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Levees are a vital part of modern flood risk management. They are part of flood defense systems that may also include flood walls, pumping stations, gates closures, and other associated structures. These elements work together to reduce risk to human life and reduce economic damages from flood events. — USACE extends comment period on draft National Levee Safety Guidelines

'The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced today it is extending the comment period on the draft first edition of the National Levee Safety Guidelines to Aug. 31, 2024. The guidelines were developed with stakeholder input under the National Levee Safety Program and released for public review on...'

7/19/2024
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HQ USACE NEWS RELEASES

Water Resources Development Act of 2024 public comment period

March 6, 2025

News Stories

February

12 Feb 2020
DOD budget request seeks 3% pay raise for service members
President Donald J. Trump's request for $705.4 billion to fund the Defense Department in fiscal year 2021 prioritizes readiness and modernization, the strengthening of alliances, performance and accountability reforms, and service members and their families.
12 Feb 2020
Several Mississippi scour repairs complete
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Memphis District, Wynne Area Office, River Engineering and various construction partners recently delivered on yet another construction contract ahead of schedule, within budget and with zero safety incidents.
12 Feb 2020
Field trip to Redstone helps Huntsville Center LDP group expand leadership horizons
The U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville’s 2020 Leadership Development Program I group expanded their knowledge base during a team-building trip to the Prototype Integration Facility and NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center area of operations Jan. 31, 2020.
11 Feb 2020
Pole Vaulting is Life Changing for Survey Deputy; Son’s Success Rekindles Interest
When you haven’t played a sport for many years that you once excelled in, some people can still regain that prowess. Such is the case for New York District Deputy Survey Chief John Mraz, Survey Section, Operations Division, who set pole-vaulting records in high school 30 years ago.
11 Feb 2020
New York District marks start of WOSI Work
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today announced measures to reverse flood damage west of Shinnecock Inlet after two storms in October 2019 resulted in severe erosion and large losses of sand along the shoreline. The damage threatened properties west of the Shinnecock Inlet, including Dune Road, an evacuation route, commercial fishing plants, marina facilities, and public restaurants. USACE has awarded a $10.7 million contract to Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Company of Oakbrook, Illinois, to address the significant coastline storm damages encountered at the West of Shinnecock Inlet Coastal Storm Risk Reduction Project on the south shore of Long Island.
11 Feb 2020
The Importance of Dredging the Oregon Inlet
USACE Wilmington Public Affairs staff visited the Dredge Merritt while it was conducting operations on the Oregon Inlet.
11 Feb 2020
Hopes of leaving a city of 'marble'
“One of my favorite quotes is ‘Urbem latericium invenit, marmorea reliquit – I found a city of bricks and left a city of marble.’ – Caesar Augustus, recorded by Suetonius,” Structural Engineer Shane Boehmer said. “So for me, when I end my deployment in 2021, I want to leave Iraq knowing my efforts made the coalition bases and Iraqi bases safer and better, thus improving the quality of the lives for the soldiers on those bases.”
11 Feb 2020
The District bids farewell to a supercharging Soldier
Soldiers make up a healthy portion of the USACE regiment, bringing discipline, leadership and devotion to the duty for which they are given the opportunity to engage in. The Afghanistan District was honored to share the same platform with a young Soldier with high caliber skills.
10 Feb 2020
19-0735 Plaquemines Parish
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New Orleans District (CEMVN), is reviewing a request for permission to modify a USACE Project under Section 14 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and codified in 33 U.S.C. 408 (“Section 408”). The project to be modified or altered is the New Orleans to Venice East Bank Hurricane Bank Levee (NOV-01), Phoenix to Bohemia Polder Levee System Reach C project in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. The proposed modification is to fill nine (9) non-operational culverts at four (4) locations with lightweight grout to stabilize them in order to be permanently abandoned in place and maintain the integrity of the levee.
7 Feb 2020
Huntsville Center REM Program helps counterparts meet Army energy goals
The accomplishments of one resource efficiency manager with the U.S. Army Reserve at Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, is proving that leveraging Huntsville Center’s expertise is a force-multiplier in meeting the Army’s energy goals.

News Releases

22 Apr 2020
PUBLICATION NOTICE: Operation and Deployment Risk Assessment Report for the City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Alternative and Sequencing Optimization for Removable Flood Barriers
ABSTRACT: The City of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, partnered with engineering firms and the US Army Engineer District, Rock Island (MVR), to develop a Flood Control System (FCS). In 2011, the US Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory (ERDC-CHL), was tasked with completing a risk assessment of removable floodwalls on the eastern side of the Cedar River. In 2016, ERDC-CHL was asked to include the temporary flood closure barriers on both sides of the Cedar River. Phase 1 of the study consisted of seven alternatives to be considered for the final FCS design, with a goal of a 90% confidence of successful deployment. Phase 2, initiated by MVR, targeted a 95% confidence level. The method used for evaluation was RiskyProject® software. The software used a Monte Carlo method of analysis to determine a range of durations, manpower, and labor costs based on logical sequencing. The results showed that the “Master Plan Minus 400 ft” alternative to be the most efficient for Phase 1. The most efficient alternative for Phase 2 was Task 5.4, which achieved a 95% confidence level of completion within 48 hours. The Phase 1 and the Phase 2 descriptions are detailed within this report.
22 Apr 2020
PUBLICATION NOTICE: A Practical Two-Phase Approach to Improve the Reliability and Efficiency of Markov Chain Monte Carlo Directed Hydrologic Model Calibration
ABSTRACT: Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods are widely used in hydrology and other fields for posterior inference in a Bayesian framework. A properly constructed MCMC sampler is guaranteed to converge to the correct limiting distribution, but convergence can be very slow. While most research is focused on improving the proposal distribution used to generate trial moves in the Markov chain, this work instead focuses on efficiently finding an initial population for population-based MCMC samplers that will expedite convergence. Four case studies, including two hydrological models, are used to demonstrate that using multi-level single linkage implicit filtering stochastic global optimization to initialize the population both reduces the overall computational cost and significantly increases the chance of finding the correct limiting distribution within the constraint of a fixed computational budget.
22 Apr 2020
Corps releases Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment for review
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District, has prepared a Draft Supplemental Environmental Assessment #571 (SEA #571) titled “West Shore Lake Pontchartrain Hurricane and Storm Damage Risk Reduction Levee System St. Charles and St. John the Baptist Parishes, Louisiana” which is available for public review and comment. The 30-day public review and comment period for SEA #571 will begin on April 23, 2020 and end on May 23, 2020.
22 Apr 2020
Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee meeting postponed because of COVID-19 concerns
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.--The Table Rock Lake Oversight Committee and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are postponing the public meeting scheduled for May 6 because of COVID-19 concerns and the current State of Missouri “Stay At Home” order.
22 Apr 2020
Public input sought on updated oil and gas management plan for Lake Sakakawea/Garrison Project, N.D.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District, is seeking public comments on an updated draft oil and gas management plan, and new programmatic environmental assessment, for the Lake Sakakawea/Garrison Dam Project in North Dakota. Comments will be accepted until May 22, 2020.
22 Apr 2020
USACE Chicago District Ecosystem Restoration Master Plan team, partners look to future of ecosystem restoration program
As the nation’s environmental engineer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages one of the largest federal environmental missions – constructing sustainable facilities; regulating waterways; managing natural resources; cleaning up contaminated sites from past military activities; and restoring degraded ecosystems.
21 Apr 2020
20-019 Parents, are your kids driving you crazy? Looking for something to entertain them with? US Army Corps of Engineers is here to help!
AHSAHKA, Idaho – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) would like to introduce you to a new seven week online education program.
21 Apr 2020
Navigable Waters Protection Rule published today and becomes effective June 22, 2020.
Navigable Waters Protection Rule published today and becomes effective June 22, 2020. The Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Army are publishing a final rule defining the scope of waters federally regulated under the Clean Water Act. The Navigable Waters Protection Rule is the second step in a comprehensive, two-step process intended to review and revise the definition of “waters of the United States” consistent with the Executive Order signed on February 28, 2017, “Restoring the Rule of Law, Federalism, and Economic Growth by Reviewing the `Waters of the United States' Rule.” Once effective, it replaces the rule published on October 22, 2019. This rule becomes effective on June 22, 2020. Here is a link to the federal register notice: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/04/21/2020-02500/the-navigable-waters-protection-rule-definition-of-waters-of-the-united-states
21 Apr 2020
Ashuelot River white water events on April 25 in Surry cancelled by paddling clubs due to COVID-19 concerns
All Ashuelot River paddling events that were scheduled for Saturday, April 25, 2020, in Surry, New Hampshire, have been cancelled by the paddling club requestors due to concerns with the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, Surry Mountain Dam in Surry, New Hampshire, will not be providing controlled releases of water that weekend, according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District officials.
21 Apr 2020
Despite the current COVID-19 climate, Corps of Engineers nears 10 Million Cubic Yard milestone in Boston Harbor Improvement Dredging Project
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), New England District is nearing the milestone of removing 10 million cubic yards of dredge material as part of Phase II of the three-phased Boston Harbor Navigation Improvement Project in Boston, Massachusetts.