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  • July

    Sixteen grazing goats, known as the “Chew Crew,” are in charge of trimming the treacherous terrain above Buford Dam, a site run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District.

    ‘Chew Crew’ at dam cut landscaping costs for Corps

    Sixteen grazing goats, known as the “Chew Crew,” are in charge of trimming the treacherous terrain above Buford Dam, a site run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District.
  • Representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District, Nashville District, Memphis District, and Vicksburg District signed a Memorandum of Agreement, June 28, to implement Standard Local Operating Procedures for Endangered Species (SLOPES) covering 44 species statewide in Mississippi.

    SLOPES agreement improves consultation process for USACE permits in Mississippi

    In an effort to improve consultation under the Endangered Species Act for the state of Mississippi, representatives from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Fish and Wildlife Service) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps of Engineers) Mobile District, Vicksburg District, Memphis District, and Nashville District signed a Memorandum of Agreement to implement Standard Local Operating Procedures for Endangered Species (SLOPES) on June 28. The SLOPES agreement includes 44 Federally-listed threatened and endangered species in the state of Mississippi. Four Corps of Engineers districts possessing regulatory authority in the state entered into the agreement with Fish and Wildlife Service making the implementation of this document the largest of its scope for the entire Corps of Engineers.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Senior Cost Engineer Michael L. Keating has earned the national-level Corps “Cost Engineer of the Year” award.

    Mobile District’s Keating earns ‘Cost Engineer of the Year’ award

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Senior Cost Engineer Michael L. Keating has earned the national-level Corps “Cost Engineer of the Year” award.
  • A technician uses the new paint booth area which was built during building 409’s $9.5 million modernization. The administration area and break room were renovated; and a new break room and safety suit storage area were created.

    Mobile District’s $9.5 million modernization keeps Army’s combat vehicles moving

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, recently completed a $9.5 million modernization project which will keep the Army’s combat vehicles moving at Anniston Army Depot, in Anniston, Ala.
  • Contractors pressure test pipe at Anniston Army Depot, or ANAD. In 2014, ANAD and the Corps developed a master plan to overhaul the utilities there. The initial project was the Water Line Distribution Repair project that replaced 8-inch water line at a cost of more than $1 million. The project’s duration was 400 days. The next overhaul project was the Industrial Area Water and Sanitary Sewer project that replaced a significant amount of 8-inch water line and 8-inch gravity sewer.

    Mobile District modernizes Army Depot’s infrastructure for tomorrow’s mission

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, is partnering with the Anniston Army Depot, or ANAD, in a four-year modernization, overhauling the depot’s utility system and preparing it for tomorrow’s mission.

  • June

    The Corps Motor Vessel Lawson was brought in to set spillway stop logs so the gate travel stops could be set and calibrated. Outdoor lighting on the spillway and the high mast were also replaced with LED lighting. The lighting has been replaced at five of the Black Warrior-Tombigbee River Basin’s six locks, resulting in a reduction in power usage of 15-30 percent annually at each lock and dam.

    Upgrades at Holt Dam increase safety, cut costs

    Recent upgrades by the U.S. Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, at Holt Dam, near Tuscaloosa, Ala., will mean increased safety for workers and a reduction in repair costs. The spillway gates will also be more reliable.
  • Sitting atop the U.S. Coast Guard navigation range in Mobile Bay, Coastal Engineer Richard Allen connects newly-installed gauges to the broadcast system which provides data communication to the Corps of Engineers. The gauges measure water level, wave height, turbidity, salinity and suspended sediment concentration.

    Data gathering critical in assessing environmental impact on proposed Mobile Harbor project

    Mobile District coastal engineers and engineering technicians regularly get up before dawn and head out to the middle of Mobile Bay, but not for any type of ritualistic recreation activity. Their mission is to service gauges that are part of a data collection effort in the bay and delta for the Mobile Harbor General Reevaluation Report (GRR).
  • Environmental Engineer Andrew Patch poses for a photo, June 28, with a Certificate in Water Reclamation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering. Patch is the first person in the 168-year history of the university to receive the certificate. (Photo by Matthew Adams, USACE Mobile Public Affairs)

    USACE Engineer first to receive UW-Madison Certificate in Water Reclamation

    Andrew Patch, an environmental engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, has accomplished an historic feat by becoming the first person to receive a Certificate in Water Reclamation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
  • Operations Division employees take the 30-hour course which provided an overview of OSHA general industry standards, while incorporating Corps-specific requirements with the overall goal of creating a safe work environment for contractor and Corps employees.

    In-house safety course saves Mobile District nearly $30,000

    The U.S. Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, trained 18 Operations Division employees in a week-long, in-house general industry safety course in Tuscaloosa, Ala., June 12-16, saving the district nearly $30,000, while also focusing on Corps-specific topics.
  • Mobile District archaeologist Allen Wilson talks about his recent experiences in Laos, conducting archeological excavations in an effort to recover military personnel lost during the Vietnam War.

    Mobile District highlights Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month during lunch-and-learn

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, held a lunch-and-learn May 30 in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.

  • May

    Col. James Delapp, Mobile District commander, speaks to local stakeholders May 25 during the annual Hurricane/Industry Day, held at the Alabama International Trade Center. Hurricane season officially begins June 1.

    Emergency Management hosts Industry Day to kick off hurricane season

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, talked hurricane preparedness May 25 to kick off the June 1 start of hurricane season, hosting the annual Hurricane/Industry Day, held at the Alabama International Trade Center. The Corps, Coast Guard, NOAA, Alabama State Port Authority and other stakeholder partners have met annually since 2004, the year Hurricane Ivan swept across the Gulf of Mexico, causing billions of dollars in damage to Alabama, Florida and other Southeastern states.
  • Buford Dam, just above Lake Lanier, was built in 1956. The Buford Powerhouse staff recently completed construction projects and other upgrades that dramatically improved the safety for the powerhouse staff.

    Mobile’s Safety Office teams up with Buford Powerhouse to improve safety

    Mobile District employees made their workplace safer through reconstruction, redesign and a small, but important addition of a guardrail.
  • Linda Spadaro, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, discusses contracting opportunities for small businesses, Nov. 3, during a workshop in Mobile, Ala. In 2016, approximately one-third of the district’s contracts were awarded to small businesses. (Photos by Tim Oberle, USACE Mobile Deputy Public Affairs Officer)

    Small business critical to Mobile District’s success

    Contracting with small business is critical for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, to fulfill their mission. In fact, in 2016 the district awarded approximately one-third of all procurements to small business.
  • Mobile District's Emergency Management Team, Bo Ansley, Ashley Leflore and Matthew Tate, built the district's emergency management program that was just accredited by the Emergency Management Accreditation Program. The Mobile District's program is among only 12 districts that have been accredited by the program.

    District’s Emergency Management Branch earns accreditation

    The Mobile District’s Emergency Management Team is now accredited by the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP). To date, only 12 districts out of 43 have been accredited, including the four districts that were accredited this week.

  • April

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, Deputy Commander Lt. Col. Landon Raby presents a book to Barbara R. McLauchlin, the daughter of Maj. Gen. Daniel A. Raymond, April 20. Raymond himself put the book together of key milestones of the district during his command here from 1961-1964.

    Album documents historic construction projects

    The year was 1961. Just a few months before the start of construction on the Berlin Wall and less than a year before John Glenn became the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth, Lt. Col. Daniel A. Raymond assumed command of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District. At the time, the average cost of a new car was $2,850 and the minimum wage was $1.05.
  • Ken Day (Back row far right) poses for a photo with other park rangers at Allatoona Lake, Ga. in 1978. Day began his career at Allatoona Lake, and currently works as a Supervisory Natural Resource Specialist for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District.

    Mobile District Natural Resources Chief to receive ARC Legends Award

    The American Recreation Coalition (ARC) will recognize Ken Day, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Mobile District natural resources chief, as the recipient of the organization’s Legends Award June 1 during the Partners Outdoors Conference in Washington D.C. The award is presented annually to one individual from each major recreation-related federal agency for outstanding contributions to outdoor recreation.
  • Justin McDonald and a patient at University of South Alabama Children's and Women's Hospital build a bridge from Popsicle sticks during a visit, Feb. 21, in celebration of National Engineers Week. McDonald was one of Mobile District 10 volunteers who visited the hospital for the event.

    Mobile District engineer recognized for outstanding achievements by the Society of American Military Engineers

    A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Mobile District engineer has been honored for his significant contributions to engineering, design, construction, research and development or planning.
  • Water is released from Miller’s Ferry Lock and Dam in Wilcox County, Alabama, Mar. 11. Miller’s Ferry is one of several locks on the Alabama River that will be involved in a fish passage study led by Auburn University.

    Mobile District to facilitate Auburn University fish passage study

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, is working with the Auburn University School of Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Aquatic Sciences to facilitate a study on the effectiveness of conservation lockages on migratory fish species in the Alabama-Coosa-Tallapoosa River Basin. The study is part of a continuing effort by the district and members of academia to identify how lock and dam operators can better support the passage of migratory fish through our Nation’s waterways.
  • Matthew Grunewald, stands in the jungle base camp in the Quang Tri Province of Vietnam overlooking the excavation site. Grunewald, a Mobile District archeologist participated in a month-long Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency mission in Vietnam, in an effort to recover military personnel lost during the Vietnam War.

    District archeologist assists POW/MIA Accounting Agency in recovery mission

    A Mobile District employee was recognized for his work as the recovery leader for a joint American and Vietnamese team that spent a month in Vietnam conducting an archaeological excavation in an effort to recover military personnel lost during the Vietnam War.

  • March

    Construction workers unload a wave attenuation device (WAD) into the water near Bayou Caddy with a barge-mounted crane. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, used the WADs as part of a living shoreline to reduce wave energy.

    Construction on Ecosystem Restoration Project nears completion

    In 2005, Hurricane Katrina swept away more than 18 acres of wetland in Bayou Caddy near Waveland, Miss. In the aftermath of the destruction, several studies concluded that the area was the most susceptible coastline in the country to be hit by another severe storm. Even without another severe storm hitting the area, the Bayou Caddy wetlands would have continued to erode due to a high wave energy concentration that is focused at that point. The erosion would have eventually led to a net loss of tidal marsh, estuarine habitat and productive fisheries. To prevent that from happening, the Federal government authorized the USACE to execute the Bayou Caddy Ecosystem Restoration Project.