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  • April

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is nearing completion on new family housing units at the U.S. Army's Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah. The energy-efficient homes are expected to achieve LEED Platinum certification.

    Going Green: Corps-built homes in the LEED

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- On military installations throughout the nation, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has built hangars, fire stations, barracks and homes in a sustainable, energy-saving way, saving taxpayer dollars and working in collaboration with other federal agencies and partners.
  • The Portland District and city of Portland are partnering to restore fish passage through Crystal Springs Creek. The Corps is installing wider, natural bottom culverts, a key element of recovery of endangered juvenile salmon and trout species.

    Going Green: Restoring salmon to an urban park

    PORTLAND, Ore. -- Crystal Springs Creek is one of thousands of small streams flowing through the Pacific Northwest. Most provide ideal habitat for fish, but this creek has not supported fish passage for about 40 years. "We have accounts of salmon dating from the 50s, 60s," said Ronda Fast, Environmental Program Coordinator, Portland Bureau of Environmental Services.

  • Europe District claims 2012 division safety award

    WIESBADEN, Germany – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District boasted the top safety record, practices and procedures in all of North Atlantic Division last year. The district was recognized for its “creative, effective and tireless efforts” to save lives and families within a broad and varied area of responsibility, according to a citation received in the fiscal year 2012 USACE Chief of Engineers Awards for Safe Performance.

  • Albuquerque District, Acoma Pueblo enter into Corps’ second watershed cost share agreement

    ACOMA PUEBLO, N.M.-- Albuquerque District and Acoma Pueblo entered into a watershed cost share agreement recently under the Section 203 Tribal Partnership Program.
  • Staff Sgt. Jackie Wallace works on the Corps' Olmsted Locks and Dam, Ill. construction project on the lower Ohio River. His internship is via the Operation Warfighter program for convalescing wounded warriors.

    Louisville District supports service members: Operation Warfighter helps Soldiers assimilate into workforce

    During the fall of 2012, Louisville District’s Chief of Construction Division Kirk Dailey began the district’s involvement with the Department of Defense Operation Warfighter program.
  • ARLINGTON, Va. – Contractors are putting the finishing touches on the new 62,820-square-foot Columbarium Court 9 here. The $12.9-million-dollar facility will add 20,292 niche spaces and extend the availability of first inurnment to 2024.

    Court opens up niche space at Arlington

    Work is wrapping up on the new 12.9-million-dollar, 62,820-square-foot Columbarium Court 9, which is slated to be the final columbarium court in this section of the cemetery. The new facility increases the cemetery’s inurnment capacity by 20,296 niche spaces.

  • Activities help USACE celebrate Earth Day

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is marking the 33rd Earth Day with celebrations far and wide, and as diverse as possible, running the gamut from simple cleanups to educational activities for young and old alike. Headquarters Corps of Engineers will participate once again in the National Sustainable Design Expo April 18 and 19 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
  • Aerial view of Alamo Dam

    Going Green: USACE LA District continues innovative partnership

    LAKE HAVASU, Ariz. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District has helped develop a strong partnership at Alamo Dam and along the Bill Williams River to continue sustaining our nation's economic and water resources. "Originally, the dam's functions were flood control, water conservation and recreation," said Rene Vermeeren, the LA District's chief of Hydrology/Hydraulics Branch.
  • The Sacramento District is nearing completion on the second of four solar microgrid projects at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif. Phase 1 was completed in April 2012 and generates one megawatt of power, enough energy to power 250 to 300 homes. Phase 2, scheduled for completion in May 2013, will generate an additional one megawatt of power. Along with the energy production, the panel arrays form a canopy that will shade the majority of the post’s vehicles. Fort Hunter Liggett is one of six pilot installations selected by the U.S. Army to be net zero energy, meaning the installation will create as much energy as it uses.

    Army Corps of Engineers helps build 'green' military installation of future

    SACRAMENTO, Calif.-- Army and sustainability? Using those two words in the same sentence several years ago would have probably been considered the punch line to a joke. But today, a military base that is both environmentally friendly and meets the needs of warfighters, is quickly becoming a reality.
  • Lance Cpl. Joseph Marshall, a squad automatic weapon gunner with Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, waits for the sun to rise in Southern Marjah District, Helmand province, Afghanistan, March 23, the first day of Operation Watchtower. Marshall is from Glenallen, Alaska.

    Engineering a difference

    Thumbing through the pages of his chartreuse logbook where he writes down thoughts, project plans and drawings, Capt. Antonio Pazos stops to point out a particular drawing. It’s a rough sketch diagram of how the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and federal and state engineers designed a dewatering plan to remove 400 million gallons of water from the Brooklyn Battery and Queens tunnels after Hurricane Sandy slammed into the East Coast Oct.29, 2012.

  • Engineering a difference

    Captain Antonio Pazos was in the Hurricane Sandy emergency operations center, simultaneously gathering progress reports for 14 projects which included the tunnels, preparing reports for the New York’s emergency operations center and controlling the flow of water. It was right where a self-identified adrenaline junkie was meant to be.

  • March

    A contract worker watches as a crane moves a 1,200-ton rotor as part of McNary Lock and Dam's stator winding replacement near Umatilla, Ore. in August 2010.

    Going Green: Corps hydropower is clean, reliable, efficient, flexible, renewable and sustainable

    WALLA WALLA, Wash. -- In the Pacific Northwest, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers produces significant hydroelectric power for the nation at its dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. Hydroelectric power is clean, reliable, efficient, flexible, renewable and sustainable. The Corps of Engineers is the Nation's largest producer of hydropower, and one of the largest in the world.
  • Socorro, N.M., -- Ryan Gronewold, Albuquerque District's Rio Grande coordinator, measures the water level in the Rio Grande with a calibrated survey rod. Amanda Green, a Department of the Army Intern in the District, records the data.

    Going Green: The Silvery Minnow and the Rio Grande

    The bosque, or forest, surrounding the Rio Grande River, is the longest continuous forest of cottonwood trees in the world. As signs of spring begin to show in the bosque, environmentalists, biologists and others continue their efforts to understand river flow issues along the Middle Rio Grande.
  • DNA seeps into water from a dead silver carp on a barge. Asian carp DNA surveillance programs determine the presence of Asian carp by detecting the genetic material (DNA from shed cells in slime, feces, urine, etc.) in water samples to correlate DNA detection with the possible presence of invasive silver carp or bighead carp.

    Going Green: Protecting our Great Lakes from the invasive Asian carp

    "Working with our partners to protect our national treasures, our Great Lakes, from aquatic nuisance species is critical," said U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Chicago District Commander Col. Frederic A. Drummond Jr. "The Corps mission is about sustaining our water resources, sustaining our communities and sustaining our nation's economic resources."
  • A New York City transit worker inspects an access point to a flooded subway being pumped out Army Corps of Engineer workers in lower Manhattan, Nov. 3, 2012.

    Picking up after Hurricane Sandy

    WASHINGTON-- The Army Corps of Engineers is still involved in relief efforts following Hurricane Sandy, which slammed into the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Oct. 29. The Corps' latest efforts are being fueled with $5.35 billion from the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, signed into law Jan. 29.
  • U.S. Army Spec. Dave Balisican stands in front of the $38 million Tactical Equipment Maintenance Facility project site at Schofield Barracks where he worked with District project engineers and managers as part of the a quality assurance team.

    Wounded Warriors Gain Hands-On Experience with Army Corps of Engineers

    FORT SHAFTER, HI - The Honolulu District has developed working relationships with two Wounded Warrior units: the Warrior Transition Battalion based at Schofield Barracks and the Marine Wounded Warrior Detachment based at Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe.
  • Brig. Gen. Thomas Kula, Southwestern Division commander, Developer George Schuler, Col. Michael Teague, Tulsa District commander, Denison Mayor Jared Johnson and Rep. Ralph Hall attend commemoration of land sale to city of Denison, Texas.

    Army Corps of Engineers transfers land in Texas

    In a ceremony held at Lake Texoma recently, a commemorative document celebrating the transfer of 600 acres of Lake Texoma shoreline to the City of Denison, TX ., was signed by Congressman Ralph Hall Texas 4th District, Jared Johnson, Mayor, City of Denison, Brig. Gen. Thomas Kula and Developer George Schuler.
  • (From left to right) David King, Ph.D., Zeki Dmemirbilek, Don Ward and Lihwa Lin, are the team members performing the computer modeling efforts in Vicksburg, Miss. The end result will assist Norfolk District engineers with designing a jetty that will maximize the benefits within the alloted $3.6 million to design and build it for the residents Tangier, Va.

    For eroding island, engineers' efforts start with models

    NORFOLK, Va. -- Waterman and residents on the tiny, sinking island of Tangier worry every time the winds blow through the fishing community at more than 30 miles per hour. The island, located in the Chesapeake Bay just below the Maryland and Virginia border, is sinking and eroding away -- a dilemma that's expedited by churning storm waters.

  • USACE design chief handles heavy workload in Europe

    WIESBADEN, Germany – Colleagues and customers alike regard David Muellerleile as a stalwart ally when it comes to meeting the needs of garrisons and bases across Europe.
  • (From left to right) Dr. David King, Zeki Dmemirbilek, Don Ward and Lihwa Lin, are the team members performing the computer modeling efforts in Vicksburg, Miss. The end result will assist Norfolk District engineers with designing a jetty that will maximize the benefits within the alloted $3.6 million to design and build it for the residents Tangier, Va.

    For eroding island, engineers' efforts start with models

    Researchers are using wind, wave, turbidity data and more to understand the conditions in the Tangier Federal Navigation Channel and harbor. The resulting computer model will help determine what type and size of jetty will protect the waterway and harbor from wave attack, ultimately saving the local watermen tens of thousands of dollars in repair costs during storms.

  • For eroding island, engineers' efforts start with models

    A team of engineers and researchers with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineering Research and Development Center, Coastal Hydraulics Laboratory in Vicksburg, Miss., is gathering wind data on Tangier Island, an island in the Chesapeake Bay that is sinking and eroding away, especially when strong winds churn storm waters.
  • The hopper dredge B. E. Lindholm from Weeks Marine Inc., was called in to dredge when hazardous shoaling in the Thimble Shoals federal navigation channel was discovered and one side of the navigation lane was closed.

    Corps responds to emergency dredging in Thimble Shoals federal channel

    NORFOLK – Hazardous shoaling in the Thimble Shoals federal navigation channel launched action between local and federal agencies as they raced to reopen a closed navigation lane. The Virginia Pilots Association alerted the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, of the hazard on March 13, and within hours, a survey team was mobilized.
  • In addition to constructing the one-mile bridge, 9.7 miles of roadway will be modified to allow for increased water levels in the L-29 Canal that will flow beneath the bridge. Seventy-five percent of the roadway has been completed, and the Tamiami Trail Modifications project is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

    Completion of critical project milestone celebrated for Tamiami Trail One-Mile Bridge

    JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Federal, state and local officials stood atop 5,280 linear feet of restoration progress as they came together to celebrate the completion of the Tamiami Trail one-mile bridge March 19 in Miami, Fla.
  • Erin Juergens, a logistics management specialist with the Norfolk district, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was doing what she did best just before boarding a plane from Virginia to South Bridge, Mass.: last-minute packing. Juergens was one of two Corps employees and 144 civilian participants from all branches of the military attending the 2013 course. Approximately 600 people applied.

    Leading lady: Classic character, modern methods

    Juergens, a logistics management specialist with the Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was doing what she did best just before boarding a plane from Virginia to South Bridge, Mass.: last-minute packing.

  • US, German leaders gather for annual meeting

    FREIBURG, Germany – Senior leaders from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District, along with representatives from German federal and state construction ministries, came together last month to discuss progress, tighter collaboration and new initiatives during the 2013 Bauamt Partnering Meeting. The annual gathering, first held in 1992, is aimed at building a stronger understanding between the partners, better coordination and highlighting developments.

  • USACE leads CQM course to sharpen quality control

    WIESBADEN, Germany – U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Europe District has kicked off its 2013 slate of Construction Quality Management courses, conducted quarterly for contractors awarded projects requiring this certification. The first session took place Feb. 25-27 at the Wiesbaden Entertainment Center.

  • Far East District, DoD schools sign STEM agreement

    SEOUL, Republic of Korea - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Defense Schools Korea District signed an education partnership agreement at Seoul American High School. The partnership will center on support for the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics initiative, better known as STEM.
  • Compliance and Enforcement Section Chief of the Fort Worth District Regulatory Branch David Madden reviews current compliance documents with other regulatory specialist during an offsite training session.

    Swamp rats, an 1899 act and why waters of the United States are important to you

    FORT WORTH, Texas - The Fort Worth District's Regulatory Branch Web page may not be a page you have in your favorites or one that you may frequent often, but developers, consultants and the people who work in the branch use it every day to make decisions that impact just about every person in Texas.
  • An artist's rendering conceptualizes the new access control point for the U.S. Army Garrison Camp Parks Reserve Training center in Dublin, Calif., The access control point will include a modernized main gate; a 4,300-square-foot administration/police department building; a 1,200-square-foot visitor center; and a mail room. The first phase is expected to be completed and operational by April 2014. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District's real estate office is overseeing a 180-acre transfer of land in exchange for an estimated $66 million in modern facilities for Camp Parks over the next several years"the largest Army Reserve real property exchange agreement in Department of Defense history.

    Ground breaks for largest-ever Army Reserve land exchange

    SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District attended a groundbreaking ceremony March 6, 2013, at the U.S. Army Garrison Camp Parks Reserve Training center in Dublin, Calif., to kick off the first construction phase of the largest Army Reserve Property Exchange Agreement in Department of Defense history.
  • Gathright Dam located in Alleghany County, Va., impounds the water flowing down the Jackson River to create the 2,500 acre Lake Moomaw. The dam has prevented numerous floods over its 30 plus year existence saving countless dollars and lives. (U.S. Army Photo/Patrick Bloodgood)

    Gathright Dam begins routine, controlled flood release

    The Norfolk District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began a controlled flood release at Gathright Dam near Covington, Va., at 8:30 a.m., today.