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The United States Army Corps of Engineers, or '''USACE''', is a federal agency made up of some 34,600 Civilian and 650 Military men and women. The Corps's mission is to provide Engineering services to the United States , including:
The Corps's history began in 1775 when the Continental Congress authorized the first Chief Engineer whose first task was to build fortifications near Boston at Bunker Hill . The first Corps was mostly composed of French subjects, who had been hired by George Washington from the service of Louis XVI . In 1802 a corps of engineers was stationed at West Point and constituted the nation's first Military Academy . HIGHLIGHTS The Continental Congress authorized the creation of a "Chief Engineer for the Army" beginning on June 16 , 1775 . A Corps of Engineers for the United States was authorized by the Congress on March 11 , 1779 . The Corps of Engineers as it is known today came into being on March 16 , 1802 , when President Thomas Jefferson was authorized to "organize and establish a Corps of Engineers ... that the said Corps ... shall be stationed at West Point in the State of New York and shall constitute a Military Academy." The United States Military Academy was under the direction of the Corps of Engineers until 1866. The Corps's authority over river works in the United States began with its fortification of New Orleans after the War Of 1812 . A Corps of Topographical Engineers, authorized on July 4 , 1838 , consisted only of officers and was used for mapping and the design and construction of federal civil works such as Lighthouse s. It included such officers as George Meade . It was merged with the Corps of Engineers in March, 1863. Notable projects by the Corps include the survey and construction of the National Road until Federal funds were withdrawn ( 1838 ), the 555 ft 5 1/8 in (169 m) tall Washington Monument , completed under the direction and command of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Lincoln Casey in 1888, major Hydroelectric projects, the planning and building of The Pentagon , and the Manhattan Project . Occasional civil disasters including the Great Mississippi Flood Of 1927 resulted in greater responsibilities for the Corps. In New Orleans, the US Army Corps of Engineers is, by federal mandate, the sole agency responsible for levee design and construction as defined in the Flood Control Act Of 1965 . LEADERSHIP The Chief Of Engineers and Commanding General, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is LTG Robert L. Van Antwerp . {Link without Title} THE HEADQUARTERS The Headquarters defines policy and guidance and plans direction for the organizations within the Corps. It is made up of an Executive Office and 17 Staff Principals. Located in Washington, DC , the Headquarters creates policy and plans the future direction of all other Corps organizations. The Command Sergeant Major, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is CSM Robert A. Winzenried. The Deputy Commanding Generals, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Two Deputy Commanding Generals assist in supervising General Staff activities and in discharging the heavy responsibilities which devolve upon the Commanding General. The Deputy Commanding Generals are:
The Directors of Military Programs and Civil Works. Two Directors head Military Programs and Civil Works. The Directors are:
ORGANIZATION The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is organized geographically into eight permanent divisions, one provisional division, and one provisional district. They are defined by Watershed boundaries for civil works projects, and by political boundaries for military projects. The divisions and district are:
ENFORCEMENT One of the major responsibilities of the Corps of Engineers is administering the wetlands permitting program under Section 404 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of 1972. (AKA "The Clean Water Act "). This Act authorized the Secretary of the Army to issue permits for the discharge of dredged and fill material. Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 (codified in Chapter 33, Section 403 of the United States Code ) gave the Corps authority over Navigable waters of the United States. As navigable waters are defined as "navigable waters of the United States are those waters that are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide and/or are presently being used, or have been used in the past, or may be susceptible for use to transport interstate or foreign commerce", the Corps has broad authority to enforce this, including licensing of bridges over navigable waters, and the maintenance of pierhead and Bulkhead Line s. There are three types of permits issued by the Corps of Engineers: Nationwide, Regional General, and Individual. 80% of the permits issued are nationwide permits, which include several general types of activities, as published in the Federal Register. To gain authorization under a nationwide permit, an applicant usually needs only send a letter to the regional Corps office notifying them of his or her intent, type and amount of impact, and a site map. Although the nationwide process is fairly simple, Corps approval must be obtained before commencing with any work. Regional general permits are specific to each Corps division office. Individual permits are generally required for projects greater than 0.5 acres (2,000 m&2) in size. RESEARCH The Engineer Research And Development Center (ERDC) is the Corps of Engineers research and development command. ERDC consists of seven laboratories. Research support includes:
SUPPORT SERVICES There are several other major organizations within the Corps of Engineers:
TRIVIA
HISTORY
LEGAL ISSUES In March of 2007, the City of New Orleans filed a $77 billion claim against the USACE for damages sustained from faulty levee construction and resultant flooding during Hurricane Katrina. Of this amount, only $1 billion was designated as direct "infrastructure damages"; the rest was attributed to consequential damages such as industry losses and the city's tarnished image.[http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/03/03/katrina.claim.ap/index.html] The USACE has attempted to argue that they were immune from such law suits by the Flood Control Act of 1928; however, in February of 2007 a U.S. District Court judge ruled that this act did not apply to cases involving navigational projects. [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/03/03/MNGGPOEO0D1.DTL] To date, at least 34,500 individual claims have been received in the New Orleans branch office of the USACE; in addition to the City of New Orleans, other claimants include Entergy New Orleans, the city's now-bankrupt electric utility, and New Orleans Sewerage and Water. EXTERNAL LINKS
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