation efforts. Throughout, you will find “Pro Tips” with best practices and 

guidance. The last section provides a series of examples of past projects to illustrate how 

other communities found success. 

Finally, you should review the following Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation 

resources as you prepare your grant application and work your project: 

• EADSII Guide (Grants Portal Guide)

• Terms and Conditions

Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 3

Contents

4 Introduction

4 Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation’s Mission

4 Overview of Compatibility and Resilience 

Program Activities 

6 Program Products

8 The Framework

10 The Application Process

10 Project Nomination

12 Nomination Review and Determination

13 Eligibility and Selection Criteria

13 Pre-Application Activity

17 Using the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation Grants Portal

24 Post Award Information and Expectations

26 Conducting the Study 

or Review

28 Scope of Work

36 Compiling the Study

37 Implementation

37 Why Implementation is Important

38 Establishing an Implementation Committee

39 Balancing the Needs of Stakeholders

39 What Recommendations to Carry Out

40 Implementation Strategies and Tools

54 Project Examples

56 Conclusion

57 Appendix
4 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation’s 

Mission

The Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation, in coordination with the other 

Federal Agencies, delivers a program of 

technical and financial assistance to enable 

states and communities to: 

• plan and carry out civilian responses to 

workforce, business, and community needs 

arising from Defense actions;

• cooperate with their military installations 

and leverage public and private capabilities 

to deliver public infrastructure and services 

to enhance the military mission, achieve 

facility and infrastructure savings as well as 

reduced operating costs; and

• increase military, civilian, and industrial 

readiness and resiliency, and support 

military families.

The Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation leverages capabilities of state and 

local partners through grants and technical 

assistance to enhance readiness of installations 

and ranges, and to deliver safe places for our 

military members and their families where 

capabilities do not otherwise exist. 

At the same time, the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation works with states 

and communities to help them respond to 

changes driven by Department of Defense. 

By leveraging the full capabilities of the 

Federal government, the Office of Local 

Defense Community Cooperation helps 

towns, cities, and states plan and carry 

out a future that is both sustainable and 

in alignment with the military mission. We 

enable community action by funding plans 

and studies and by connecting communities 

to other resources and programs.

Overview of Compatibility 

and Resilience Program 

Activities 

The program activities are designed to 

provide technical and financial assistance 

to states and local governments to analyze 

and implement actions necessary to foster, 

protect, and enhance military installation 

sustainability. These program activities 

encompass the previous Compatible Use/

Joint Land Use Study projects as well as the 

recently authorized Installation Resilience 

projects.

These program activities alleviate and 

prevent incompatible development and/

or other man-made or natural installation 

resiliency activities likely to impair the 

continued operational utility of a Department 

of Defense installation, range, special use air 

space, military operations area, or military 

training route. The program activities enable 

states and local governments to work with 

Introduction
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 5

installations to address some community 

needs as well. For example, mission 

operations may impact local development 

but managing requirements in a mutually 

beneficial way may help optimize and sustain 

the mission long term while supporting the 

economic health of the outside community. 

This activity also serves to build a relationship 

bridge between the installation and 

community to foster ongoing communication 

and understanding between stakeholders. In 

addition, compatibility and resilience program 

activities are designed to help communities 

make informed decisions by enabling them 

to partner with local commands to respond 

to, address, and mitigate activities that 

are either impairing or likely to impair the 

use of the installation and protect public 

safety. A benefit of the program activities 

is to establish or reinforce an ecosystem 

of self-sufficient, cooperative civilian and 

military relationships that thrives beyond the 

completion of grant projects.

This Guide encompasses the grant application 

and execution process for projects under 

the two program activities: Compatible Use 

Studies and Installation Resilience Reviews. 

Each type has a separate authority, but can 

be combined in execution. You should work 

with your Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation Project Manager to discuss the 

goals and objectives for your community. 

This will help guide what Assistance Listing 

number (formerly referred to as the Catalogue 

of Federal Domestic Assistance, or CFDA) you 

apply under.

COMPATIBLE USE

Historically, military installations have been 

located in remote areas, due largely to the 

availability of land and for security purposes. 

Over time, installations drew both people and 

businesses closer to the fence line to take 

advantage of civilian job opportunities the 

installation offered and provide the goods 

and services to support the installation’s 

operations. In addition, development and 

changes in regional land use have created 

pressure on natural resources. In some cases, 

these shifts have affected the military’s ability 

to effectively train and accomplish the mission. 

The relevant Assistance Listing number is

12.610 Community Economic Adjustment 

Assistance for Compatible Use and Joint Land 

Use Studies.

INSTALLATION RESILIENCE

Installation Resilience refers to the capability 

of a military installation to avoid, prepare 

for, minimize the effect of, adapt to, and 

recover from extreme weather events or from 

anticipated or unanticipated impacts due to 

natural or man-made resiliency threats that 

do, or have potential to, adversely affect the 

military installation—inclusive of functions or 

operations outside of the military installation 

that are necessary in order to maintain, improve, 

or rapidly reestablish installation mission 

assurance and mission-essential functions.

The relevant Assistance Listing number is 

12.003 Community Economic Adjustment 

Assistance for Responding to Threats to the 

Resilience of a Military Installation.
6 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

13 Encroachment Challenge Areas

Program Products

Within the two project types detailed above, 

the following products are available: 

Compatible Use Study: The Study is a 

vehicle for communities to comprehensively 

understand concerns of the military 

installation, opportunities for civilian 

growth, and to develop responsive strategy 

and implementation actions that work in 

concert with the installation’s missions. 

The Compatible Use Study also provides 

the opportunity for a community or state 

to address concerns resulting from the 

installation’s missions and mission growth. 

Installation Resilience Review: The Review 

identifies risks to resources outside and 

on the installation that are necessary to 

conduct critical missions, allowing for the 

development of a responsive strategy for 

implementation. The Review follows the 

same process as a Compatible Use Study. 

The two project types may be blended. Your 

Project Manager can assist in identifying the 

most appropriate Assistance Listing number 

to use.
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 7

The Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation offers Energy Studies to grantees. 

This study typically brings together state, local and often industry experts, along with the 

military installations within a state or other study area, to identify approaches that allow 

energy development to proceed while protecting military installations and missions. Energy 

Studies can also support planning efforts for redundant energy sourcing and conservation. 

This study is typically part of either the Compatible Use Study or the Installation Resilience 

Review. Your Project Manager can help guide scope development for energy-related 

projects. For more about Energy Projects, please see the Appendix. 

Compatible Use and Installation Resilience 

projects include other products for grantees 

to access, most typically used during the 

Implementation phase. Please see the 

Implementation section of this Guide or 

consult your Project Manager.
8 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

The Framework

The planning framework and overall construct 

for a Compatible Use Study or an Installation 

Resilience Review are organized around three 

strategies that your Project Manager can 

assist with:

Organize

• Stakeholders organize around the 

compatibility and/or resilience issues to be 

addressed,

• Assess the issues and identify the available 

resources, community stakeholders, and 

planning programs that can respond,

• Formalize the partnerships through 

development of a charter or Memorandum 

of Agreement,

• Appoint a joint policy advisory committee, 

or identify an existing committee, 

consisting of all stakeholders to address 

the issues,

• Establish a technical staff working group 

from local planning and administrative 

support staff to provide technical support 

to the policy committee. 

Even with widespread general support for 

a study or review, the organizational phase 

of the process can take several months 

to complete if your locality includes many 

jurisdictions or if consensus is lacking. It 

is important that community and military 

officials recognize that the up-front 

investment of time is critical to building a 

support base at the beginning of the process. 

This includes developing a process for the 

community to speak with one voice: it is 

imperative that the community speak and 

act as one. This will pay extra dividends 

later, when study or review proponents 

PRO TIP

It is at this early phase that you should begin to set expectations with all stakeholders, 

including the public, about the project and the process, such as how long it may take, 

where different stakeholder groups may need to actively participate, and what the 

outcomes can and cannot do. Setting and managing expectations at every phase of the 

project will help ensure all stakeholders understand that the Compatible Use Study or 

Installation Resilience Review is intended to address a specific problem(s), values input 

and participation, but has its limits. 
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 9

seek agreement by affected communities on 

recommendations and implementation.

Plan

This is where grantees begin the joint 

compatibility and/or resilience planning and 

analysis processes by:

• Conducting public meetings and/or open 

houses to help the committees understand 

the nature and extent of the issues, 

• Developing a work plan to address the 

issues,

• Assembling resources and technical 

advisors, and beginning the study process,

• Identifying the community’s strengths, 

weaknesses, opportunities, and threats 

(SWOT analysis) as a basis for issue 

identification and formulation of planning 

goals, objectives, and probable actions,

• Applying the planning process and using 

the policy advisory committee structure 

as the forum to deliberate and reconcile 

issues, and to develop a plan of action,

• Readily sharing information, conducting 

focus groups, holding public hearings, etc., 

to accomplish the goal, and

• Preparing and finalizing the study, 

including business case analyses 

on recommendations, non-binding 

recommendations for action, and 

implementation by all stakeholders. 

Implement

Historically, this is the most critical stage 

in the process. The recommendations in a 

project study or review need to be formalized 

and adopted by the affected governing bodies 

and by the military.

This could be done by:

• Seeking out Federal or state funding 

assistance, if available,

• Incorporating the study recommendations 

into the local government’s 

comprehensive/general plan,

• Formalizing a Memorandum of Agreement 

on how the military will conduct its 

operations, recognizing the positives 

and the necessary negatives for new 

development,

• Adopting and implementing regulations, 

including updates to local zoning code, 

the official adopted zoning map, and other 

implementation strategies, 

• Identifying opportunities for compatible 

use partnerships to secure less than 

fee-simple interest interests in critical 

areas through the acquisition of select 

development rights.

• Continuing a policy committee to maintain 

communication and coordination on any 

emerging issues,

• Creating metrics and tracking tools to 

measure progress and help stakeholders 

know their role in each strategy, action, 

and goal to maintain momentum and 

accountability.

Finally, for any project to succeed, continuous 

monitoring and collaboration between the 

local military installation command and the 

surrounding communities is important, if for 

no other reason than to deal with changing 

circumstances, issues, and objectives of 

stakeholder interests.
10 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

When contemplating a potential nomination, review the status of important installation 

plans and studies such as Air Installation Compatible Use Zone, Environmental Impact 

Statement or Installation Energy and Water Plan. If these plans are out of date or under 

development, it might not be the right time to nominate until the study is complete. If 

you do nominate, consult with your Project Manager about the status of these studies 

and the potential impact to the proposed effort.

PRO TIP

Applying for a grant and working with 

the Federal government and Military 

Departments can be a daunting process. This 

section covers how your community can apply 

for a grant, eligibility criteria, the paperwork 

required for completing an application, and 

some best practices and Pro Tips. 

In reviewing this section, remember that 

Compatible Use and Installation Resilience 

grants are not competitive, therefore, 

the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation’s Project Managers can work 

with you during the pre-application and 

application processes. Project Managers 

provide guidance throughout, from fielding 

initial inquiries to helping communities 

identify, apply for, and manage relevant 

technical assistance and/or grant funding. 

They are your go-to resource.

Project Nomination

The Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation provides two primary ways an 

installation can be nominated for a project. 

One is through a Military Department, 

the other is through a community selfnomination. The Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation’s Project Managers 

and Program Activity Leads are available 

to assist as you prepare the community 

nomination.

MILITARY INSTALLATION NOMINATION

Each year (typically in the Spring), the Office 

of Local Defense Community Cooperation 

puts out an annual call to Military 

Department Leadership for nominations. 

The Military Department may nominate 

installation(s) for Office of Local Defense 

The Application Process
11 Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide

Community Cooperation assistance through 

this annual process. They may also nominate 

installations out of cycle.

When the installation is nominated, additional 

information is needed and is provided either 

in the Military Department nomination 

package or by the Project Manager in 

coordination with the installation:

• Description of the nature and extent of 

existing and potential compatibility or 

resilience concerns that may adversely 

impair the continued operational utility 

of the installation mission. Compatibility 

issues to be addressed can go beyond the 

traditional land use, noise, and flight safety 

issues. Resiliency issues may include natural 

drivers such as climate and weather but may 

also include human related activities.

• Confirmation of the installation 

leadership’s willingness to support and 

participate in a project.

• Description of available technical 

documents describing military operations 

and requirements. Some examples of these 

technical documents are noise studies, 

Get support for the work, by everyone and early in the process. A past grantee 

sent a letter to County Commissioners asking them to publicly support the policy 

committee, which helped increase community buy-in.

PRO TIP

installation energy plans, national resource 

management plans, etc. For an Installation 

Resilience nomination, installations will 

need to provide a summary of their 

existing and planned resiliency efforts 

with a list of source documentation to be 

considered for Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation support. This 

information, or portions thereof, may 

need to be shared with the applicant. If 

the installation has not begun resiliency 

planning activities, then the Office of 

Local Defense Community Cooperation 

may defer the nomination until they are 

underway. 

COMMUNITY SELF-NOMINATION

State and local governments can submit 

an inquiry to the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation expressing a need 

for a Compatible Use Study or Installation 

Resilience Review. This process allows 

the community to self-nominate with the 

installation’s support.

States and local communities are encouraged 

to contact the Program Activity Lead for 
12 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

assistance with a nomination early in the 

process. The Director of the Office of Local 

Defense Community Cooperation may assign 

a Project Manager to assist in developing a 

project proposal. Because grants through 

this program line are not competitive, the 

assigned Project Manager can provide 

guidance, feedback, best practices and 

important insights during this early step. 

A state or community should submit a selfnomination to the Program Activity Lead that 

may include the following details:

• Point of Contact;

• Description of actual/potential 

compatibility or resilience issue;

• A description of the proposed project, 

• A description of the anticipated role 

of the installation(s) in the plan and 

concurrence with the proposal.

If your community is interested in an 

Installation Resilience project, you can 

self-nominate by following this process, 

as outlined on the Office Local Defense 

Community Cooperation website.

Nomination Review and 

Determination

Regardless of how the nomination is made, a 

specific process follows: 

1. When the nomination/community inquiry 

comes in, a Project Manager is assigned to 

assist you on your proposed project.

2. Using the nomination information, the 

Project Manager drafts a Project Directive. 

The Project Directive establishes the 

purpose and background for the project 

and allows the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation to proceed to 

review whether the basis for a project may 

exist in conformity with our core program 

authorities under 10 U.S.C. Section 2391. 

3. After the Project Directive is approved by 

the Director of the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation, the Project 

Manager coordinates with your community 

and the installation and conducts a site 

visit. In some instances, a site visit may be 

conducted virtually.

4. Once the site visit is complete, the Project 

Manager, in collaboration with the Program 

Activity Lead, makes a recommendation 

to either discontinue with a project at this 

time, or proceed with a project through 

preparation of an internal Determination 

and Findings, which establishes the project 

requirements and requires approval by the 

Director with coordination from the Office 

of Secretary of Defense General Counsel.
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 13

5. Once it is determined that the nomination 

is eligible and valid for grant consideration, 

you, as the applicant, and with support 

from the installation, are invited to 

“officially” apply for the grant.

If the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation determines a project is not 

possible at this time, the community and/or 

installation will typically be provided with the 

reasons. Once these issues are addressed, 

the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation may reconsider the nomination.

Eligibility and Selection 

Criteria

The organizations and entities eligible for a 

Compatible Use and Installation Resilience 

grant are: 

• states, 

• counties, 

• municipalities, 

• other political subdivisions of a state, 

• special purpose units of a state or local 

government, 

• other instrumentalities of a state or local 

government, and 

• tribal nations. 

If the organization is not readily identifiable as 

a state or local government, attach a concise 

written legal opinion (on letterhead) by an 

attorney licensed to practice law in the state 

where the applicant is from, opining that the 

applicant is an instrumentality of state or 

local government for that state or community 

or otherwise eligible and what inherently 

governmental functions they perform. Include 

any supporting documentation deemed 

necessary by the attorney, such as enabling 

legislation. Examples available upon request.

The above entities are eligible if:

(a) the Director of the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation determines the 

encroachment of the civilian community is 

likely to impair the continued operational 

utility of the military installation,

OR

(b) the Director of the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation determines the threats 

to the military installation is likely to impair the 

continued operational utility of the military 

installation.

Pre-Application Activity

This section provides a framework for you 

to begin thinking through your project and 

preparing some high-level elements for your 

application. 

At this stage, you should consider the roles of 

participants. Throughout the program activity 

effort, the community, military installation, 

and the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation all play important parts in the 

application process through grant execution. 
14 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

Community

As a Community, you will be expected to: 

• Organize participants to speak with one 

voice on behalf of the affected area.

• Act as the fiscal agent for the grant.

• Administer the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation grant, and ensure 

that reports and updates are provided to 

the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation on time and with the 

appropriate information.

• Fund your part of the effort (typically 10 

percent non-Federal share which could 

be contributed in a variety of ways. Your 

Project Manager can guide you through the 

options.)

• Provide staff time and expertise, as 

communities are expected to staff the 

effort with the appropriate level of 

expertise.

• Ensure broad based community input 

and participation, including through press 

releases, media events, town halls, and 

other communications.

• Provide public information as necessary, 

including through press releases, media 

events, town halls, websites and social 

media, and other communications.

• Engage diverse groups of stakeholders, 

ensuring you have considered who all 

your stakeholders are and that they are 

represented.

• Provide public information as necessary.

• Identify issues and opportunities.

• Resolve issues.

• Implement recommendations.

• Seek and coordinate Federal, state, local, 

and private resources.

Military Installation

The role of the Military Installation is to: 

• Recommend and support the nomination.

• Represent installation interests.

• Coordinate updates and integrate Military 

Department studies to define the military 

mission footprint.

• Provide installation leadership, guidance, 

and technical support to the Policy 

Committee and Technical Advisory 

Committees.

▫ The Installation Commander, or 

designated senior leader, may participate 

in the Policy Committee as a Federal 

liaison member.

• Provide releasable data and information 

for the project such as Air Installation 

Compatible Use Zone studies or Installation 

Energy Plans.

• For an Installation Resilience nomination, 

installations will need to provide a summary 

of their existing and planned resiliency 

efforts with a list of source documentation 

such as Installation Energy and Water 

Plans, evaluations using the Department 

of Defense Climate Assessment Tool, 

Comprehensive Plans with resilience 

incorporated, or hazard risk modelling. This 
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 15

PRO TIP

information, or portions thereof, may need 

to be provided to the applicant.

• Provide comments on draft deliverables 

including a review for any content that the 

installation may determine is not publicly 

releasable.

Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation

The role of the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation for your project is to: 

• Provide an assigned Project Manager for 

support throughout the lifecycle of the 

project.

• Guide and assist proposal development.

• Confirm the community’s need for 

assistance.

• Provide guidance for the community 

to initiate, conduct, and complete your 

Compatible Use or Installation Resilience 

project.

Learn from others who have gone through the Compatible Use or Installation 

Resilience project development process. Work with your Project Manager to contact 

jurisdictions with similar issues as yours, review their project outcomes and reports, 

and use them as a resource. In addition, report examples are available on the Office of 

Local Defense Community Cooperation website at: oldcc.gov/mis-studies.

• Serve as the bridge between the 

community and the installation.

• Identify and facilitate partnerships with 

other Federal agencies.

• Provide technical assistance to the local 

jurisdiction and installation.

• Provide funding assistance to the local 

jurisdiction to conduct the project.

• Create a foundation for a long-lasting 

relationship between the community and 

the installation.

DEVELOPING THE CONCEPT

At this point, you should collaborate with 

your Project Manager and installation staff 

to think through Concept Development. 

In doing so, you should ask yourself: What 

is the compatibility or resiliency issue you 

are trying to address, or challenge your 

community is attempting to overcome?

Your Project Manager will work with you to 

ensure the issue being addressed is within 
16 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

the authority of the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation.

The concept should include the following 

elements:

The purpose of the Compatible Use or 

Installation Resilience plan. How will the 

project promote compatible use or installation 

reslience? Here, you must emphasize efforts 

you will take to ensure the military mission is 

preserved and continues unimpeded. Identify 

concerns or issues that require evaluation. At 

this pre-application point, you may identify 

only a few issues, and then as the application 

process proceeds, more may be uncovered. 

This is not uncommon and should be 

expected. 

A description of local military missions. It 

is important that this covers all aspects of 

the local military missions, including their 

purposes, and the installation’s history. 

The study area. If possible at this point, 

identify the study area. A best practice is 

to broaden the study area beyond what 

may be your initial inclination, to ensure 

the study is comprehensive and accurate. 

A typical range is 1 to 5 miles around the 

installation boundary, but it does not have 

to be contiguous.

The study applicant. This is the organization 

that will take ownership of the study, 

take responsibility for administration and 

management, and ensure the process and 

funds are compliant with the Office of Local 

Defense Community Cooperation Terms and 

Conditions, as well as 2 CFR 200. Your Project

Manager will work with the region to determine 

the best candidate to be the applicant. 

Identification of stakeholders. This may 

include potential committee members, 

partnering organizations, and other 

stakeholders who should be involved and 

would be useful at this point. At a minimum, 

stakeholders should include: 

• The Installation Commander and 

representatives from the military 

installation, 

• Congressional offices where the military 

installation/operations lie within, 

• All jurisdictions where the military 

installation lies within, 

• Other pertinent Federal, regional, and 

state entities or legislatures, 

• Jurisdictions that are affected by high 

noise, spectrum, military training routes, 

or accident potential, 

• Other relevant organizations that may be 

impacted by the study.

If communities or counties beyond those 

in the immediate vicinity of the base 

may be impacted by the installation 

and its activities, they should also be 

included. If civilian airports are affected 

by base operations, the Federal Aviation 

Administration and state aviation agency 

should be asked to participate. 

As you develop the concept, it is important 

to engage with your Project Manager to 

identify how this project further supports 

the defense mission.
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 17

PRO TIP

Using the Office of Local 

Defense Community 

Cooperation Grants Portal

The Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation uses the Grants Portal (often 

referred to as EADS II or SmartSimple), 

which is designed to improve management 

of projects and grants, from inception to 

closure. Once a project has been approved, 

an applicant will be invited to apply for 

a grant. Your Project Manager will send 

you a web link to register and submit your 

application and supporting documentation 

through the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation Grants Portal. All 

aspects of the application process from this 

point forward are to be performed through 

the Grants Portal in coordination with your 

Project Manager.

The Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation must consider whether what 

is proposed in an application is reasonable, 

allowable, and allocable. Your narrative and 

supporting documentation are the sole basis 

for these decisions.

You will have access to an easy-to-use manual 

on the technical aspects of using the Grants 

Portal, including report submissions, etc., 

and your Project Manager will be able to 

assist you during the process. The manual is 

available at OLDCC.gov under “Manage Your 

Grant” and is available under the Training 

tab within the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation Grants Portal.

You have already identified the project 

applicant and the actual Applicant

organization. Now, you need to identify two 

critical roles: 

• Authorizing Official (AO) 

▫ The Authorizing Official role is given to 

the community user who is ultimately 

responsible for the overall grant.

▫ There can be only one AO for a 

community at any given time.

▫ The AO must have the legal authority to 

enter into financial agreements on behalf 

of the organization.

Before starting your application, you should review the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation’s Terms and Conditions, found at oldcc.gov/grant-termsand-conditions. 
18 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

PRO TIP

Start dates begin the first day of the month and end dates are the last day of the month.

▫ The AO is the only user with rights to 

sign the documents that will enable 

them to receive any agreed upon 

funding.

▫ The AO has the authority to sign and 

approve grant applications as well as 

amendments, the Final Performance 

Report, and the Federal Financial Report 

on behalf of the organization.

• Primary Delegated Authority (PDA) 

▫ The PDA is a specific Community 

Contact who is responsible for 

completing the application and any 

requested application revisions and 

performing the day-to-day actions 

(including reports) once a grant has been 

awarded.

▫ The PDA is the counterpart to the 

Project Manager on the community side.

▫ The term “Delegated Authority” means 

that they are entrusted by the AO to 

complete actions with respect to the 

Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation grants on behalf of the 

community.

APPLICATION FORM SF-424

The SF-424 is the base document for all 

Federal grant applications. It is imperative 

that you as the applicant work with your 

Project Manager systematically through 

development of the SF-424. In completing 

this part of your application in the Office 

of Local Defense Community Cooperation 

Grants Portal, you must include: 

• The Assistance Listing number that 

this application falls under: 12.610 for 

Compatible Use or 12.003 for Installation 

Resilience.

• A proposed start and end date. Ideally, a 

proposed start date is within 3 months of 

the application. Most Compatible Use or 

Installation Resilience projects last 12 to 

18 months. 

• Areas affected by project. As mentioned 

in the Pre-Application section above, 

interpret this broadly. Making your area 

affected too narrow may prove to be a 

challenge. 

• A descriptive title of the project.
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 19

• The type of applicant, e.g., state 

government, county government, city 

government, etc. 

• The Congressional district of the applicant 

and project.

• Estimated funding.

APPLICATION NARRATIVE

This is the meat of your application and 

should describe in detail how you will 

accomplish this project. Remember as you 

are making your way through this part of 

the online application, the Grants Portal 

only accepts input in RTF (rich text format). 

However, if you have diagrams, maps, or 

other visuals and graphics that you think will 

aid the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation staff as they review your 

application, you can upload these items as 

separate PDF files. Your Project Manager can 

provide guidance on required content and 

best practices in drafting an application. 

Details to include are:

• Key Personnel: work with your Project 

Manager to identify key personnel, if 

needed. This is typically only one contact 

who is critical to the success of the project.

▫ Include their name, contact information, 

and attach their resume.

• Contractor Services: if you plan on 

procuring contract services for this project, 

detail this. 

• Sub Recipient: if there are sub award 

recipients, include a few sentences on 

who they are and the work they will be 

doing. Remember that you, as the fiscal 

agent, are responsible for sub award 

recipient compliance with Federal grant 

requirements. 

• Grant Deliverables: this list should include 

the name of each deliverable, a brief 

description, and the planned deliverable 

date: 

▫ Identify tangible products and/

or other projected work program 

accomplishments.

▫ Examples include, but are not limited 

to: Compatible Use Studies, Installation 

Resilience Reviews, Infrastructure 

Analysis and Recommended 

Improvements, Energy Studies, Housing 

and Transportation Studies, etc.

• Geospatial Data is a required deliverable 

for the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation: your Project 

Manager will provide you with standard 

language to include, as well as ensuring the 

data will be in the required format. 

• Work Plan: this is a living guide to assist 

in managing your study. It is described in 

detail later in this Guide. 

• Executive Summary Brochures: these 

can be useful tools to educate the public 

about the military mission and the 

recommendations within the study. 
20 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

• Goals related to the Office of Local 

Defense Community Cooperation mission: 

▫ You will select one or more Office of 

Local Defense Community Cooperation 

goals, sorted by program area, that are 

listed in the Grants Portal and that most 

closely relate to your proposed project.

▫ Describe the project goal(s) that are 

aligned with the selected Office of Local 

Defense Community Cooperation goal(s).

▫ Identify objectives to meet the specified 

project goal(s). Objectives should build 

on the identified goals, and be specific, 

measurable, assignable, relevant and 

time bound.

• CAGE Code: your CAGE Code can be 

found in your SAM registration.

• Grant Introduction/Background: describe 

the community, military installation, and 

associated community needs requiring 

assistance. Introduce the Department of 

Defense action to which the proposed 

project responds and demonstrate that you 

meet any eligibility criteria in the relevant 

Assistance Listing by describing the military 

operations, proposed study area, and 

encroachment or resiliency issues being 

addressed.

• Need for Assistance:

▫ Identify the problem(s) to be addressed 

related to encroachment or resiliency 

issues.

▫ Further describe the Department of 

Defense mission to which the proposed 

project responds and demonstrate the 

need for Federal assistance.

▫ Demonstrate eligibility for the Office of 

Local Defense Community Cooperation 

assistance: 

Name and describe the applicant, 

including status as an eligible applicant. 

The applicant name should be consistent 

with the SAM registration associated 

with the Data Universal Numbering 

System (DUNS) number provided in the 

SF-424.

PRO TIP

Consider planning the timing for your grant and grant execution activities to align with 

budget cycles, to sync up with other efforts that may relate to the work, or to avoid 

major conflicts for participants. 
21 Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide

• Grant Abstract:

▫ Provide a brief abstract/overview of the 

activity to be undertaken with the grant 

funds.

▫ The abstract will be publicly available 

online, therefore, do not include 

proprietary or confidential information.

▫ When writing, use active voice. 

▫ Results or Benefits Expected: explain 

how the requested funding will benefit 

the community, meet project goals and 

objectives, and serve the Department of 

Defense and community interests.

• Approach and Timeline:

▫ Describe your approach to meeting the 

identified goals and objectives.

▫ Provide a timeline with milestones for 

the grant period. 

▪ Outline the actions to be taken to 

address the identified problem(s).

▪ Provide specific milestones and target 

dates for each major task listed.

• Scope of Work/Work Program:

▫ Provide a scope of work with sufficient 

detail to support a reasonable cost 

estimate.

▫ Break down the scope of work by tasks, 

and activities within those tasks, and 

identify deliverables for each task, each 

with costs broken down as well.

▫ The scope of work should clearly identify 

tasks and activities required to complete 

the effort identified in the narrative.

▫ If legal expenses are requested, 

demonstrate the need for legal 

assistance, describe the legal activities 

to be performed, and the benefits 

expected.

▫ Attachments: present relevant 

background and socioeconomic data, 

and attach maps or other graphic aids, as 

needed.

BUDGET

The budget is the financial plan for the 

project and includes both Federal and 

non-Federal costs. Work with your Project 

Manager to enter the financial information 

for the grant application into the Budget tab 

in the Grants Portal. The Budget Worksheet 

requires the majority of the information, 

which can be found by clicking the Open 

Budget button. Remember, all proposed 

costs must be allocated across the project 

components. Note that the system does not 

verify if the Budget totals match.

• Indirect Costs

▫ If you are requesting indirect costs, you 

must provide supporting documentation. 

This supporting document must 

be a Negotiated Indirect Cost Rate 

Agreement (NICRA) or a self-prepared 

indirect cost rate agreement.
22 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

▪ Key items to note for the NICRA:

– Negotiated with your cognizant 

Federal agency.

– The Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation funding 

is applicable to Other Sponsored 

Activities only.

– Indirect costs requested should be 

equal to or less than the negotiated 

indirect cost rate.

▪ Key items to note for a self-prepared 

indirect cost rate:

– Only applicable if your entity 

receives less than $35 million in 

direct Federal funding.

– Rate agreement must be on 

Applicant’s letterhead and must 

include the self-certification 

statement located at 2 CFR 

200.415, and the signature with 

date of the Chief Financial Officer 

or equivalent.

• Budget Worksheet

▫ Salary and Fringe

▪ List all positions by title (do not 

provide individual names) that are 

being funded by the grant.

▫ Travel

▪ Consult your Project Manager on 

conference attendance and other travel 

requirements.

▪ Break out local travel from event or 

meeting attendance in other locations.

▫ Equipment

▪ Equipment includes items over 

$5,000; anything under that amount 

shall be placed under Supplies.

▫ Supplies

▪ List out supplies by category such as 

printing, general office supplies, etc.

▫ Other Costs

▪ Other costs can contain items like sub 

award recipient costs or facility rental 

costs for meetings.

PRO TIP

Make sure the dollar amounts in your Budget Worksheet match your attached 

Budget Justification.
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 23

▫ Contractual

▪ Contractual costs can be a single line 

item if only one contract is intended.

▪ Competitive procurement is required 

in accordance with 2 CFR 200.

• Budget Justification 

▫ The Budget Justification is an 

attachment within the Budget 

Worksheet and is used to further 

describe the grant application budget. 

It should include a statement up front 

detailing the basis of your cost estimate, 

for example past experience with 

similar studies or previous Office of 

Local Defense Community Cooperation 

experience. Your Project Manager will 

assist you with the required information 

and format. 

▫ The attachment should provide detail on 

items such as Salary and Fringe:

▪ List out the specific activities that 

each personnel position on the grant 

application is responsible for.

▪ Provide a table with the following 

suggested columns:

– Title

– Hourly Wage

– Total Labor Hours

– Total Personnel Costs

– Total Fringe Costs

– Total Costs

▫ Identify your fringe benefits rate and 

describe what is the basis for the rate 

(example, a cost allocation plan).

ASSURANCES AND CERTIFICATIONS

The Authorizing Official will need to complete 

this section in the Grants Portal. This includes 

the Disclosure of Lobbying Activities required 

by the Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB), authorized by title 31 U.S.C. §1352. 

This information will be reported to Congress 

semi-annually and will be available for public 

inspection. It is only required when lobbying 

has occurred. 
24 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

Post Award Information 

and Expectations

The Grant Agreement is the binding 

document between the Office of Local 

Defense Community Cooperation and 

your organization. Until there is a signed 

Grant Agreement from both parties, your 

community is considered an applicant and 

not a grantee, and only after you countersign the grant agreement are the funds then 

awarded.

Once you are a grantee with the Office of 

Local Defense Community Cooperation, 

there are several formal and informal 

requirements. Formal requirements include 

performance and financial reporting on a 

fixed schedule. Informal requirements largely 

relate to strategic communications tasks 

needed to provide information on your grant 

to those who may inquire about the program 

or your project. This may include a short, two 

paragraph overview of your project; a longer 

project profile outlining the challenge and 

how it is being addressed; and measures of 

progress such as:

• the outcomes arising from your 

engagement with the military installation 

and the number of interactions that 

occurred,

• any deliverables from the project and 

their benefits for reducing impairments to 

the local mission or improvements to the 

resilience of the installation,

• actions from the project that will be 

or have been carried out regardless of 

whether Federal funds are supporting it.

Throughout the life cycle of your grant, 

the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation requires two types of reports: 

quarterly/semiannual Performance Reports 

and annual Federal Financial Reports. Your 

grant agreement and the Grant Portal will 

list the schedule and frequency for these 

reports.

It is important that you submit all necessary 

reports on time. You will use the Office of 

Local Defense Community Cooperation 

Grants Portal to submit all required 

paperwork and to access all the information 

you need: the due dates, list of deliverables, 

and more. For more information on using 

the Grants Portal, including the payment 

process, please see the Grants Portal 

Grantee Guide.

You should review the grant condition for 

payments in the Terms and Conditions 

in addition to the Payment Management 

System Guide to familiarize yourself with 

payment processing. The timing of requests 

for reimbursement may affect the financial 

components of your reports.
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 25

In addition to formal reports, 

communications are also required postaward. You are required to summarize the 

program activity effort undertaken and 

provide details on the military mission, 

findings, and recommendations, as well as 

report any grant-related audit findings to 

the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation.

Remember to record your nonFederal share of expenditures as 

you draw down your Federal funds 

to insure you meet the required 

non-Federal amount.
26 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

Conducting the 

Study or Review

This section provides specifics for developing 

a Compatible Use Study (Study) or an 

Installation Resilience Review (Review), 

collectively referred to in this Guide as 

studies. Both Compatible Use Studies and 

Installation Resilience Reviews follow the 

same process, except for a few areas, which 

we highlight below. 

A study - whether it is a Compatible Use 

Study or an Installation Resilience Review - is 

produced by and for the local jurisdiction and 

is conducted in a collaborative manner with 

all stakeholders, including the local elected 

officials, planning commissioners, local military 

base command staff, community business 

leaders, chambers of commerce, homebuilders, 

real estate interests, and affected residents. 

Studies are intended to benefit both the local 

community and the military installation.

There are several ways to accomplish the work 

necessary in performing a study: in-house, 

sub-award, contractual, and intergovernmental 

agreements. Regardless of how you decide to 

conduct it, the study follows a basic planning 

process, designed to identify compatibility/

resiliency issues confronting both the civilian 

community and military installation, and 

to recommend strategies to address the 

issues. The process is designed to encourage 

communities and the military installation to 

study the issues in an open forum, to the 

extent the information is publicly releasable, 

taking into consideration both community and 

military viewpoints. 

Typically, a Compatible Use Study examines 

the following:

• The local economic profile of the region;

• The impact of the military’s presence on the 

surrounding local economy;

• The existing and proposed land/air/water 

use patterns and activities surrounding the 

military installation;

• The most current technical reports from 

the Army Operational Noise Management 

Program (ONMP), Air Installation Compatible 

Use Zones (AICUZ), and Range Air 

Installations Compatible Use Zones (RAICUZ) 

Program prepared by the military, including 

operational mission profiles and types of 

military aircraft, and tracked or wheeled 

equipment (e.g., heavy or light tanks, artillery, 

personnel carriers, and helicopters) employed 

in testing and training operations;

• Environmental factors such as natural 

cultural resources, wildlife habitat, on- and 

off-base air quality attainment, urban lighting 

(both direct and indirect), dust and smoke 

emissions, and electromagnetic interference;
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 27

• The extent of civilian compatibility 

issues and how it is likely to impair the 

continued operational utility of the military 

installation; and

• The current adopted and approved 

comprehensive/general plan, development 

policies of the local government, and 

existing land use regulations and codes. 

 An Installation Review may include:

• Identifying and assessing natural (climate, 

storm damage) and man-made (energy, 

water, transportation) threats including:

▫ Flooding & Tidal Surge

▫ Wind

▫ Drought

▫ Wildfire

▫ Earthquake

• A review of impacts and consequences of 

identified vulnerabilities;

• A map of existing responsibilities and 

capabilities of installation and surrounding 

communities.

Although the recommendations that result 

from the study are non-binding, grantees 

should make every effort to implement and 

carry out those recommendations that are 

high impact for both the installation and 

the community (please see next section 

Implementation). 

State and local government, and any other recipient or sub-recipient of economic 

adjustment assistance responding to installation resilience needs, will defer to the 

installation command for the security classification of any information or analyses 

including whether it may be publicly disclosed and under what circumstances. 

Grantees will be asked to comply with these classifications and avoid tying specific 

vulnerabilities to specific missions. Grantees are encouraged to include public 

participation as part of their projects, but tailoring them to address any security 

concerns by the local command. Additionally, grantees should ensure deliverables 

arising from assistance reflect their views within the security requirements of the 

local command, noting their conclusions reflect their views and not those of the 

Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation or the Department of Defense. 

To this end, it is recommended all written products produced using this assistance 

be labeled as “Internal Draft Deliberative Process” to comport with the Freedom of 

Information Act. 

PRO TIP
28 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

Scope of Work

The Scope of Work is the foundation of your 

study. If you put in place the appropriate 

elements, engage all stakeholders, and apply 

the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation framework, you increase the 

likelihood of better outcomes for your 

community. Your Project Manager is a good 

resource for recommendations, connecting 

with other grantees working on similar issues, 

and guidance on structuring a Scope of Work 

for effective grant management.

The Scope of Work, or study design, 

specifies what is to be done, how, and on 

what schedule. It is important to develop 

a comprehensive workplan early in the 

organizational phase of the process. Besides 

specifying the Scope of Work, it can be 

used to clarify roles, responsibilities, and 

expectations for all major study participants, 

and it can serve to explain and “sell” the 

project to local governments. It should also 

function as an internal management tool to 

keep the project on track and on schedule. 

During the study process, there are a 

number of factors that may be examined. For 

compatible use, these include, but are not 

limited to:

• Air Space and Land Restrictions

• Airborne Noise 

• Urban Growth

• Spectrum Encroachment

• Endangered Species/Critical Habitat

• Energy Compatibility and Availability

• Air Quality 

• Water Quality and Quantity

• Cultural Resources

• Marine Resources

• Security

• Climate Resilience

Resilience factors include but are not limited to: 

• Water Availability

• Stormwater

• Wastewater

• Installation Energy

• Operational Energy (logistics infrastructure)

• Transportation (Logistics)

• Installation Access

• Communications

As you embark on this process, the first 

thing you have to answer is, “what is the 

purpose of the study?” This should be in the 

Scope of Work from your grant application 

to the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation and should offer specifics about 

the study. It is critical that in establishing the 

purpose, you include information on how this 

study provides value to the Department of 

Defense, as well as to your community. 

As you are considering your Scope of Work, 

you may find that there are issues that are 

beyond the scope but are still important issues 

to your community. Including a notation in 
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 29

your study that these issues are beyond the 

scope (even noting who owns it - i.e. the state, 

an agency, or municipality etc.) will help make 

clear that that these issues were not ignored, 

but that this study is not the appropriate venue 

for them. 

CONTRACTORS

Once you answer the question about why 

you are doing this, you need to consider 

how you are going to conduct the study. As 

indicated above, there are several ways to 

do this: in-house, sub-recipient, contractual, 

and intergovernmental agreements. These 

methods are not mutually exclusive and can 

be used in combination. When assessing how 

to conduct the study, you should consider 

staff workload, staff subject matter expertise, 

and costs associated with the various options. 

The Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation recommends consulting your 

Project Manager when making a decision on 

the method of execution.

If you are using a contractor, a best practice is 

to develop a procurement strategy. This will 

define your process for seeking qualified firms 

for purchased services and help you assess the 

best method of bundling project components 

and assuring a pool of qualified proposals. 

The Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation is impartial as to who is selected 

and for what reasons, but we do require the 

process to be competitive. Grantees need 

to follow the procurement regulations and 

requirements under 2 CFR 200. Your Project 

Manager can assist you in determining which 

procurement options may apply.

Regardless of the contractor you select, you 

are responsible for the time management and 

the process. As the grantee, you drive this 

entire process. 

COMMITTEES

At this point, you need to put together the 

committees and their structures. The study 

needs a Policy Committee and a Technical 

Committee. Often, an existing local group or 

organization can be repurposed to serve as a 

Policy or Technical Committee.

The Policy Committee should represent 

elected officials from participating 

jurisdictions, the military installation 

leadership, and senior representatives from 

other interested and affected agencies (like 

an airport authority) and the state. The policy 

committee is responsible for: 

• the overall direction of the study, 

• preparation and approval of the study 

design, 

The Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation encourages grantees to 

share Requests for Proposals (RFPs) 

through both local and national outlets 

to ensure you receive a diverse group of 

proposals. Your Project Manager can help 

you identify specific channels, as well as 

connect you with other communities that 

have gone through the process. 
30 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

• approval of draft and final written reports, 

• approval of policy recommendations, and 

• monitoring implementation of the adopted 

policies.

The policy committee will meet initially to 

understand the purpose and expectations 

of the study process, decide on what will be 

studied and what resource commitment each 

participant should make, and determine the 

membership of a subsidiary working group 

that will be charged with study preparation. 

The installation commander serves in an exofficio (non-voting) role.

It is important that the policy committee has 

proper representation from state and Federal 

legislative interests for their awareness and 

support. 

Technical Committee(s) may have varying 

degrees of control over the activities. Ideally 

a technical Point of Contact from both the 

grantee organization and military installation 

is on both committees, for coordination 

and accountability, and to provide 

continuity, coordination, and consistent 

flow of information to both groups. Certain 

situations might require some creativity in the 

arrangement of the committees and groups 

depending on the existing community and 

military installation dynamics.

Membership of the technical advisory 

committee might include area planners, city 

and county managers and their professional 

staff, military base planners, local airport 

manager(s), transportation planners, 

economic developers, representatives from 

the business and development community, 

Federal Aviation Administration officials, 

natural resource protection organizations, 

and other subject matter experts as needed. 

Membership on the technical committee may 

be expanded at any time during the study 

process, if new technical issues emerge.

The first committee meeting might also include presentations from officials 

of other communities that have completed a Compatible Use Study or 

Installation Resilience Review. This can be helpful in gaining the support of 

local leaders and should be considered as a useful start-up tool. 

PRO TIP
31 Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide

The graphic below details a typical 

organizational structure of a Compatible 

Use or Installation Resilience Committee, 

illustrating the role of stakeholders and how 

each fit into the overall process. 

Sub-committees are created based on the 

above committees and participants. 

Both committees should tour the military 

installation. This helps ensure an understanding 

of the installation’s mission, can offer a view 

of the compatibility issues, allows members to 

meet leadership, if possible, and more. 

Finally, as you think through your committee 

members, plan for changes and transitions in 

personnel that will impact either the Policy or 

Technical committees. Your Project Manager 

can help recommend other members who can 

act as “back-ups” or alternates. 
32 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

To perform outreach and encourage public participation - especially during a time 

when group meetings are not being held in person - consider running a virtual 

webinar or forum, that allows for online comments. You can hold this live two or 

three times, at different times of day to ensure those who want to participate live 

can, and then make a recording available on the website for others to access. 

PRO TIP

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

An often overlooked, but critical, part of 

the Work Plan is public participation. The 

types of public information and participation 

activities, and the number, will vary 

depending on your community - the size, 

the density - as well as the Scope of Work of 

the study and all the affected jurisdictions. 

However, this part of the process is 

necessary for successful outcomes. 

A best practice for public outreach and 

participation is a combination of activities 

to ensure the public is fully informed about 

the study and has an opportunity to voice 

an opinion and share ideas. Public meetings 

are typically held at the beginning of the 

process to inform the public of the goals 

and steps and again when there are draft 

recommendations, to solicit public comment. 

Some items to consider when planning for 

public participation are:

• a brochure or other printed material 

providing an overview of the need and the 

study process,

• holding public forums or meetings (these 

have to be publicized appropriately), more 

than one, at different times of the day, 

• newsletters,

• media announcements, press packets,

• website.

Another best practice is to continue your 

public information campaign through the life of 

the study and implementation. As mentioned 

earlier, ensuring that all stakeholders are aware 

of the Scope of Work, what the process for 

the study and implementation is, and what 

it can and cannot address will help manage 

expectations.
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 33

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

An important part of the work plan is data 

collection and analysis, including inventory 

and mapping, to inform and guide the 

study. This should include the collection 

of all relevant studies, plans and data from 

the military installation and participating 

jurisdictions, as well as other entities, 

in order to conduct the appropriate 

analysis during the study process. Data 

and mapping should fully encompass the 

relevant study area.

Some Examples of Activities to Consider:
34 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

Some Examples of Activities to Consider:

You should plan to organize and format your 

data so that it will be manageable to transmit 

to the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation at the end of the grant, and 

possibly to partnering stakeholders and even 

the military installation, especially if the 

project includes the creation of geospatial 

data or mapping tools. Your Project Manager 

can provide the standards for the file format. 

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

Having a conflict resolution plan in place 

is necessary for a project of this size and 

type. This plan will include identifying the 
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 35

Develop policies and procedures for communications between partners and stakeholders, 

including military leadership. There is a natural transition over time of people on both 

the community and installation side, so a formal communications structure should be 

developed that is position-based. 

PRO TIP

factors and issues, and how you will address 

them. This plan will be rolled into the 

Recommendation and Action Plan. 

 The conflict resolution plan could include the 

following activities: 

• Identify areas of current compatible use 

conflict, the type of conflict and impact; 

• Identify areas of future potential conflict, 

the type of conflict and impact;

• For areas where land use is identified 

as compatible, review sustainability and 

assess risks; 

• Identify both land and sea mobility corridor 

conflicts, the type of conflict and impact; 

• Conduct risk appraisal of vulnerable assets;

• Identify areas where potential disruption 

to or failure of systems or facilities could 

result from significant storm events, or more 

gradual climate/sea level rise-related changes, 

including but not limited to utility systems, 

evacuation routes, and the critical flow of 

people, goods, and services that support the 

installation and future recovery efforts;

• Identify what is environmentally and 

economically feasible to execute by 

presenting a business case review to yield 

what would be viewed as recommendations 

that represent the comparative advantage 

for the local jurisdictions to implement;

• Identify gaps in resiliency planning 

among the installation and surrounding 

communities, considering the needs 

associated with climate adaptations, 

infrastructure improvements, and rapid 

response to significant storm events.

Create recommendations for what will be 

needed in a toolbox based on what was 

uncovered in your Scope of Work process. 

Recommendations could include policies, 

regulations, ordinances, agreements, etc., to 

address existing incompatibility issues and 

guide future compatible development (or 
36 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

resilience), to protect and preserve military 

readiness and defense capabilities while 

supporting continued community economic 

development and climate adaptation. The 

toolbox might also include modified design 

standards, operating strategies, maintenance 

strategies, and/or construction practices. 

Once you get to the Implementation part of 

the project, the tools and who is responsible 

for creating or owning them will be identified. 

An action plan should be developed that 

details what your community will actually do 

to prioritize implementation. Typically, this 

would include short term (1-2 years), medium 

term (3-5 years), and long term (6-10 years) 

tasks, assignments of responsibilities, and 

where the funding will come from.

Compiling the Study

Putting together all the information for the 

final Study or Review so that it is readable is 

almost the final step. The following outline 

provides one example of a format for a 

Compatible Use Study and an Installation 

Review. 

COMPATIBLE USE STUDY AND 

INSTALLATION RESILIENCE REVIEW 

OUTLINE

I. Executive Summary

II. Study Purpose

III. Organization

IV. Background Information

V. Technical Information

VI. Recommendations

VII. Implementation Strategies

VIII. Monitoring Plan

IX. Study Phasing (chart or graph)

X. Project Cost & Fund Sources
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 37

The Compatible Use Study, Installation 

Resilience Review, Compatible Energy Siting 

Study, and the other products are planning 

tools. They help communities, states, and 

regions identify issues and define strategies 

for addressing the issues. 

If selected to do a study, implementation 

actions should be taken to support the 

installation. The Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation assistance is available 

to help carry out recommendations. In the 

absence of the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation assistance, grantees 

should work through Federal and state offices 

for assistance to support implementation. As a 

matter of course, the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation expects that grantees 

will make every attempt to implement the 

recommendations resulting from the studies. 

This section addresses the importance of 

implementing recommendations from the 

studies addressed in earlier sections, and 

what tools and strategies are available to 

jurisdictions in doing so.

The Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation may fund implementation 

activities. A new grant application may 

be required. A good time to discuss this 

with your Project Manager is before the 

study portion is complete.

Implementation

Why Implementation is 

Important

Compatible Use and Installation Resilience 

are community-driven program activities 

in which all parties conduct cooperative 

strategic planning to solve issues to preserve 

the installation mission. The Compatible 

Use Study and the Installation Resilience 

Review both represent a truly collaborative 

planning process among the installation, local 

jurisdictions, stakeholders, elected officials, 

and the community. The recommendations 

are the product of a consensus among 

the participants, and provide a practical, 

coordinated approach to ensure military 

readiness.

If the recommendations are just left as 

good ideas in a report, the intent of the 

study is not yet accomplished. Through 

actual implementation, the community and 
38 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

the military are able to fulfill the goal of the 

study and work together to create a thriving 

community, while maintaining support for the 

mission of the installation. 

Each of the implementation recommendations 

incorporate at least one action - often 

times more - that can be implemented 

to promote compatible land use, prevent 

encroachments upon the military mission, 

mitigate existing incompatibilities, address 

resiliency concerns, and facilitate tools to aid 

the community in their goal of ensuring the 

continued sustainability of the military mission. 

Collectively, these strategies represent an 

assertive and coordinated approach that will 

demonstrate the community’s commitment 

to that goal. The implementation process can 

eliminate or significantly mitigate existing and 

potential compatibility issues arising from the 

civilian/military interface. The recommended 

strategies function as the heart of the 

Compatible Use Study and the Installation 

Resilience Review and are the culmination of 

the planning process.

Establishing an 

Implementation Committee

Establishing an Implementation Committee 

is the key to implementing the strategies 

identified in the study. The Implementation 

Committee should be formed from the 

existing Policy Committee established during 

the study process.

Ideally, the Implementation Committee 

should be comprised of: 

• decision makers,

• executive directors, and

• elected officials.

In addition to the above, the garrison or 

installation commander serves as an ex-officio 

non-voting member of the Committee. 

Through this committee, local jurisdictions, 

the military installation, developers, and other 

stakeholders can continue their collaboration 

to establish procedures, recommend or refine 

specific actions, and make adjustments to 

strategies over time to ensure the study 

continues to resolve key sustainability issues 

into the future through realistic strategies and 

implementation. Appropriate local jurisdictions 

and local stakeholder groups, especially those 

engaged in a sustainability issue at the local 

level, should be formally invited to participate 

as committee members to ensure local input 

and social inclusion.

The Implementation Committee provides 

policy direction, project oversight, and 

has ultimate decision authority over the 

Implementation process.
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 39

Balancing the Needs of 

Stakeholders

A critical component to a successful 

Implementation Plan - and often one of the 

most challenging - is balancing the different 

needs of all stakeholders involved. 

Local stakeholders and landowners impacted 

by (or creating an impact on) the local military 

installation need to be fully engaged in the 

implementation process. This will increase land 

use compatibility and cooperation between the 

community and the military installation. 

Implementation participants typically include:

• Landowners and affected residents;

• Business alliances and chambers of 

commerce;

• Private enterprise and affected property 

owners;

• Local and regional government agencies;

• State and other Federal agencies;

• Conservation and environmental groups;

• Utilities and service providers;

• Transportation and infrastructure interests; 

and 

• Schools, colleges, and other educational 

organizations.

The list of participants will vary depending 

on the proximity of the installation and its 

impacts to other land uses and their impacts 

on the installation.

Stakeholder Outreach

Stakeholder outreach should occur in the 

form of stakeholder interviews conducted 

throughout the implementation process. This 

is similar to the process you engaged in during 

the Scope of Work, as detailed earlier in this 

Guide. It is important to engage as many 

stakeholders as possible, to fully understand 

the opportunities available to the community 

and the military installation. Stakeholders can 

offer data, forecasts, and opinions to solidify 

the implementation process.

What Recommendations to 

Carry Out

The process for implementation can be 

confusing and complicated. Not only will 

the recommendations themselves vary, 

but the processes and procedures of how 

recommendations are implemented will vary 

based on the municipalities responsible. 

As challenging as it may be, it is through 

actual implementation that your community 

and the military are able to fulfill the goal 

of the Compatible Use and Installation 

Resilience program activities and work 

together to create a thriving community 

while continuing to support the mission of 

the installation.

Each recommendation from the study 

is designed to incorporate one or more 

actions that can be implemented to promote 

compatible land use, prevent incompatibility 

with the military mission, mitigate existing 

incompatibilities, and facilitate compatible 
40 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

future development. The recommendations 

should be evaluated for priority, high impact, 

the length of time necessary to complete 

them, and be assigned a primary stakeholder 

to inform an implementation action plan. In 

addition, implementation actions should be 

economically and environmentally sustainable. 

The recommendations function as tools to aid 

your community in ensuring the continued 

sustainability of the military mission.

The recommended strategies are often 

categorized into groups that provide a general 

description of what the recommendation will 

entail, such as: 

• Communication and Coordination

• Policy

• Study

• Program or Process

The purpose of each strategy is to: 

• Eliminate or reduce existing compatibility 

issues where possible,

• Avoid future actions, operations, 

or development that would cause a 

compatibility issue; and 

• Provide for enhanced and on-going 

communications and collaboration. 

Implementation 

Strategies and Tools

Strategic areas of implementation can include:

• interagency and public coordination,

• compatible business and economic 

development,

• training mission strategies,

• joint land conservation and protection,

• local government planning, guidelines, and 

regulation, and

• constructing new infrastructure.

There are many implementation tools 

available to carry out these strategies. 
41 Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide

IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS

Military Influence Overlay Districts (MIOD) 

A Military Influence Overlay District may be 

established to ensure that the continually 

changing mission of the installation is 

protected to the maximum extent possible 

while also fostering the vision of the 

community. The Military Influence Overlay 

District modifies the underlying zoning 

districts and controls in the event of any 

conflict with zoning district regulations.

Military Influence Areas (MIA), also known 

as Military Compatibility Areas (MCA) 

These may be established as zones within the 

Military Influence Overlay District. Examples of 

Military Influence Areas or Military Compatible 

Areas may include, but are not limited to: 

• Noise Zone, 

• Renewable Energy Development Zone, 

• Vertical Obstructions Zone, 

• Safety Zone, 

• Frequency Zone.

These should reflect the type and intensity 

of compatibility issues your community 

is addressing and may be tied into a GIS 

web portal. 

The MIAs/MCAs may be used by your 

jurisdiction to identify areas where specific 

compatibility issues are more likely to occur. 

These areas are meant to provide insight and 

education for future land planning decisions 

based on the likely location of the military 

installation operational impacts and are used 

to identify where certain recommendations 

from the study will apply. 

Implementation of the military installation 

MIAs/MCAs and associated strategies for 

these zones are intended to: 

• Create a broader framework for making 

sound planning decisions around military 

installations;

• More accurately identify areas that can 

affect or be affected by military missions;

• Protect the public’s health, safety, and 

welfare;

• Protect military missions;

• Identify a compatible mix of land uses for 

consideration; and

• Promote an orderly transition and rational 

organization of land uses around military 

installations.
42 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

The State of Washington produced state-level legislative recommendations to address 

encroachment, such as the Defense Community Compatibility Account, which provides 

state-funding for local compatibility projects. The state also developed a State 

Guidebook on Military and Community Compatibility for planning at the state and local 

levels. Washington is a strategic partner committed to the long-term viability of the 

Department of Defense mission in the Northwest. 

Community/Military Compatibility 

Reference Guide

A guidebook can increase a state or region’s 

capacity for stakeholder engagement and 

technical assistance to planning professionals 

and other stakeholders involved in civilianmilitary land use. A State Guidebook on 

Military and Community Compatibility can:

• Serve as a mechanism for improved lines 

of communication between stakeholders 

and commerce, and provide an aid to 

collaborative planning for communities 

across the state; 

• Introduce compatibility with information 

that is relevant to a range of stakeholders, 

including but not limited to developers, 

military personnel, and the general public; 

• Provide technical guidance for compatible 

planning under the state’s land use 

framework;

• Discuss challenges, opportunities, programs, 

and best practices for compatibility topics 

common to the state; and

• Present information and resources that 

support local-level community and military 

coordination.
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 43

GOVERNMENT PLANNING

Comprehensive Plans

Land use planning and regulation is part of 

the government’s role in protecting the public 

health, safety, and welfare. Local jurisdictions’ 

comprehensive plans and zoning ordinances 

can be the most effective tools for preventing 

or resolving land use compatibility issues. The 

comprehensive plan is the local government’s 

basic statement of land use policy, and 

creation of a plan is the primary function of 

the local planning commission. In some states, 

where plans have the force of law, local 

governments may mandate land use through 

the plan. In other states, the comprehensive 

plan is advisory only. Nonetheless, the plan 

does reflect the vision of the community and 

the direction in which the community sees 

itself moving.

To help implement the recommendations and 

strategies from the study, jurisdictions should 

consider amending their comprehensive 

plans to include a military compatibility 

element. This will ensure that compatibility 

and encroachment issues with the installation 

are included in the community’s land use and 

economic priorities.

Real Estate and Noise Disclosure 

Statements

Many states do not require that sellers 

and lessors of real estate in the vicinity 

of military installations make known to 

prospective buyers and lessees the existence 

of known off-installation impacts. However, 

local jurisdictions may offer voluntary real 

estate disclosure statements for use in the 

compatible use focus area. The primary 

purpose of using real estate disclosure 

statements is to inform parties to a real 

estate transaction, such as the buyer, seller, 

and real estate agents, of any impacts that 

do result from the presence of the military 

installation and its operations. For this 

reason, voluntary disclosure forms can 

serve as a very inexpensive and practical 

tool that may reduce noise complaints and 

incompatibilities in the future.
44 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

Memorandum of Understanding

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is an 

agreement between different organizations that 

sets forth the basic principles and guidelines 

under which the organizations will work to 

accomplish a common goal. Memorandums 

of Understanding may be binding or nonbinding in nature, although, in this context, it 

is more typical to use agreements that are not 

legally binding, as in the nature of a contract 

or “intergovernmental agreement.” Though 

non-binding, a Memorandum of Understanding 

provides explicit guidance for the military 

installation and its neighbors, should they 

wish to memorialize coordination efforts, such 

as proposed development review, through a 

written agreement.

STATE LEGISLATION

As part of a Compatible Energy Study, or 

other projects, the Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation can assist grantees 

with the drafting of state and local legislation 

and ordinances. 

One example is the Oklahoma House Bill 

2118, enacted into law in 2018. The bill 

provides that no individual wind turbine or 

any other individual structure requiring a 

Federal Aviation Administration obstruction 

evaluation shall encroach upon or otherwise 

have a significant adverse impact upon 

the mission, training, or operations of any 

military installation or branch of the military 

as determined by the Military Aviation and 

Installation Assurance Siting Clearinghouse 

and the Federal Aviation Administration. 

The Clearinghouse issues Mission 

Compatibility Certification letters to 

developers once potential adverse impacts 

have been resolved. The Oklahoma statute 

has been tested and has proven effective 

in protecting vital airspace, missions, and 

installations within the state. The Department 

of Defense is pursuing similar approaches in 

other states and is currently working with six 

states on legislation.
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 45

FEDERAL PARTNER COORDINATION

Establishing Conservation Buffers 

(Readiness and Environmental Protection 

Integration, Sentinel Landscapes)

The Readiness and Environmental Protection 

Integration (REPI) Program uses voluntary 

agreements between military service 

branches and states, political subdivisions 

of states, and non-Federal conservation 

organizations to help protect training grounds 

from the negative impacts of encroachment. 

These agreements provide for the voluntary 

purchase of easements in the vicinity of 

military and national guard installations from 

willing sellers, which helps create a buffer 

area around military training, operating and 

testing areas. Readiness and Environmental 

Protection Integration proposals are 

submitted by installations through their 

respective service headquarters and should 

define a successful conservation “end-state” 

that includes an achievable conservation goal 

in the event Readiness and Environmental 

Protection Integration funding is awarded. 

Application criteria and procedures are 

accessible at www.repi.mil.

The Army’s easement program, the Army 

Compatible Use Buffer (ACUB) Program, 

allows installations to contribute funds to 

a state government or private conservation 

organization for the purchase of easements 

or properties from willing landowners. 

This allows the installation to have some 

form of a buffer without actually acquiring 

the land used to create it. The original 

property owner, the state, or the private 

conservation organization holds the interest 

in the property, in each case, not the Army. 

Typically, the original property owner 

continues to hold title to the property but 

receives monetary compensation and tax 

advantages in exchange for limiting its use 

in a way that preserves habitat and avoids 

interference with the nearby military training 

and testing functions. Additional information 

on the Army Compatible Use Buffer Program 

is provided at aec.army.mil/index.php/

conserve/ACUB.
46 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

The Sentinel Landscapes Partnership is a 

broad coalition of Federal agencies, state and 

local governments, and nongovernmental 

organizations that works with private 

landowners to advance sustainable land 

management practices around military 

installations and ranges. The Departments of 

Agriculture, Defense and Interior established 

the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership in 2013 

to strengthen military readiness, bolster 

agricultural productivity, preserve natural 

resources, and increase access to recreation. 

The Natural Resources Conservation Service 

runs this program, which helps farmers and 

ranchers improve their land in a way that 

benefits their operation, enhances wildlife 

habitat, and enables the Department of 

Defense training missions to continue. 

Other Department of Agriculture easement 

programs of interest include The Farm 

and Ranch Lands Protection Program, 

the Wetlands Reserve Program, and the 

Grasslands Reserve Program.

Alternative Energy Planning — 

Coordinating with the Department of 

Defense Siting Clearinghouse

The Department of Defense Military 

Aviation and Installation Assurance Siting 

Clearinghouse is a critical resource advancing 

state legislation to prevent incompatible 

energy development, especially wind turbine 

that impacts military missions. 

In working with the Office of Local 

Defense Community Cooperation, energy 

developers, state energy officials, or Military 

Departments, the Clearinghouse serves 

as a one-stop shop for ensuring that all of 

the Department of Defense’s concerns are 

highlighted and that missions and installations 

are protected. The Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation requests a review 

from the Clearinghouse and participation 

in state-wide energy studies to make sure 

that the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation and Department of Defense 

Military Aviation and Installation Assurance 

Siting Clearinghouse projects support the 

goals of all Department of Defense and the 

National Defense Strategy. The Clearinghouse 

should be involved on all energy siting or 

energy legislation related projects.
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 47

STUDIES

Transportation and Housing Studies

The implementation of the Compatible Use 

Study or Installation Resilience Review can 

often lead to additional studies or projects 

that need to take place before the next 

steps of implementation can be carried out. 

A transportation study may be necessary to 

analyze the use of a specific road or region. 

The study can determine potential funding 

sources for improvements that could include 

measures for safe and efficient traffic flow. 

A housing study may be necessary to ensure 

the resiliency of the compatible use priorities 

within the project. A housing study can 

determine if there is an adequate supply 

of housing and if the price of the housing 

market is in line with the community’s needs. 

The housing study can include an analysis 

within the study area to determine the 

current market threshold for housing and 

price points. 

Other studies that may be conducted as 

part of implementation activities include 

Feasibility Studies, Technical Analyses for 

Small Area Studies, Resiliency Infrastructure 

Design and Business Operations Plans.

Magnitude 6.4 and 7.1 earthquakes 

affected Naval Air Weapons Station 

China Lake and the surrounding 

communities in July 2019. The 

earthquake epicenters and associated 

thousands of aftershocks were located 

in and around China Lake, but in 

remote areas about 10 miles from main 

infrastructure. This event highlighted 

several vulnerabilities to the resilience 

of the aged and aging energy and water 

infrastructure distribution systems for 

the installation, City of Ridgecrest, and 

the surrounding communities. The City 

of Ridgecrest has engaged a consultant 

to conduct an Energy and Water 

Resilience Study that will identify and 

analyze vulnerabilities to be addressed 

by the region. This study is meant to be 

comprehensive in identifying critical and 

aging infrastructure, points of failure 

(energy and water), transportation 

limitations, the need for water 

importation, flood, wind, heat, extreme 

weather, drought, and chronically 

overdrawn water table as natural risks, 

and communication risks, in order to 

create an action plan to support the 

continued mission readiness of Naval Air 

Weapons Station China Lake.

PROJECT EXAMPLE:

Energy and Water Resilience Study
48 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

TECHNICAL TOOLS

Vertical Constraints Map — 3D Imaginary 

Surface Modeling

The purpose of the Vertical Constraints 

Map is to monitor and recommend the 

height of all structures and buildings within 

the area defined by the Federal Aviation 

Administration guidance and Department 

of Defense instructions known as imaginary 

surfaces. The imaginary surfaces are 3-D 

geospatial areas that include approach and 

departure airspace corridors and safety 

buffers. The height of buildings and structures 

is a major concern for flight operations and 

training due to the potential for a structure 

to extend into navigable airspace and impede 

safe flight operations, which can put both 

pilots and citizens on the ground at risk from 

an aircraft mishap. Vertical obstructions that 

can affect flight safety include, but are not 

limited to, cell towers, power lines, wind 

turbines, buildings, and trees, depending on 

their distance from the runway or location 

within flight paths. The Vertical Constraints 

Map is broken into sub areas that relate to 

each of the different imaginary surfaces to 

monitor and recommend heights of structures 

based on which imaginary surface the 

underlying land falls in.

The San Diego Association of 

Governments (SANDAG) is undertaking 

the San Diego Region Installation 

Resilience project. The project aims 

to: (1) add installation resilience 

components to work underway on 

the Central Mobility Hub in the San 

Diego region and (2) establish a process 

for providing a replicable framework 

with dependable and consistent data 

to incorporate into the regional plan 

and military installation planning 

efforts. The focus of this effort will 

be the Central Mobility Hub and 

regional data sharing framework, 

focusing on collaboration between 

local jurisdictions and Naval Bases San 

Diego, Coronado, and Point Loma.

PROJECT EXAMPLE:

Installation Resilience
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 49

Establishing a GIS Web-Based Portal

Local jurisdictions can work together 

collaboratively to develop a publicly 

accessible and interactive GIS web-based 

portal to share GIS data (military footprints, 

existing land use, zoning, and other relevant 

GIS data) to promote enhanced, long-range, 

and coordinated compatibility planning. 

In addition, a protocol for accessing 

and updating the information should 

be developed to ensure accuracy and 

appropriate security measures are established 

to continuously enhance the portal and 

ensure the data is kept up to date.

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension 

Service has developed a web tool created 

for planners and developers to utilize prior 

to development in areas which may impact 

military training and operations (Texas 

Early Notification Tool (TENT); http://

tent.nri.tamu.edu/). This tool currently 

provides users access to geospatial and 

point of contact information that helps 

facilitate early communication between 

industry developers and military planners. 

PROJECT EXAMPLE:

Texas Early Notification Tool

49

Redstone Arsenal is developing a 

Three-Dimensional Imaginary Surfaces 

GIS Model and Interface of Areas 

Surrounding the installation. The 

three-dimensional model will depict 

allowable heights for the Federal 

Aviation Administration and Existing 

Military Operation Surfaces (EMOS) 

requirements of Redstone Arsenal. 

This model will assist in efforts to 

eliminate vertical obstructions (trees, 

buildings, towers, structures) within the 

imaginary surface areas surrounding 

Redstone Arsenal.

PROJECT EXAMPLE:

Redstone Arsenal 
50 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

Coconino County, AZ, is creating 

lighting database in support of Naval 

Observatory Flagstaff Station. They 

are cataloging all existing lighting that 

does not meet Code to ensure future 

compliance. They are also developing an 

outreach campaign targeting individual 

residences, with a focus on higher 

impact, non-compliant neighborhoods 

that would be otherwise inefficient 

to address on an individual basis. This 

campaign is using graphically designed 

material to be utilized towards educating 

on the importance of maintaining dark 

skies and advertising the mission of the 

local observatories.

PROJECT EXAMPLE:

Non-Compliant Lighting Database Dark Sky Lighting Requirements

Light and glare can impact military night 

vision operations and certain flight 

operations. Local jurisdictions can adopt 

“dark skies” ordinances that minimize 

urban sky glow and the potential for light 

trespass onto adjacent properties. Dark skies 

requirements initiatives may be pursued as 

part of legislation. Specific zoning can be 

addressed for light encroachment issues 

adjacent to the installation boundary. The 

lighting ordinance should also include 

regulation of lighting such as LED billboards 

in important flight paths and the approach 

and departure corridors and provide 

standards for steel light poles to reduce 

lighting trespass and utilize more energy 

efficient lighting methods. Partnering 

communities can educate their constituents 

and explore implementation of “dark skies” 

lighting standards for all fixtures and adopt 

lighting regulations in their zoning laws.
51 Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide

As a result of an Office of Local 

Defense Community Cooperation 

investment, the State of Mississippi, in 

conjunction with local communities, 

gifted $3M to construct a Bird/

Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard (BASH) 

airfield fence totaling 15 miles. This 

planned fence, which is scheduled for 

completion by the summer of 2021, will 

minimize Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Strike 

Hazard concerns, increasing flight 

safety to enhance the Naval Air Station 

Meridian pilot training mission. 

PROJECT EXAMPLE:

Bird/Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazards

The primary recommendation made by 

the Federal Aviation Administration is a 

minimum separation distance between an 

airfield and wildlife attractants. Wildlife 

strikes with aircraft can pose serious safety 

threats, including the potential destruction 

of aircraft and loss of life. Even minor wildlife 

strikes can result in costly repairs to aircraft 

and impact training missions.

The minimum separation distance extends 

five miles out from the entire perimeter of 

the airfield operations area, including paved 

and unpaved areas associated with aircraft 

movement such as runways, taxiways, and 

aprons. The five-mile distance associated 

with Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazards is 

based on Federal Aviation Administration 

recommendations for managing 

wildlife attractants around runways. 

Recommendations may include managing 

wildlife species, coordination on land use 

outside of the installation to minimize 

wildlife concentrations, and developing 

educational materials for communities and 

residents on the types of uses that attract 

wildlife that could pose hazards to aircraft.
52 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

As a result of an Office of Local Defense 

Community Cooperation investment, 

nine local jurisdictions around Kansas are 

enacting land use restrictions to protect 

the Federal Aviation Administrationapproved Grey Eagle Unmanned Aerial 

System 57-mile flight corridor from Fort 

Riley’s Marshall Airfield to the Smokey 

Hill Air National Guard range.

PROJECT EXAMPLE:

Non-Compliant Lighting Database

Unmanned Aerial Systems

The Federal Aviation Administration 

has enacted restrictions and/or bans on 

Unmanned Aerial Systems flying over areas 

such as national parks, military installations, 

and within a five-mile radius of medium and 

large airports. Unmanned Aerial System flights 

are banned from flying in any of the airspace 

over a military installation, in accordance with 

Federal Aviation Administration regulations. 

Unmanned Aerial Systems should not be 

operated in the area within a five-mile radius 

extending out from an airfield or airport, 

without prior coordination and approval from 

either the Military Installation Commander or 

the Airport Manager.

Sound Attenuation and Noise 

Reduction Measures

It is recommended that residential 

developments and other noise-sensitive 

land uses consider sound attenuation 

construction measures to reduce interior 

noise impacts and achieve a maximum 

interior noise level of 45db DNL. Without 

proper sound attenuation to reduce interior 

sound levels, certain noise-sensitive 

developments such as homes, schools, 

healthcare facilities, and churches are 

considered incompatible where noise levels 

reach 65db DNL or greater. Uses that are 

compatible within airfield noise contours 

include office/retail and manufacturing/

industrial when interior noise levels are 

less than 70db DNL. If prescribed sound 

attenuation ordinances are determined not 

to be necessary due to personal preferences 

of property owners, providing educational 

materials or real estate disclosures for 

existing and future property owners and 

residents can help to alert buyers on the 

potential for noise impacts in areas close to 

the military installation.
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 53

Construction

Constructing new infrastructure or 

enhancing existing infrastructure is often an 

essential solution for mitigating concerns. 

The Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation does not typically fund 

construction activities, but applicants 

are welcome to apply for competitive 

construction programs such as the Defense 

Community Infrastructure Program. Other 

Federal programs that may be of assistance 

for resiliency construction projects include 

the Federal Emergency Management 

Agency’s Building Resilient Infrastructure 

and Communities Program, and the National 

Fish & Wildlife Foundation’s National Coastal 

Resilience Fund.
54 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

NAVY

Naval Submarine Base New 

London: $320K results in $2.3M 

State investments to support new 

weapon platform

Project Examples

In the last twelve years, the Office of Local 

Defense Community Cooperation has 

provided more than $50M in funding for 103 

projects across the U.S.

It is the only direct Federal assistance to 

help states and communities work with the 

Military Departments to promote compatible 

civilian development in support of the longterm sustainability and operability of military 

installations, including ranges, special use 

airspace, military operations areas, and 

military training routes.

The projects in this Guide are presented 

as an illustration of some of the work that 

the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation has funded under the 

Compatible Use and Installation Resilience 

program activities.

As a result of a $320K Office of Local 

Defense Community Cooperation’s 

investment, the State of Connecticut 

invested more than $2.3M in land 

purchases and infrastructure projects 

that prevent or mitigate civilian 

encroachment of missions at Naval 

Submarine Base New London. This 

effort included the purchase and 

demolition of a marina across the 

Thames River from the base that 

impaired the Navy’s ability to dredge 

a turning basin wide enough to 

accommodate new Block V Virginiaclass submarines as Electric Boat ramps 

up to build the Columbia-class Ballistic 

Missile Submarines and the Virginia 

Payload Module. 
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 55

MULTI SERVICE 

State of Oklahoma: $797K grant halts 

incompatible energy development

AIR FORCE

Joint Base Langley-Eustis: $200K 

results in $5.2M buyout of Accident 

Potential and Clear Zone conflicts

ARMY

Fort Knox: $250K protects $35M upgrade 

to Yano Range Complex from encroachment

As a result of a $250K investment by the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation, local jurisdictions in the Fort Knox region are working closely with the 

Garrison to control nearby civilian housing development that previously caused the Fort 

to shift an artillery firing position, as well as other civilian activities that threatened the 

use of a $35M upgrade to the Yano Range complex. 

As a result of a $200K investment by 

the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation, the Commonwealth of 

Virginia provided $5.2M, which the 

community around Joint Base LangleyEustis is using to acquire property 

located in the Clear and Accident 

Potential Zones at base. Study efforts are 

underway for the Commonwealth and 

the communities, working closely with 

the Air Force and Army, to address flood 

mitigation and storm water management 

to support the installation. This includes 

the rerouting of traffic and relocation of 

the Langley Main Gate. 

As a result of a $797K investment by 

the Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation, the Oklahoma Governor/

Attorney General intervened to halt a 

large wind-power project that would 

have impacted local training missions. 

Two other projects were also cancelled 

due to incompatibility. This effort is now 

establishing regulatory protocols for the 

state to exercise in collaboration with 

the Department of Defense to ensure 

future projects are compatible with 

military missions.
56 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

Conclusion

Through the Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation’s Compatible Use 

Studies, Installation Resilience Reviews, and other projects, your community can 

leverage grants and assistance to conduct a number of different planning studies 

that allow your community, city, or state to continue to benefit economically 

from local military installation activities, and to continue to contribute to the 

defense of our nation.

As you think through your grant application and how to conduct your study, 

following this Guide will help you avoid many pitfalls and challenges associated 

with conducting a community growth study while working with the Military 

Departments.

Most importantly, use the expertise of your Office of Local Defense Community 

Cooperation Project Manager “early and often.” Your Project Manager, especially 

early in the application process, can provide you with recommendations, 

best practices and even contacts of past grantees to help make the process a 

successful endeavor for your community and the military installation.
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 57

Appendix

Energy Projects and the Military Aviation and 

Installation Assurance Siting Clearinghouse

Clearinghouse Mission Summary: The mission of Military Aviation and Installation 

Assurance Siting Clearinghouse is to protect the Department of Defense’s military 

readiness and operational capabilities from incompatible energy development. 

The Clearinghouse does this by collaborating with Department of Defense 

components and external stakeholders to prevent, minimize, or mitigate adverse 

impacts on military training, testing and operations.

Relationship of the Clearinghouse Mission to Projects within the Compatible 

Use and Installation Resilience Portfolio and the Case for Consultation: For 

Compatible Use and Installation Resilience projects involving energy development 

and its compatibility with Department of Defense missions, the Clearinghouse can 

be a valuable resource for consultation during the development of a project, as 

well as for assistance as a project advances. For example, the Commonwealth of 

Virginia coordinated with the Clearinghouse on a statewide grant to study energy 

compatibility for both on and off shore with military mission. Many of the issues 

were complex and had a significant history which must be brought into the study. 

The Clearinghouse provided comments on the project before it was awarded, and 

during the effort by providing personnel to assist the project’s technical evaluation 

team. The Commonwealth appreciated assistance, which included all three of the 

primary Clearinghouse functions delineated below.

Establishment, Authority and Framework for the Clearinghouse: Congress 

established the Clearinghouse in section 358 of the National Defense 

Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2011 and subsequently modified and 

codified these requirements in title 10 of the U.S. Code, which addresses the 

Armed Forces. This law gives the Department of Defense a voice within the 

Federal Aviation Administration Obstruction Evaluation Airport and Airspace 

Analysis (OE/AAA) Program and sets clear guidelines for the Department of 

Defense’s interactions with the public on energy project proposals. Under this 

statute, the Department of Defense may only object to development of energy 

projects when unacceptable risks to national security cannot be feasibly and 

affordably mitigated. It is important to note that these objections are advisory 
58 U.S. Department of Defense Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation

only, and are not binding on the Federal Aviation Administration, the project 

proponent, or permitting authorities at the state or local level.

THREE PRIMARY FUNCTIONS:

The Clearinghouse has three primary functions: 

• Mission Compatibility Assessments: The Federal Aviation Administration and 

the Clearinghouse perform two different functions when reviewing proposed 

energy and energy-related structures. For wind turbines over 200 feet or near 

an airfield, the Federal Aviation Administration assesses whether a structure 

presents a hazard to air navigation or degrades the safe and efficient use of 

the navigable airspace. The Clearinghouse determines whether the structure 

presents an unacceptable risk to national security and reports those findings to 

the Federal Aviation Administration. That determination is only made after full 

discussions with the developer. 

A Department of Defense assessment will identify any feasible and affordable 

actions that can be taken by the Department of Defense, the developer of 

the project, or others to mitigate the adverse impact and to minimize risks 

to national security while allowing the project to proceed. If the parties are 

successful in finding a solution, a mitigation agreement is signed by the 

developer, the lead Military Department, and the Assistant Secretary of Defense 

for Sustainment.

• External Engagement: The Clearinghouse maintains a website accessible to the 

public to provide applicants, project proponents, requesters, and members of 

the public with available information necessary to help them participate in the 

military mission compatibility evaluation process. The Clearinghouse conducts 

and oversees outreach and strategic communication efforts in support of the 

military mission compatibility evaluation process, including the development of 

procedures for early outreach. The Clearinghouse seeks to identify proposed 

projects and areas of concern, communicate potential adverse impacts on military 

activities, and promote compatibility between all energy projects and energyrelated projects and defense-related activities and national security concerns. 

One tool identified to facilitate the outreach effort is known as a Geographic 

Areas of Concern and is intended to improve public awareness by describing 

where military activities can reasonably be expected to be adversely affected by 

future energy project or energy-related project development.
Compatible Use and Installation Resilience Grantee Guide 59

• Development of Technical Mitigation Strategies: The Clearinghouse 

advocates for the development and deployment of mitigation technologies 

and modeling with respect to the impact of projects on military operations 

and readiness. The Clearinghouse established and maintains a standing 

working group to advise on the development and execution of analytical 

modeling and simulation tools, comprehensive studies, technology 

demonstrations and evaluations, necessary to identify and validate reasonable 

and affordable mitigation solutions. Congress has enabled the Clearinghouse 

to accept voluntary contribution of funds to offset the cost of measures 

undertaken by the Secretary of Defense of mitigate adverse impacts of 

identified projects on military operations and readiness.

Additional Clearinghouse Focus Areas which are of Interest to Compatible Use 

and Installation Resilience projects:

• State Legislative Engagement: Because the Federal Aviation Administration 

and the Department of Defense determinations are advisory and not binding on 

developers or permitting authorities, it is in these cases where the Department of 

Defense encourages, and needs, state support where the Department of Defense 

cannot reach agreement with an energy developer. While the Department of 

Defense has the ability to object to the project through the Federal Aviation 

Administration’s Obstruction Evaluation Airport and Airspace Analysis process, 

this objection by a Federal agency does not prohibit construction.

• Mapping and support to Compatible Use and Installation Resilience 

projects: The Clearinghouse utilizes GIS data to develop maps depicting 

the geographical overlap of public development and military mission and 

operations areas.
2231 Crystal Drive, Suite 520, Arlington, VA 22202

P: 703-697-2130 • oldcc.gov