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Tag: USACE
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  • May

    Violation of consent decree in Century Homebuilders Clean Water Act case settled

    A 2006 Clean Water Act violation case against Century Homebuilders has been closed with the receipt of payment of $400,000 in civil penalties plus the purchase of $60,000 in mitigation credits from Everglades National Park.
  • One man’s legacy lives on through scholarship fund

    The Michael Allen Schultz Endowed Scholarship fund was created in 2012 by Schultz’s wife, Susan, in honor of her husband. The fund assists deserving undergraduate, civil, environmental, agricultural or biological systems engineering students enrolled at Iowa State University.
  • Areawide Environmental Impact Statement addressing phosphate mining in Central Florida Phosphate District completed

    The final Areawide Environmental Impact Statement (AEIS) addressing phosphate mining in the Central Florida Phosphate District (CFPD) has been completed and released and a Notice of Availability is scheduled for publication in the Federal Register May 3.
  • Water managers prepare for wet season

    A different challenge facing water managers this year surrounds Lake Okeechobee and a higher water level this year, when compared to the previous two years. On April 23, the lake level was 13.59 feet, more than two feet higher than it was on the same date in 2011 and 2012. The lake has stayed within the Corps’ preferred range of 12.5 and 15.5 feet all winter. As a result, the district has been able to provide regular discharges of water to meet a wide variety of needs, including releases to the Caloosahatchee Estuary to keep the saltwater-freshwater mix in an acceptable range.
  • Corps project manager sets future conditions in Afghanistan

    Robert Medlock, a 10-year veteran of Jacksonville District, just returned from his second deployment with the Corps in February and is now incorporating new skill sets he acquired while overseas into his management of Everglades restoration projects in the district’s Ecosystem Branch.
  • Giant African snails attack south Florida

    The giant African land snail (GALS) is considered one of the most damaging snails in the world, known to consume at least 500 different types of plants and possibly pose a health threat to humans, according to the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) website.
  • An overview of projects and missions in the Antilles

    Puerto Rico, at its widest point, is 110 miles long from east to west and only 40 miles wide from north to south. The main mountain range, La Cordillera Central and the smaller cordilleras that run east-west through the center of the island are sparsely populated, but take up half of the available land. Most of the population lives in the narrow coastal band around the cordilleras. In the mountainous region above the city of Ponce in the south, slopes average 45 degrees and Cerro de Punta, the highest point of the island, at 4,393 feet, is only 14 miles from the coast.
  • Injury underscores importance of 3R safety message

    The potential for encountering military munitions on Culebra and in the surrounding waters is high, and the Corps consistently informs the community about that possibility while promoting safety precautions.
  • April

    Air Potato Roundup yields big results, educates community

    National Invasive Species Week, held March 2 through 8, focused on raising awareness of non-native threats to local ecosystems and endangered species. Invasive species smother native plants and are one of the greatest ecological threats to natural communities, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior, which also estimates the costs to prevent, monitor and control invasive species at about $137 billion annually.
  • Army Family Action Plan

    AFAP is input from the people of the Army to Army leadership. It's a process that allows Soldiers, Department of the Army (DA) civilians, retirees and family members to say what's working and what isn't – and what they think will fix it. It alerts commanders and Army leaders to areas of concern that need their attention and it gives them the opportunity to quickly put plans into place to work toward resolving the issues.
  • Coastal menace from the Carolinas creeps towards Florida

    The rapidly spreading beach vitex, an invasive vine native to countries in the western Pacific, is creeping down the eastern coast from the Carolinas towards Florida, impacting beach stability and endangering sea turtles.
  • National Volunteer Appreciation Week

    Volunteers play a vital role in the success of the recreation and environmental stewardship programs at Lake Okeechobee and along the Okeechobee Waterway. Each year, approximately 350 volunteers provide more than 16,500 hours of service.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers partners with FLW Outdoors to connect America’s youth with the outdoors

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) will partner with FLW Outdoors and the FLW Foundation on future events and activities designed to connect America’s youth to their natural resources while promoting education, conservation and an active lifestyle.
  • Residents learn about proposed confined blasting for Jacksonville Harbor

    When most people hear the term “blasting,” they imagine a cosmic explosion of material that shoots into the earth’s atmosphere and shakes foundations. However, for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville Harbor Deepening Study, the proposed confined blasting technique to remove rock obstacles will sound more like a bullet as it is fired from a gun and will barely cause a blip on the radar.
  • A brief history of the Antilles Office through the eyes of the people

    If the responsibility for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers office in Puerto Rico was a dance, it would probably be closer to the currently popular “Harlem Shuffle” than a salsa. Though responsibility for the office was shuffled over the years from New York to Panama, then to Puerto Rico, and finally to Jacksonville District, the importance of having a Corps office located on the island has never shifted. Corps civilian and military activities in Puerto Rico include administration, coastal defense projects, facilities construction on military bases and flood risk reduction, as well as maintenance and improvement of inland waterways and harbors. Specific navigation projects have included Arecibo Harbor, San Juan Harbor, and Mayaguez Harbor in Puerto Rico.
  • USACE begins Dam Safety Modification Study on Herbert Hoover Dike

    “The Dam Safety Modification Study is a comprehensive, system-wide study intended to identify risks in the system, and to recommend the necessary measures that can reduce the risk of failure,” said Tim Willadsen, HHD project manager. While certain sections of the dike have been studied before, HHD has never undergone a review this comprehensive and detailed. Each segment of the dike will be thoroughly reviewed for its geology and geometry, with particular attention given to scenarios that would cause the dike to fail.
  • Rescued Florida panther released into Picayune Strand

    This year, Earth Day in the south blocks is a very different story. It’s an environmental success story with a variety of subplots. The Picayune Strand Restoration Project, the first component of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) to begin construction, is well under way. Though the project is not yet complete, benefits are already being observed. Groundwater levels have improved and vegetation is recruiting naturally in an orderly succession. Wildlife continues to use the area, traveling long-used trails and open areas, including a bridge across one of the canals near the Merritt Pump Station, even during the construction phase.
  • March

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

    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.
  • Reaching out in South Florida

    Reaching out to the communities we serve, to engage them by providing information as well as seeking their input on our projects and processes, is a basic tenet of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District. From formal meetings about the Central Everglades Planning Project to participating in community-based events, the Jacksonville District team is continuously engaged in a multitude of public interactions in south Florida.
  • December

    Corps responds to Superstorm Sandy

    Hurricane Sandy was the biggest storm yet of an active tropical storm season. It formed south of Jamaica on Oct. 22, smashed through Cuba Oct. 24-25 and began affecting beaches in Florida by Oct. 26. As it moved further north, concern heighted as it merged with another storm, prior to making landfall near Atlantic City, N.J. Oct. 29. Jacksonville District engineers were on alert from the beginning. The district activated its emergency operations center (EOC) Oct. 24 and closely monitored the storm as it moved through the Bahamas. Once reports started circulating about the full range of impacts in New York and New Jersey, several Jacksonville District team members were tapped for duties in a variety of locations.