Army corps of engineers Final rpt from 9-30-05

[Dick Pache]

Media Round table link 9-26-05
Canal and levee overtoping, pump station 5 barge pumping Rita damage,
FEMA info in Mississippi, Navigation issues, Task Force Guardian.
http://www.usace.army.mil/transcripts/0926ACE.DOC

[Dick Pache]

News Bits
http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/cepa/katrina/newsbits.html
26 Sept. 2005

Public Affairs Office, Task Force Hope - New Orleans
Contact Mitch Frazier, 504-862-1231, Mitch.Frazier@us.army.mil
Army Corps of Engineers make emergency repairs to Industrial Canal levees, pumping continues
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 25 – Nearly 400 large sandbags and tons of rock have stopped the inflow of water into the Lower 9th Ward here and pumping operations have already began to remove the floodwaters from the area.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers placed the large 3,000- to 7,000-pound sandbags with military and civilian helicopters Saturday and Sunday. The sandbags will serve as a temporary repair for the Industrial Canal levee that overtopped Friday after wind-driven floodwaters overtopped emergency repairs put in place following Hurricane Katrina.

Water in the Industrial Canal has receded more than 5 feet since Friday’s overtopping and pumping operations have already began to remove the floodwaters from the area.

"We are working around the clock to once again dry the area," said Col. Duane Gapinksi, commander of the Corps’ Unwatering Task Force. "Working with the city sewer and water board, we were able to pump water from the area this weekend. We are also barging in additional temporary pumps today to the area near Florida Avenue that will help us quicken the unwatering of the area."

The area is expected to be pumped dry within the next seven days, Gapinski said. Work will continue on shoring up the emergency repairs throughout the week. No additional helicopter sandbag placements are expected in the area.

Temporary levee repairs throughout the New Orleans areas continue to hold. Teams from the Corps continue to monitor the repairs made after Hurricane Katrina. The steel sheetpiling installed at the mouth of the 17th Street and London Ave. canals last week should be removed within the next 48 hours if lake levels continue stabilize. The temporary pilings provided protection from storm surge during Hurricane Rita’s approach preventing water from endangering the temporary repairs made to the canal walls in the area. Using sheetpiling on the industrial canal was not possible because of the canal’s depth and width, Gapinksi said.

The Corps is taking a three-phase approach to the levees in New Oleans, Gapinksi said. First, the Corps is charged with removing the water from the city and assessing the structural integrity of the levee. Second the Corps will provide an interim level of protection to see the city through this storm season and the traditional high water months of winter. Lastly, the Corps is charged with returning the system to a pre-Katrina strength by June of next year, he said.

Southwest of New Orleans, the Corps is currently responding to a parish request for assistance to fill a breach in a local levee in Terrebonne Parish near the city of Montagut. Eight helicopters will begin placing large sandbags on the damaged levee today. Work there is expected to take two to three days.

For more information, contact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Public Affairs Office in New Orleans at 504-862-1231

[Dick Pache]

Navigation Update from 9-27-05 link to SAD reports
http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/cepa/katri ... ation.html
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Status of navigation conditions resulting from Hurricane Katrina
27 September 2005

New information is in blue bold. As projects, or elements of projects, reach authorized depths and function, we are moving them to a Restored Projects section at the end of this report.

Please see linked Navigation Map (updated 9/21/05)

New information is in blue bold. As projects, or elements of projects, reach authorized depths and function, we are moving them to a Restored Projects section at the end of this report.

Southwestern Division

Houston Ship Channel (45-foot authorized) now open to vessels drafting 35 feet or less, DAYLIGHT HOURS ONLY.

Galveston Entrance Channel and Harbor is open to vessels drafting 35 feet or less.

The GIWW is open to all tug and barge traffic, daylight transit only, throughout Texas coastline. However, USCG and Entergy repair personnel are removing downed powerline from the GIWW as quickly as they are located.

The Calcasieu and Sabine - Neches Rivers are open to tug and barge traffic, daylight transit only, with the exception of the Calcasieu River to Cameron (closed).

Corpus Christi Ship Channel is open to all vessels.

Matagorda Bay Channel is open to all vessels.

Freeport Harbor (45-foot authorized) is open to vessels drafting 28 feet or less.

Mississippi Valley Division

All dredging and survey assets are in safe harbors. Hopper dredge Stuyvesant has commenced dredging in the vicinity of Mile 19.5 Below Head of Passes. The Dredge McFarland safely arrived at the Venice, LA anchorage at 2300 CDT 9/24. The McFarland is in contact with New Orleans District staff regarding its role in Venice. Survey boats moved to Venice and Morgan City to assess channel conditions after Hurricane Rita.

Mississippi River: The Captain of the Port New Orleans has lifted all restrictions on the Lower Mississippi River above mile marker 0.0 (Head of Passes) and has established a safety zone on the Lower Mississippi River from the Southwest Pass sea buoy to mile marker 0.0. (Just like it was before Rita) All deep draft vessels transiting within this safety zone are restricted to daylight hour only transits. At the request of the USCG the Dredge McFarland observed depths and the status of aides to navigation (AToNS) in Southwest Pass between its entrance and Venice. They reported that depths on centerline were OK but most of the AToNS were either not lit or missing. Dredge Stuyvesant was to depart Mobile 9/25 and return to Southwest Pass.

GIWW:

GIWW is pretty much open from Morgan City East and Houston west. Closed West of Wax Lake in the Morgan City AOR until further notice. More info will become available as assessments are made, both by Corps and Industry. Calcasieu, Leland Bowman mechanically opened to drain basin. Working interim plan to be able to operate at Calcasieu. Getting Calcasieu and Leland Bowman operational are key to nav industry. Freshwater Bayou Lock closed. Harvey Lock closed until canal water level drops below 3.5’ and water can be pumped from the canal gates machinery room. Algiers Lock is operating. Obstructions in the channel have been removed.

USCG Captain of the Port has opened the Atchafalaya River from Mile 0 to the Gulf.

IHNC: IHNC Lock - No change from last report. The Coast Guard has opened the canal with vessels restricted to 110ft wide by 18ft draft. Salvage operations by Bizzo to remove sunken dry-dock and other obstructions has been suspended until the weekend. The salvage barge is being used as a guidewall. Industry is urging mariners to use extreme caution. Lock transits will be coordinated with the salvors. IHNC (the canal) remains closed to all traffic, and Baptiste Collette must be used to access the Canal East, i.e., the detour used recently. IHNC (the canal) was briefly closed following Rita but now has been reopened, subject to the same

[Dick Pache]

Public Affairs Office, Task Force Hope - New Orleans
Contact Mitch Frazier, 504-862-1231, Mitch.Frazier@us.army.mil
Water levels continue to drop in New Orleans’ Lower 9th ParishNEW ORLEANS, Sept. 27 – Water levels continued to drop Monday in the city’s
Lower 9th Ward as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the city sewer and
water board pump water from the flooded area.
Water levels in the neighborhood have receded more than 4 feet since storm
surge overtopped the Corps’ emergency levee repairs Friday. Current water
levels in area range from 2- to 4-feet.
A team of Corps and Dutch engineers brought additional temporary pumps to the
area Monday via barge to boost the city’s pumping capacity in the area.
“We continue to make great progress on unwatering the 9th Ward,” said Col.
Duane Gapinski, commander of the Corps’ unwatering task force. “Getting the
water out of the area and providing emergency levee protection is key to bringing
life back to the area.”
The Corps expects to have the water pumped out of the area by Oct. 2, Gapinski
said.
For more information, contact the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Public Affairs
Office in New Orleans at 504-862-1231.
http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/hurricane/chr.php

[Dick Pache]

27 September 2005
RECOVERY UPDATE: MISSISSIPPI BLUE ROOF HAS “LIVE” OPERATORS!
HATTIESBURG, MISS ... The Operation Blue Roof Team announced this afternoon that callers to the Mississippi 1-888-ROOF-BLU number now have the option to talk to a live operator about the program or their recent request for a Blue Roof.

Prior to today, callers were given information about the program and the location of nearby call centers. Many callers, particular those from out of state, were interested in talking to service personnel about particular issues associated with their situation.

To date, over 27,000 requests for the roofs have been received at the more than two dozen service centers. More than 10,000 roofs have already been installed with crews now peaking at almost 1,100 per day. Estimates are that 35,000 roofs will be needed.

Mississippi Recovery Team: Tops 1,000
The Mississippi Recovery Field Office represents the eastern arm of Task Force Hope, a Team of Teams comprised of responders from different nations, different states, different agencies, and public officials and contractors to support FEMA in protecting life and restoring systems and infrastructure in Louisiana and Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina.

The Army Corps of Engineers’ Task Force Hope Mississippi has 1023 personnel from around the nation focused on recovery operations in the Mississippi Recovery Field Office (RFO). This number represents the equivalent of a large district-size team.

Debris Removal: (Approaching 300K cubic yards per day)
Debris equals that of about 4 Hurricane Andrews (media comparisons). The Corps’ debris mission is currently 22.5 million cubic yards. This equates to 220 football fields piled 50 feet high.

At current debris removal rates (about 300,000 cubic yards), the debris would fill three football fields per day. To date, 2.9 million cubic yards have been hauled, or 29 football fields.

Mississippi contractor, Ashbritt, Inc., of Pompano Beach, Fla., is operating in 8 counties that have requested FEMA assistance and expect to move into others in the next 24 hours.

Disposal efforts associated with this cleanup will be done in close coordination with the local community and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the U.S. Coast Guard among others. The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality has issued the guidelines for and monitors our work, and issues permits for reduction sites.

Hazardous materials and white appliances that require special handing will be separated and managed by teams set up to deal with those kinds of materials.

Temporary Roofing: (Production running over 1,000 per day)
About 27,308 requests for Operation Blue Roof have been received in the past few weeks. Over 10,800 roofs have already been installed. More than 200 crews are now working.

Estimates are that over 35,000 roofs will have been repaired when the mission is accomplished in the next 30-40 days. This mission will require more than 3 square miles of placed plastic roofing.

At peak, between 900-1100 roofs per day are being repaired, weather dependent. About two dozen Operation Blue Roof Sign Up Centers are now open in the impacted counties. Service number is 1-888-ROOF-BLU.
Water and Waste Water Restoration
RFO technical experts are providing technical assistance as requests are received from the state through FEMA. After assessing waste water 45 systems, the Corps been requested to assist with restoring 18.

Restoring Public Facilities Using Portable Buildings
USACE has received 16 requests to replace hundreds of Mississippi police stations, fire stations, city halls, post offices, and government buildings. The first public building was delivered recently to the De Lisle Fire Department.

More than 400 classrooms are being installed in Mississippi to restore education systems and more importantly family stability and normalcy for impacted youth. Requests for these temporary classrooms have been received from 70 school districts.

http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/hurricane/chr.php

[Dick Pache]

USACE, Galveston District Assessments Bring Results
Employees directed to return to work on Wednesday, Sept. 28


FORT WORTH, Texas - The Galveston District has been assessing damage on the Texas coast and we are getting results, said Col. Steve Haustein, Galveston District Engineer and Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Early reports have stated that the Houston Pilots have set the depth of the Houston Ship Channel at 32-foot depth for traffic, daylight only and Freeport Channel is open at 28-foot depth or less, daylight only. The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is open for traffic to the Colorado Locks, which are open and operational, as are the Brazos River Floodgates. Corpus Christi and Matagorda Ship Channels are open at federal depths. The Galveston District’s side-scan surveys of the Houston Ship Channel should be completed today, along with surveys of the Sabine-Neches Waterway.

The District began surveying federal channels for obstructions to navigation and shoaling in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard, port authorities and industry early Sunday morning. These surveys are continuing.

"We are working diligently on assessing the damage along the coast; however, we need to begin servicing our customers," said Col. Haustein.

With safety issues now resolved, employees have been directed to report back to work, Wednesday, Sept. 28, to the Jadwin Building to resume business.

Employees should contact their supervisor immediately if they are not able to report to work and will be granted liberal leave; however, if the employee does not contact their supervisor, they will be considered absent without approved leave.
USACE, Galveston District Assessments Bring Results

Employees directed to return to work on Wednesday, Sept. 28


http://www.hq.usace.army.mil/cepa/rita/rita.html

[Dick Pache]

29 September 2005 Mississippi
New Mission: Removing Debris from Private Property
FEMA has assigned the Corps the mission to remove debris from public rights of way and private property in some areas.
Several cities are taking advantage of this new level of assistance. The mission includes debris removal and structural demolition in areas designated by the county or city government.

Of the lower six counties, Jackson, Hancock and George Counties and several cities have requested assistance under this program. These counties/cities have an option to grant Corps teams authority to enter private property to remove debris, without individual right of entry or normal condemnation procedures.

While Harrison, Stone and Pearl River counties opted not to participate in FEMA/USACE debris removal program, some cities within those areas are participating, e.g. Pass Christian.

Northern counties will have to acquire individual ROE’s for access or go through condemnation process.

The lower 6 counties may ask for assistance because property represents an immediate threat to health and or safety to general public or it’s a threat to nearby property.

The process is being developed and will be provided to local cities and counties within the next week,

Access to property by landowners prior to debris removal is entirely at the discretion of county and or city government officials.

Participation in this program, and how to apply right of entry aspects, are entirely at the discretion of eligible cities or counties. For more information, property owners should contact county and or city officials.

Debris gathered from local worksites is then taken to existing reduction sites.

The Corps of Engineers will work very closely with local authorities in this process; however, the Corps does not establish policy. The Corps is charnged with executing the mission as assigned.

http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/hurricane/chr.php

[Dick Pache]

Public Affairs Office, Task Force Hope, New Orleans
Contact Mitch Frazier, 504-862-1231 Mitch.Frazier@us.army.mil
September 29, 2005
Locks drain water from Mermentau Basin
Corps opens economically vital Intracoastal to barge towsNEW ORLEANS – The Mermentau River Basin is being drained of
Hurricane Rita floodwater through two locks on either side of the
populated, 300,000-acre heart of Louisiana’s rice-growing and -milling
industries.
The Leland Bowman Lock, south of Abbeville, and the Calcasieu Lock, at
Lake Charles, “are operating in the ‘open pass’ mode with high current
flowing out of the flooded Mermentau Basin,” the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers said Thursday.
“Mariners are required to use assist vessels with not less than two
vessels per tow when going against the current and when transiting the
current, the New Orleans District said in Navigation Bulletin No. 05-60.
http://www.mvn.usace.army.mil/navbullet ... spx?ID=148
Earlier, the Corps of Engineers in cooperation with towing-industry boats
successfully tested navigation of the locks. Government-contracted tugs
assisted vessels against the strong currents draining the Mermentau
Basin.
Barge tows may transit 24 hours a day. The locks are on the
economically important Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, which stretches
from Brownsville, Texas, to Apalachicola, Fla.
The two locks were submerged in water by the Hurricane Rita storm
surge that flooded the Mermentau Basin with salty water.
The lock gates were opened by rigging tractors and cables. At present the
machinery will not function. The Corps is working to restore the locks to
operation. Electrical systems and the motors require repair. It remained
unclear when the gate-operating machinery could be returned to
operation.
Water and mud are choking portions of the lock structures.
http://www.mvd.usace.army.mil/hurricane ... mentau.pdf

[Dick Pache]

Here is the final for the Corps thread. Thanks to all who read these posts and the encourgement. It was enjoyable to help a little.

Now I will will be watching 99L which is just off the coast here in Honduras and causing some rain this afternoon. Here is the main Corps Link for anyone who wants keep track.
http://www.usace.army.mil/