T HE PROSPECTORVol. 84 www.spk.usace.army.mil

U.S. Army Corpsof EngineersSacramento District

2012 Year in Review

®

The Prospector is an unofficial publication authorized under the provisions of Army Regulation 360-1. It is published by the Public Affairs Office, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District, 1325 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95814. Telephone: (916) 557-7461; Fax (916) 557-7853; e-mail: spk-pao@usace.army.mil. This publication is available on the Sacramento District’s Internet homepage, at www.spk.usace.army.mil, and will be printed and mailed to those requesting it in writing. Editorial views and opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the Corps of Engineers or the Department of the Army. Follow the Sacramento District on our social media sites; www.facebook.com/sacramentodistrict - www.youtube.com/sacramentodistrict - www.twitter.com/USACESacramento and www.flickr.com/usacesacramento.

DISTRICT

COMMANDER

COL William J. LEADY

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

CHIEF

DeDe CORDELL

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Carlos J. LAZO

EDITORIAL BOARD

Chris GRAY-GARCIA

STAFF

Bob KIDD

Todd PLAIN

Tyler STALKER

Michael J. NEVINS

Table of ConTenTs

2 Civil Works transformation

3 3x3x3 equals planning modernization

4 Napa projects ready to pay dividends for community

6 Levee safety program update

8 Corps identifies selected Isabella Lake Dam modernization plan

10 Sacramento area levees update

12 From digging to building - Folsom Dam’s new spillway

14 Knights Ferry Bridge named National Historic Landmark

15 Yuba River habitat restoration efforts

16 Wind turbine coming to Black Butte Lake

17 Military, parks projects going “green”

18 Military projects wrap-up

20 Corps regulators flock to Sacramento

21 In-house design help transform California military post

23 District scientist shrinks time, space to detect danger

24

National Preparedness Month25

Corps employees recognized for hard work, contributions in 2012

26 Planting a seed for STEM

What’s This?A QR code is a barcode readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera phones. Scanning the barcode can connect you a specific website or video. A variety of free QR barcode readers can easily be downloaded to your mobile device. Search on the internet for “free QR code readers”.

A Year of Great Accomplishments

Col. William J. Leady

Commander’s Way ahead

The year 2012 has also brought appropriate concern about our future as we see and read about our growing national debt and tightening federal budgets, and their impact on the Corps. The discussion of coming change is not new. The Corps’ history is filled with change. Routinely changing when necessary is why the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been able to proudly and ably serve the nation for more than two centuries. I have great confidence in the leadership of the Sacramento District, as well as our higher headquarters in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., to guide the change ahead while we focus on our core mission of delivering civil and military projects that make our nation stronger.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” — Charles Darwin

As you enjoy this 2012 year-in-review edition of The Prospector, I hope you take great pride in our collective accom-plishments and look forward to a bright, dynamic future.

Once again, all of us on the Sacramento District team can and should be very proud of our accomplishments for 2012. The year was extremely busy and very productive. Listing our collective and individual achievements always runs the risk of omission; in fact, it guarantees great efforts will not be included. But, in the spirit of Civil Works modernization, I will move forward and try to be ‘good enough.’

“No t h i N g i N t h e w o r l d c a N t a k e t h e p l a c e o f pe r s i s t e N c e. ta l e N t w i l l N o t; N o t h i N g i s m o r e c o m m o N t h a N u N s u c c e s s f u l m e N w i t h t a l e N t. ge N i u s w i l l N o t; u N r e w a r d e d g e N i u s i s a l m o s t a p r o v e r b. ed u c a t i o N w i l l N o t; t h e w o r l d i s f u l l o f e d u c a t e d d e r e l i c t s. pe r s i s t e N c e a N d d e t e r m i N a t i o N a l o N e a r e o m N i p o t e N t. th e s l o g a N ‘pr e s s oN’ h a s s o l v e d a N d a l w a y s w i l l s o l v e t h e p r o b l e m s o f t h e h u m a N r a c e.” - Ca l v i n Co o l i d g e

Essayons & Building Strong!

- We have embraced Civil Works Transformation, not by just accepting required change from our headquarters, but by leading that change and ensuring our Civil Works program remains relevant and continues to serve the na-tion as we always have. Our Sutter Basin Pilot Feasibility Study is just one of many examples of the Sacramento District leading change.

- The Joint Federal Project Auxiliary Spillway at Folsom Dam, our $962-million mega-project, has moved from a challenging start last year to full speed ahead and back on schedule. The design and contract actions for the next phases are also progressing on schedule.

- The Utah Data Center, our $1.5 billion project, is pro-gressing on schedule and budget, despite tremendous challenges and an extremely aggressive completion requirement. We should take great pride knowing that our work on that facility will aid in cyber defense for the nation.

- Our Military Construction program is finishing a F-35 facility at Hill Air Force Base and doing great work at the Presidio of Monterey, Fort Hunter Liggett and other instal-lations across California, Nevada and Utah.

- Engineering is at the heart of almost everything we do. Every week I learn something new about our talent, and I am in awe of what they get done - from flood risk re-duction to vertical design. The completed Isabella Dam

Safety Modification Report is just one example of the district’s professionalism and teamwork.

- Our Regulatory team continues to protect and preserve the nation’s aquatic resources while allowing for sustain-able development in California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Arizona. That one sentence sounds fairly simple but the inherent conflict between the two goals is only manageable because of the highly-skilled, dedicated and professional staff in our Regulatory Division. (They have also become skilled packers and movers!)

- Our Operations team works so flawlessly that they are often only seen as providing great recreational opportuni-ties to two million visitors a year at our 10 major projects. But they are diligently and quietly working hard in so many other ways. From Isabella in the south to Black Butte up north, and everything else in between, these projects are a major part of California’s flood risk reduction and water supply.

- Our Real Estate Division enables almost every project we do to move forward, while also working several pro-grams, like the Department of Defense leasing for recruit-ing offices, which is vital to our Armed Forces.

- Project Management and our supporting offices tie everything together and allow us to execute our massive programs. They allow us to truly build our nation’s military and economic might.

Civil works transformation The Sacramento District’s Sutter Basin

Project is looking at ways to reduce the flood risk in an area of low land located in the heart of California’s Central Valley. Be-fore we can lower flood risk in any area we need to first study various ways to accom-plish this feat, what changes could happen within the environment as a result and what it will all cost; this is a monumental task and given all the complex variables can easily take several years to complete.

In February 2011, the Sutter Basin Project was one of the first studies chosen by the Corps as part of a national pilot program to test and confirm ideas for shortening the Corps’ planning study process. The transformation of this process is called the civil works planning modernization, and is part of a broader Corps effort to move more quickly from studying a problem to fixing it.

Modernizing the civil works planning process has never been done before, and there is no set guideline or model to go by. But, project manager Laura Whitney and her team pledge to remain flexible and firm at the same time. And so far, it has paid off.

This year, the Sutter project delivery team members—from the Corps, Central Valley Flood Protection Board and Sutter Butte Flood Control Agency—have been busy redefining processes to ensure they are repeatable in other studies, as well as addressing national policy issues such as wise use of floodplains and increasing residents’ safety.

Whitney and her team are helping lay a foundation for all future studies to bedone faster and more efficiently. As aresult of their hard work, the teamhopes to have tentatively selected aplan as early as next spring.

SutterThe first of many

story by JohN prettymaN - public affairs

story by todd plaiN

public affairs

Too costly.

Too slow. Both phrases are often used to describe today’s U.S. Army Corps of Engineers civil works program. Leadership has taken notice and is implementing a transformation program that is already beginning to change the way the Corps does business.

“The civil works transformation is really about how we adapt to the change that’s going on all around us,” said Steve Stockton, director of civil works at the Corps’ headquarters. “Our fiscal climate is very constrained, expectations are high and we don’t have enough federal resources to do all that is expected from us. These are only a couple of chal-lenges we are facing.”

To meet these current and future chal-lenges, the Corps has targeted four key areas in its civil works program for improvement: the project plan-ning process, budget development, infrastructure strategy and methods of delivery. One aspect of the strategy for modernizing the planning process has been nicknamed “3x3x3,” which means studies will be completed in less than three years; cost no more than $3 mil-lion; and reinforce early involvement of the three levels of the Corps (district, division and headquarters). Additionally, the goal is to prepare reports to be no more than three inches thick (read more about 3x3x3 on following page).

“For our sponsors, schedule tends to be the greatest concern to them,” said Alicia Kirchner, chief of planning division, Sacramento District. “They’re very excited about the idea of getting to actionable decisions in no more than a three-year period.”

The Sutter feasibility study (see side-bar) was selected as a pilot for plan-ning modernization, and has already benefited from the Corps’ civil works transformation.

“It’s taken a study that was struggling with time and funding, and, with the new

ideas under the planning moderniza-tion, it is moving to completion on an expedited manner, where it’s getting the visibility, prioritization, funding and resources that it needs,” said Kirchner.

The next target area in the transforma-tion is the budget development process. Projects will be evaluated and prioritized based on their system-wide benefits as opposed to stand-alone projects. A common operating picture of all projects within a watershed (federal, state, local, tribes, non-government organizations) will be developed, along with collabora-tion with partners to understand their priorities.

“Smart investment within the realities of fiscal constraints. We’re putting money where it matters the most,” said Brig. Gen. Michael Wehr, South Pacific Divi-sion commander. “It has to go where the worst threat is and where the most return of investment can be found.”

The next element of the transformation involves developing a robust infrastruc-ture strategy to ensure infrastructure is sustainable and reliable. Portfolios of assets are being evaluated within a systems-based process that includes looking at financing alternatives to sup-port the right infrastructure investments.

“In some cases it may be getting rid of civil works projects that no longer add value to the nation,” said Col. William Leady, Sacramento District commander. “We did that here years ago when we got rid of the Sacramento lock that was no longer functioning as a navigation lock.”

The final target area for civil works is improving methods of delivery, which means many engineering services such as dam safety production centers, inland navigation design, and deep-draft navigation economics will be managed at a regional or enterprise level instead of at the districts. This will ensure more consistency throughout the Corps, consolidation of technical expertise and building core competencies Corps-wide.

“Across the Corps, at every division,

we’re building one dam safety production center that maintains that expertise, and then services the whole region,” said Leady.

In today’s challenging environment, the transformation sets a clear direction for the civil works program to best serve the public, meet the nation’s water resource needs, and help the Corps remain relevant in the 21st century.

“We can’t continue doing what we’ve done in the past and expect to survive as govern-ment gets smaller,” said Stockton. “We need to transform ourselves to be relevant if we are to continue to add value to the nation.”

2

3x3x3 equals planning modernization

Feasibility studies by the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-neers will be accomplished faster, smarter and use a much leaner amount of resources.

The hallmark of the planning modernization strategy is the “3X3X3 Rule” -- generally, feasibility studies will cost no more than $3 million total; be completed in less than three years; and involve the three levels of the Corps. Additionally, reports should be no more than three inches thick.

“Planning modernization will increase our agency’s efficiency in a way that is especially smart during the current economic era,” said Alicia Kirchner, chief of planning division, Sacramento District. “I’ve seen planning evolve over the 22 years I’ve been here -- and even though it has never been an easy or simple task -- I’ve never seen it as complex as it is now.”

The complexity of planning reports has been driven by advancing technology and the desire for more finite answers, Kirchner said.

“We’ve chased this level of precision because it made us feel more comfortable as professionals and because advanced technology allows for it,” she noted. The downside to extremely intricate analysis is increased cost and delays in presenting results to Congress and the public.

As an example, Kirchner notes that processes exist that can compute cost/benefit ratios out to an incred-ibly detailed level with several-hundred-iteration computer simulations.

But does that involved analysis add enough value to a feasibility study to offset the additional resources required?

“Weather-related emergencies triggered the genera-tion of a lot more data regarding flood risk, so the

process pendulum was pushed hard to the detailed side for the past few years -- but it’s swinging back now,” said Kirchner.

“The Corps will always produce solid analysis, but the goal during the study phase is to distill out just the in-formation needed to recommend whether to continue forward,” said Kirchner. “As an agency, we got into the habit of increased level of design during the planning phase.

“Modernizing the planning process will emphasize articulating risk and uncertainty factors in our feasibil-ity reports rather than trying to numerically eliminate those same factors,” said Kirchner.

The Corps’ planning process involves teams in programs and project management division, engineer-ing, real estate, office of counsel and planning all working closely together. Sacramento District chief of engineering, Rick Poeppelman. noted, “The Corps is going to continue to design to the highest standard – but we will do that in the pre-construction engineering and design phase.”

For those employees fresh to the Corps who’ve been educated to rely heavily on mathematical modeling, this new planning strategy will require an infusion of experience from technical experts as well as leader-ship – those who’ve been around long enough to have seen the full project lifecycle several times over.

Toward this educational goal, Sacramento District leadership is creating project assistance teams (PATs) utilizing the accumulated experience of branch chiefs and senior technical staff.

“And we’re offering updated PDT 101 (project delivery team) classes with a fresh approach for our newer workforce – many of whom joined the Corps in the past five years,” said Kirchner.

“It is absolutely essential that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers transform its study processes if it is to remain at the forefront of federal agencies the nation turns to when seeking answers for water resources challenges. The current study processes too often leave our stakeholders and the nation waiting for critical answers.” - Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works

a New paradigm to reach the goals set forth iN the civil works traNsformatioN effort.

1tsp = teNtatively selected plaN

2dcg = deputy commaNdiNg geNeral

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story by robert kidd

public affairs

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Napa projects ready to pay dividends for community After a year of tremendous progress, just one phase remains to complete years of work, bringing Napa’s living river concept to life.

Three years after the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided up to $99 million of additional funding for the Napa project, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District wrapped up two significant flood risk reduction compo-nents in 2012 that have downtown Napa, Calif., ready to handle larger storm events. Heavy rains in December put them to the test for the first time, and they’re credited with preventing serious flooding along Napa Creek.

In October, crews completed two box culverts and widened the creek bed along the upper Napa Creek, after completing similar culverts along the lower Napa Creek in 2011, as part of construc-tion on the $14.8-million Napa Creek phase of the project. The box culverts—tunnels large enough for a car to drive through—

are designed to help get water from the creek to the Napa River quickly so water doesn’t overtop the banks of the smaller creek and flood into downtown homes and businesses. The new culverts were put to the test for the first time as they success-fully handled two rain events during a December weekend that would’ve previously caused flooding into downtown.

“The new Napa Creek channel improvements are able to safely carry more than twice the amount of water, keeping floodwaters from spilling into homes and businesses along the creek,” said Julie Lucido, project manager for the Napa Flood Control and Water Control District.

Across town, work to raise railroad tracks and build two new bridges over the Napa River and a future dry bypass wrapped up in August. The old bridges actually did more to contribute to flooding than they did to reduce the risk of flooding, Corps project manager Charles L. Austin III said.

story by tyler stalker, photos by todd plaiN

public affairs

Watch as construction led by the sacramento districtcontinues throughout napa

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The new bridges are higher and have fewer ob-stacles for water and debris to pass through during storm events.

More importantly, completion of this component paves the way for the project’s final phase.

The final phase of the project will construct a dry by-pass that will only have water in it during large storm events. The purpose of the bypass is to divert water from the Napa River across the bypass and back into the Napa River.

The Napa River at downtown makes a large U-shaped bend, causing water to slow down and, sometimes, overtop its banks and flooding into down-town Napa, Austin said.

“We’ve made tremendous progress on the flood proj-ect this year,” Lucido said. “The completion of these key components not only sets the stage for construc-tion of the dry bypass project, but provides some real flood risk reduction benefits for downtown Napa this year.”

While the Corps’ schedule allows for construction on the dry bypass to begin as soon as 2013, the project is not currently in the federal budget.

For now, the completed work shows that downtown Napa is more prepared than ever for storms.

The foundations of the Behrens Street Bridge in Napa, Calif., shown Oct. 12, 2012, await their new pedestrians-only span.

The above infographic highlights various projects and compo-nents of the Sacra-mento District’s work in Napa, Calif.

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While Sacramento District levee inspections in 2012 continued to find serious maintenance deficiencies with many levees in California’s Central Valley, levee managers also made significant progress in fixing problems found in previous Corps inspections. But 2012 also saw most levee systems in Sacramento and Stockton lose eligibility for federal rehabilitation assistance after an agreement with the state of California temporarily extending that eligibility expired in June.

Despite the setback for those communities, in the end, Corps inspections made people safer, said Sacramento District levee safety program manager Meegan Nagy.

“Fundamentally, our levee safety program is all about mak-ing sure that levees continue to do what they’re designed to do,” Nagy said. “Through our inspections we identify problems that need fixing, and that helps levee owners prioritize those fixes, and reduces flood risk for everyone behind those levees.”

About 1,580 of the estimated 6,500 or so miles of levees in the Central Valley are inspected under the Corps’ levee safety program, which provides rehabilitation funding for levees that are damaged by high water and flood fighting assistance in an emergency. Levees must be maintained to Corps maintenance standards to remain eligible for federal rehabilitation funding. The Corps will always help in a flood fight, regardless of a levee’s eligibility status.

To ensure those standards are being met and to assess con-tinuing eligibility for the program, the Corps conducts two types of levee inspections. Periodic inspections happen every five years, and are more detailed inspections than routine, or annual, inspections. The district inspected 275 miles of levees under peri-odic inspections and 160 miles under routine inspections in 2012.

In May, the district released the final results of 2010 levee inspec-tions in the Stockton area. Most Stockton levees were rated unacceptable, meaning their maintenance deficiencies would likely prevent the levee from performing as intended in a flood. Levees in Bakersfield, downstream of the district’s Isabella Lake Dam, were also rated unacceptable in May, and systems in the Chico area were rated unacceptable in October.

“Our first round of periodic inspections, which started in 2009, is probably the most detailed and comprehensive look at Central Valley levees that has ever taken place,” Nagy said. “We’re finding a lot of things that levee manag-ers or state inspectors may not have seen be-fore, and that’s critical for making sure these levees are as safe as they can be.”

Inspectors look for anything that could jeopardize a levee’s per-formance in a flood, and document each deficiency with photos and GPS coordinates so levee managers can easily identify them. The most common serious deficiencies in nearly all of the systems rated unacceptable so far have been erosion, encroach-ments and animal control.

Agencies whose levees receive a rating of unacceptable can request a re-inspection once the most serious deficiencies are fixed, and regain eligibility if they’ve been adequately addressed. For deficiencies that will take a long time to fix, levee agencies can request a temporary eligibility extension while they work to address those deficiencies on a worst-first basis, under the Corps’ system-wide improvement framework policy.

What to do about those kind of long-term fixes was the focus of the levee safety program’s biggest challenge this year, the expira-tion in June of the Central Valley Flood System Improvement Framework.

Recognizing the significant challenge of addressing the many, widespread deficiencies throughout Central Valley levee sys-tems, the district worked with the California Central Valley Flood Protection Board through the California Levees Roundtable to develop the framework in 2009.

story by chris gray-garcia - public affairs

photos courtesy of greg sokolis

Levee safety program update

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A way forward

Overtopping.

Seismic.

Seepage.

Each one of these is a concern at Isabella.

But the Corps has...

view of borel caNal from atop auxiliary dam

view of maiN dam

The Selected Plan

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The year was 1953.

It began with the inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower as president of the United States; IBM unveiled its first com-mercially available scientific computer – the 701 – larger than many of today’s office cubicles; and by March, Jonas Salk had announced his polio vaccine.

It was also in March 1953 that the new Isabella Lake main and auxiliary dams were completed after five years of construction, and began serving Kern County and the sur-

rounding cities with flood risk management, irrigation and hydroelectric use.

Nearly 60 years later, they con-tinue to serve those purposes, having helped prevent flooding in downstream communities at least 18 times. But today, Isabella Lake’s dams need an upgrade.

A nation-wide survey by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers of its dams in 2005 put Isabella Lake Dam near the top of its list of highest at-risk dams. The Corps identified significant hydrologic, seismic and seepage issues.

Both dams lack the filters and drains now understood to be necessary for safely dealing with the seepage that is normal to earthen dams like Isabella’s; the auxiliary dam sits on an active earthquake fault; and the current spillway is too small to safely route the amount of water we know now could come Isabella’s way in a rare, massive storm.

The Corps’ Sacramento District began studying how to ad-dress those problems and modernize the dams in 2006. In November 2012, after six years of study, the district present-ed its solution. The selected plan will raise the height of both dams by approximately 16 feet; add drainage and filters to help maintain the integrity of the dams; and construct a new emergency spillway to work with the smaller spillway already in place.

Additionally, the Borel Canal, which runs through the auxiliary dam, will be realigned around the dam, and about one mile each of highways 155 and 178 will be relocated to

accommodate the higher dam elevation. While the dams will be raised nearly two stories, it won’t be to store additional water.

“The purpose of raising the dams is to temporarily store more water in the reservoir only when very large, very rare storm events occur,” said Mike Ruthford, technical lead for the Isabella Lake Dam project.

Together, the modifications efficiently address each of the problems facing the dam, while minimizing the project’s impact to the communities that surround it.

“We’ve studied many alternatives to arrive at the best solu-tion for the dam and the public,” said John Menniti, Isabella Lake Dam project manager. “We’ve determined this to be the best solution.”

Public input helped shape the solution. A total of 435 com-ments from residents, businesses and agencies helped develop and refine the Corps’ preferred plan, providing additional knowledge, history and potential environmental concerns to project staff.

“It is very beneficial to have local and community input on the project,” Menniti said.

One of the major concerns expressed throughout the course of the study is that the communities in the Kern River Valley would be significantly impacted by a reduced lake level for extended periods. As a result, the plan calls for the in-water work requiring a lower lake elevation to be completed during fall and winter 2020, wrapping up before spring 2021 to help avoid lower lake levels during the peak recreation season. The lake levels are naturally lower during the winter months.

“There will be some short-term inconveniences, but the whole project will be greatly improved from a safety stand-point upon completion,” Menniti said.

The Corps released the project’s final environmental impact statement in October 2012, and the final plan was approved Dec. 18 by Corps headquarters. Now, the project will enter the design phase and is scheduled to begin construction in October 2014.

The first task planned would be to complete the relocation of highways 155 and 178, with completion of the project scheduled in February 2022.

Corps identifies selectedIsabella Lake Dam modernization planstory by tyler stalker, photos aNd illustratioN by carlos J. lazo

public affairs

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Sacramento arealevees update

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California has the ninth largest economy in the world and its capital, Sacramento, is among the most at-risk cities in America for catastrophic flooding. Its ag-ing flood risk reduction system of dams, weirs, bypasses and levees work togeth-er to reduce flood risk. But that system, just like a chain, is only as strong as its weakest link. This year, the Sacramento District continued to make great progress strengthening those links.

In 2012, the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-neers Sacramento District completed two levee construction projects along the lower American River, under its Ameri-can River Common Features program, or ARCF. One levee fix, near where Northrop Avenue intersects the American River Parkway trail, was a $5.7 million ef-fort to close a 900-foot gap in an existing levee seepage cutoff wall under high-power lines. Between 2000 and 2002, the Corps built more than 20 miles of cutoff walls into American River levees. Some segments—like this one, with its low-hanging power lines—were complicated by encroachments such as swimming pools, utility pipelines, bridges, build-ings, fences, and other similar obstruc-tions, and those areas were set aside for construction at later dates. Cutoff walls strengthen levees and help prevent water from seeping through or under the levees.

Another project completed in 2012 was a $1.89 million levee raise project just east of Howe Avenue. It involved reinforcing and raising, by an average of one foot, more than 4,000 feet of levee along the

Top photo: Construction crews work in darkness--when energy demand is lowest--on a stretch of American River levee near the California State Universi-ty-Sacramento campus Sept. 12, 2012 to close a 900-foot-long gap in a seepage cutoff wall under high power lines.

Photo sequence: Construction of a new flood wall in south Sacramento, Calif.

Watch hoW slurry Walls are created inside levees

CIVIL

American River’s north bank, to help pass large water releases from Folsom Dam and its auxiliary spillway, which is currently under construction. Even with the two aforementioned projects, more work is still necessary. In September 2012, the district awarded five ARCF construction contracts for more levee fixes along the American River, totaling more than $16.2 million with completion slated for 2013.

The district also made progress this year reducing Sacramento’s risk of flooding from different but related threats. Under the South Sacramento County Streams project, the district began construction on a 3,300-foot-long flood wall to help re-duce the risk of flooding from local creeks in the south part of the city. That work is scheduled for completion in 2013. The Sacramento District also helps the state of California with repairing significant erosion on the Sacramento River system under its Sacramento River Bank Protection Project, with seven projects contributing to $13 mil-lion of repair work completed in 2012.

History of the ARCF

In the 1990s, the Sacramento District began a widespread effort to lower Sacramento’s increasing threat of flooding. The massive, system-wide approach to reduce Sacra-mento’s risk is called the American River

A danger sign reminds contractors to be wary of high-voltage power lines as crews excavate a haul route next to a levee along the American River’s north bank in Sacramento, Calif., Aug. 28, 2012.

Common Features program. The ARCF program is a partnership of the Corps, the state of California’s Central Valley Flood Protection Board and the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency.

Over the years, the ARCF program has evolved into a three-pronged attack on Sacramento’s flooding threats, with a large emphasis on Sacramento’s levee systems. The majority of recent ARCF flood risk reduction efforts have focused on the lower American River—which begins at Folsom Dam and flows 30 miles to its confluence with the Sacramento River near downtown Sacramento. The improvements will help the levees contain Folsom Dam emergency releases of up to 160,000 cubic feet per second.

Improvements to this stretch are not easily accomplished, though, as most of it is lined by antique and narrow levees built close to the river banks, originally done to reclaim agricultural land and help mining sediment flow downstream. Now, most of these banks are impacted by excessive vegetation and residential communities enjoying easy ac-cess to the river and its 23-mile American River Parkway trail. Levee encroachments also continue to complicate work along the entire ARCF program boundaries.

Another part of this multi-faceted program is fixing a 42-mile ring of levees around

the Natomas Basin. The basin is mostly a hydraulically separable element from ARCF—like a system within a system—but it’s still part of the system-wide approach. Some of the needed levee work has already been completed by the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency. Additional work by the Corps, outlined in the Natomas Post-Authorization Change Report submitted to Congress in 2011, is on hold pending authorization and appropriation.

The third effort is an in-progress ARCF gen-eral reevaluation report. Taking into account levee seepage and stability issues resulting from recent flooding events, and constant river erosion and certain levee fixes already finished or scheduled to be finished in the coming years, the report will outline what additional work needs to be done in Sac-ramento to continue reducing flood risk for this growing metropolis.

2013 and beyond

With the contracts awarded in September, the 2013 construction season is looking to be very busy for the ARCF program. After these next five contracts are completed, only five sites remain for the American River levee-fixes portion of the program. Addition-ally, the ARCF general reevaluation report is expected to be complete in 2014. All of these links will help increase the chain’s strength further and reduce flood risk for Sacramento.

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story by tyler stalker photo by michael NeviNs

public affairs

From digging to buildingFolsom Dam’s new spillway

The ProsPeCTor

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With the first placement of concrete in May 2012 for Folsom Dam’s new auxiliary spillway control structure in Folsom, Calif., the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District began building Folsom Dam’s ‘second dam’ – the centerpiece of the approximately $850-million project to improve Folsom Dam’s safety and reduce flood risk for the Sacramento area.

The change marked the transition to construction following several years of excavating the spillway chute.

The Bureau of Reclamation excavated much of the spillway chute, and passed the project on to the district in 2011 to complete the excavation and begin construction. The spillway’s control structure, essentially a second dam, will release water from Folsom Lake just like the main dam but with a significant difference.

“The control structure’s gates will be about 50 feet lower than the gates on the main dam, meaning that we’ll be able to release water earlier and more quickly, if necessary,” project manager Beth Salyers said.

The improved flexibility in releasing water from Folsom Lake, combined with ongoing upgrades to the levees downstream, will significantly reduce the risk of flooding throughout the Sacramento area.

“Sacramento has been identified as one of the most at-risk cities for catastrophic flooding,” Salyers said, “so we’re trying to get this project done as quickly as possible.”

The new auxiliary spillway and its dam are designed

to meet the goals of bothfederal agencies. ForReclamation, which owns andoperates Folsom Dam, the spillwayreduces the risk of Folsom Damovertopping and failing. For the SacramentoDistrict, it provides more control over waterreleases during big storms.

Splitting the work between the two agencies is speeding up the project and reducing its cost.

The new dam will be 367 feet wide and 146 feet tall, slightly shorter than the Statue of Liberty. Each of its gates will stand more than three stories tall; so large that parts of Interstate 5 will have to be shut down to accommodate their truck transport to Folsom from Portland, Ore., where they’re being manufactured.

Construction typically proceeds 6 days a week, 16 hours a day. With each placement of concrete, the new dam grows by about the size of a basketball court, piled 4.5 feet high, or an average of 700-to-800 cubic yards. Placements are made two to three times per week. The total amount of concrete required to build the new dam, 112,000-plus cubic yards, is enough to fill more than 35 Olympic-size swimming pools. Its nine million pounds of rebar is heavier than 10 Boeing 747s.

Once the control structure is in place, expected in 2014, work can begin on the spillway’s final phases, including excavating the approach channel from the lake to the control structure and paving the spillway chute.

The auxiliary spillway is expected to be complete and operational in 2017.

Watch hoW folsom dam’s ‘second dam’ Will Work

Knights Ferry Bridge named National Historic Landmark

by robert kidd

public affairs

The Knights Ferry covered bridge, the historic treasure at Stanislaus River Parks in Knights Ferry, Calif., was named a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Inte-rior in 2012.

At 365 feet, the Knights Ferry Bridge is the longest wooden covered bridge west of the Mississippi River and a focal point for visitors to the park managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District.

Constructed in 1862-1863, the bridge is seen as an exceptionally fine example of 19th century covered bridge construction using the William Howe patented truss, one of the most successful and widely-used American timber bridge truss types.

This same year, Sacramento District engineers finalized a plan to correct some minor struc-tural issues with the historic bridge and keep the structure in tip-top shape.

“The bridge is in good shape, but some of the wood truss members and iron rods need to be repaired or replaced to meet current Corps en-gineering standards,” said Chris Abela, a civil engineer with the Sacramento District.

While there are no immediate concerns with the bridge, access has been temporarily re-stricted to light pedestrian traffic as a precau-tionary measure until repairs can be made.In his mid-October announcement, Depart-ment of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar noted: “Each of these landmarks teaches us about the history of our land, our people, and our nation.”

“By designating these sites as National His-toric Landmarks, we help meet a major goal of President [Barack] Obama’s America’s Great Outdoors Initiative to reconnect people, es-pecially young people, to our nation’s historic, cultural and natural heritage,” said Salazar.

view of the bridge, showN iN 1866

view of the bridge, showN July 2, 2012.photo by JohN prettymaN

folloW along on an inspection of the bridge

15

The fate of threatened fish species in California’s lower Yuba River looked up in 2012, despite continued contro-versy surrounding a disputed biological opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Habitat enhancement efforts remain focused on the Sacra-mento District’s two Yuba River dams. Built by the Califor-nia Debris Commission in 1906 and 1941, Daguerre Point and Englebright dams were designed to prevent hydraulic mining debris in the Sierra Nevada foothills from washing downstream and clogging Central Valley waterways.

Administration of the dams was turned over to the district when the CDC was abolished by the Water Resources Development Act of 1986. Although hydraulic mining has ceased, the dams still contain tons of Gold Rush-era min-ing debris, and local communities rely on them for hydro-power.

NMFS is concerned that Englebright Dam, in addition to other dams in the watershed, blocks access to upstream reaches of the river for fish spawning, and prevents the natural gravels that the migrating fish use for nesting, from flowing down the mountains to lower reaches of the river.

As fish populations in Northern and Central California rivers declined in recent decades, the National Marine Fisheries Service listed the Central Valley steelhead, spring-run Chinook salmon and, in 2006, the North American green sturgeon as threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. After the species were listed, the Sacramento District consulted with NMFS on impacts from the operations and maintenance activities of the dams on the species and their habitat.

NMFS issued its first biological opinion on Englebright and Daguerre Point dams in 2002, and another in 2007, finding their operation and maintenance did not jeopardize the listed species. Environmental advocacy groups sued, chal-lenging the conclusion.

Years of lawsuits and a court-ordered reconsideration of the opinion have followed.

The most recent major decision occurred early this year, on Feb. 29, when the National Marine Fisheries Service is-sued a jeopardy biological opinion on the two Corps dams. NMFS concluded the Corps’ operation and maintenance of the dams threatened the survival of all three threatened species.

The Corps disagreed with the conclusion.

Yuba River habitat restoration effortsstory aNd photos by chris gray-garcia

public affairs

Continued on page 29

Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission biologist Casey Campos looks for evidence of salmon spawn-ing in the Yuba River below Englebright Dam near Smartsville, Calif., Dec. 12, 2011.

Contractors place gravel into the Yuba River, Nov. 23, 2010.

16

by robert kidd, public affairs

photo courtesy of talco electroNics

Visitors to Black Butte Lake will soon be able to watch energy being generated by the regional breezes, as a $290,000 contract has been awarded for construction of a wind turbine at this U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District park near Orland, Calif.

Tri-Technic Inc. of Sonora, Calif., was awarded the contract Sept. 24, with construction of the 90-foot structure slated to begin in De-cember. It will be placed near the crest of a hill in the park’s Buckhorn Recreation Area.

“This region of Northern California has an ample supply of windy days to spin the 11 kilowatt turbine,” said Jonathan Friedman, senior district natural resources specialist for the Sacramento District.

“Visitors can feel good knowing the

power they use during their camping stay is partly generated from renew-able resources.”

Recreation facilities in the Sacra-mento District continue to grow in their use of sustainable energy, recycling and other initiatives for the prudent use of our natural resources.

This includes installation of solar en-ergy systems (funded by the Ameri-can Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009) at nine of the district’s park and dam facilities and moving to more efficient LED lighting.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the nation’s largest federal pro-vider of outdoor and water-based recreation, hosting more than 370 million visitors annually atmore than 420 lake andriver parks.

to Black Butte Lake

Wind turbine com

ing

17

Energy independence and resource conservation were boosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacra-mento District in 2012 – using wind power, solar power and “green” planning across a wide spectrum of civil and military projects.

Even our district parks will soon be “greener” than ever.

“It just makes sense for our recreational facilities to dem-onstrate positive examples of how we can all be kinder to the planet and manage our finite natural resources more wisely,” said Jonathan Friedman, senior district natural resources specialist for the Sacramento District

This greening of the district parks was boosted with funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the associated Department of Defense Energy Conserva-tion Investment Program. ECIP is a small, but key component of the DoD’s energy manage-ment strategy. This program is specifically designated for Re-covery Act projects that reduce energy and water usage, and consequently, costs.

The “green” effect is also influencing the district’s military projects.

This year, the Sacramento District has completed ECIP projects at Fort Hunter Liggett and Presidio of Monterey in California, and awarded a $9.6 million contract for stirling solar array project at Tooele Army Depot in Utah.

ENERGYMilitary, parks projects going “green”by robert kidd aNd carlos J. lazo

public affairs

photo courtesy of tooele army depot

public affairs office

Continued on page 28

A mannequin lays inside one of the new operating rooms at the Grand Junction Depart-ment of Veterans Affairs Medical Center March 23, 2012 in Grand Junction, Colo. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacra-mento District oversaw construction of the $13 million surgery floor addition, which adds two specialty operating rooms and two general operating rooms. (Pho-to by Carlos J. Lazo)

A humvee shades under a new one megawatt solar microgrid at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif., April 20, 2012. The Sacramento District oversaw construction of the $8.4 million project, which can provide enough energy to power 250 to 300 homes at once. Fort Hunter Liggett is one of six pilot installations selected by the U.S. Army to be net-zero energy. (illustration by Carlos J. Lazo)

MilitaryNews

Nearly 2,000 solar panels sit atop the post gymnasium at Presidio of Monterey in Monterey, Calif., shown January 26, 2012. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sac-ramento District oversaw placement of the panels, completed in early April 2012 and part of a $2 mil-lion project to provide up to an estimated 660,000 kilowatts of power a year. (Photo courtesy of DRI Energy, contractor)

18

Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installation, Energy and Environment), was one of several officials who attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new housing project at Dugway Proving Grounds, Utah, held July 26, 2012.

The project was overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramen-to District, and received a platinum certification in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards. From left to right: Col. Bill Leady, commander of the U.S. Army Corps

of Engineers Sacramento Dis-trict; Audy Snodgrass, Dugway garrison manager; Hammack; Col. A. Scott Estes, Dugway Proving Ground commander; Col. Darcy Brewer, acting re-gional director, Army Installation Management Command; and John Craig, Dugway’s garrison director of public works. (Photo by Bonnie A. Robinson, Dugway Proving Grounds)

Construction continues inside (left) and outside (top) of the F-22 Radar Cross Section Test Facility at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, June 20, 2012. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District is overseeing construction of the 49,827-square-foot facility, which will used to test the radar signature of the F-22 and other aircraft to ensure that required levels of radar stealth are met. (Photos by Carlos J. Lazo)

Watch What makes the neW housing project a first in leed

scaN to watch video about the proJect

The ProsPeCTor

19

20

Corps regulators flock to SacramentoNational conference, large infrastructure,development projects highlight busy year

by JohN prettymaN

public affairs

photo by keviN vestal

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacra-mento District regulatory division had an-other busy year in 2012 with many larger and more complex environmental reviews involving projects that combine long-term conservation planning, infrastructure and economic development.

In May, the district issued a first-of-its-kind regional general permit, which authorizes activities covered under a new 175,000-acre habitat conservation plan in East Contra Costa County, Calif. The HCP allows for reasonable develop-ment while protecting sensitive plants and animals, many of which are found in aquatic areas. A key benefit of large-scale conservation under the HCP and RGP is the ability to assemble an extensive network of wetlands and other waters that will be protected and managed long into the future.

“The RGP demonstrates how the regula-tory program can be flexible in addressing regional planning efforts and protect-ing important aquatic resources”, said Michael S. Jewell, chief of regulatory for

the Sacramento District. “It will serve as a model for five other HCPs being devel-oped in the area.”

The regulatory division issued more than 2,200 permits in 2012. Significant projects permitted included two master-planned communities in Rio Del Oro and Folsom, Calif.; the Provo Westside Connector in Utah; a high-priority infrastructure project identified by President Barack Obama’s administration; and the Fraser Valley Parkway in Colorado.

The division also continued environmental reviews of the Great Salt Lake Minerals and Kennecott Copper Mine expan-sions in Utah, and four rail sections of California’s High Speed Rail project. The division also prevailed in a lawsuit brought against it for its decision to permit the Ruby Pipeline, a natural gas line running from Wyoming to Oregon.

Regulatory was also on the move this year, relocating five of its seven offices. In January, the main regulatory office re-turned to the district headquarters at 1325

J Street in Sacramento, Calif. In June, the Grand Junction, Colo., field office moved into a new office space in the historic Wayne N. Aspinall Federal building, which is being modernized to become the first federal building to achieve a net zero energy rating.

In August, the district hosted the national regulatory conference, which brings to-gether more than 170 regulators through-out the Corps to share ideas and discuss ways to improve the permit program. That same month, Lisa Gibson, a senior proj-ect manager with the Sacramento District, received the Don Lawyer National Regulator of the Year Award. The national award is the highest regulatory recogni-tion a Corps employee can receive.

“We all want to preserve our natural resources and continue growing economi-cally,” Jewell explained. “For 2013, the regulatory team will continue to develop permit products and tools that allow us to make decisions sooner and balance reasonable economic development while protecting aquatic resources.”

More than 170 regulators from across the Corps pose for a photograph Aug. 9, 2012, during a national conference in Sacramento, Calif.

21

An abandoned airplane hangar with just four instructors, 60 students and only one language was how the school began in San Fran-cisco. Around the same time the school was starting its life, a small, 170-year-old military post about 100 miles south was going through yet another renovation: serving as a reception area for the U.S. Army’s III Corps.

The school, known now as the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, and the post, the Presidio of Monterey, would become synonymous with each other years later – in 1946, when the school moved to the Presidio – both grow-ing substantially in size through the decades. Since 2003, much of that growth has been thanks to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacra-mento District.

Since 2008, the district has all but transformed the post, recently over-seeing construction on three general instruction buildings for the school. At the close of 2012, construction continues on yet another general in-struction building and design for new facilities is nearing completion.

“When I started my career here, I worked on the original GIB project,” said Mark Bagley, chief of the archi-tectural design section at the Sacra-mento District. Bagley and his team in the design section have designed all of the buildings themselves, with

input from the post and school. It’s that ability to design in-house – instead of contracting for the service – that helps military construction projects go through a relatively short design phase.

The approximately 47,000-square-foot GIB completed in early 2012 provided the school with 40 new classrooms.

Although originally designed for about 34 classrooms, every room in the building – even storage rooms – includes internet connections and can be repurposed in the future to serve as a classroom. Staff repur-posed six additional rooms as class-rooms immediately after moving into the building.

The building was also the first LEED-certified project the Sac-ramento District completed at the Presidio. The LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental De-sign, standard was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, and measures green building design, construction and operations and maintenance solutions.

Even with the vast amount of work the district has already completed at the Presidio, more is on the way.

The Sacramento District is cur-rently designing a new dining facility, barracks complex and general administration building, and plans to

In-house design helps transform California military post

story aNd photo by carlos J. lazo public affairs

graphic geNerated by revit

A side view of the new general instruction building at the Presidio of Monterey in Monterey, Calif., shown April 19, 2012.

22

Modifications - although common - can have a lasting impact on projects, adding to the overall cost and delaying construction completion dates.

The Sacramento District is helping avoid them by using a new kind of software named BIM.

Building information modeling, or BIM, does not follow the traditional road of drawing a building out first, then creat-ing a model. Instead, designers create a model of the building in BIM, and then generate drawings for construc-tion afterwards. This concept is a welcomed and more natural-feeling tool for designers at the district.

“Coming from a background where you are building a physical object, it feels more natural to make a piece of the model and then actually build it,” said Matthew Valentine, an architect with the Sacramento District.

“One of the biggest benefits is clash detection,” said Valentine. “We have the opportunity to take the model that we built, export it…then view all of the clashes between different elements

- say between structural and mechani-cal elements.

“That actually helps us fix a lot of these things in design. Where as, if our drawings went out to the field and a contractor was trying to build the thing, if these clashes were not resolved before then, it results in more modifications,” said Valentine.

“If we can just fix these things up front, it saves everybody time in the long run.”

BIM files also help the post main-tain the buildings after construction. Installation or building managers can then use these files to guide building operation and maintenance during the project’s lifespan.

“The building manager can open up the model and tell at a glance how many square feet of roof he has, how many square feet of blank materialhe needs,” said Valentine. “It’sreally easy to pull data out ofthe model.”

BIM benefits save time, money on projects

From previous page

story by carlos J. lazo public affairs

Views of the open space (left) and classroom (top) from one of the new general instruction buildings at the Presidio of Monterey. The project was overseen by the Sacramento District. (Photos by Carlos J. Lazo)

demolish the old dining facility. As of mid-De-cember 2012, the design for the dining facility is 90 percent complete. The milestone was reached through a new, unique program.

Traditionally, projects are designed first using 2-D drawings, potentially resulting in a 3-D model at the end of the design process.

“It depends on who the designer was, how much time they took to draw it up,” said Matthew Valentine, an architect with the Sacramento District, referring to the choice between drawings and 3-D models. “Mostly it was flat, it was line work.”

The dining facility followed a reverse process.

Using a program called Revit, Valentine and the design team created the model first us-ing a process known as building information modeling, or BIM.

“Instead of drawing line work, you’re creat-ing a 3-D model and the drawings that you end up with are a result of the model that you built,” said Valentine.

Valentine is the district’s BIM expert, accord-ing to Bagley, and recently led a four-day BIM training program for Corps employees at the Omaha District.

Back at the Sacramento District, Valentine is helping create a model that best incorporates all of the requirements for the new dining facility – from adequate space for kitchen appliances, to a walkway connecting the new facility to current buildings at the site. All of this is achieved through the collaborative ef-forts of the design branch team.

A U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District scientist is playing a leading role in a series of research projects to pro-tect American service members from toxic vapors, make toxic cleanup projects more effective and potentially change how the world monitors airborne chemicals.

Dr. Janis Hulla, Sacramento District senior toxicologist, is a member of a multidisciplinary team that is developing an instru-ment that could be worn by military fuel handlers to warn them of unsafe exposure to naphthalene – a component of petroleum fuel vapor that may be carcinogenic.

“Our current test model is in a belt pack, but we envision a much smaller device that would warn the wearer of unsafe conditions; track exposure levels over time and by location; and transmit that data wirelessly for central collection,” said Hulla. “Our goal is real-time, lab-quality data coming from a small mobile unit that includes GPS and cell phone technology.”

Until recently, naphthalene could easily be found in most homes – it’s the prime component of old-fashioned mothballs. California declared naphthalene a human carcinogen in 2005. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is on the cusp of doing the same, according to a draft human health risk assessment that is currently under development. Worldwide standards for naph-thalene exposure are expected to tighten significantly in the near future, said Hulla.

Today’s toxicological standards include an established short-term exposure limit for naphthalene, but existing testing methods take at least three days to alert those who were affected.

Exposure to petroleum fuels is the single largest chemical expo-

sure for all American service members, Hulla noted. “We want to better protect war fighters who handle fuel every day, along with all those service members who may be deployed and sleeping in tents heated with petroleum fuels,” she said.

This breakthrough research project, begun in 2006, involves a team of researchers from defense, academia and private busi-ness. At the core of the new technology is a special diode devel-oped by Photon Systems Inc. of Covina, Calif. The diode emits energy in the deep ultraviolet portion of the spectrum, making these real-time readings possible.

Accurately measuring very low concentrations of toxic gas in real time is totally new and this naphthalene dosimeter is just the first application. Current standard methods for measuring toxic gases require a full laboratory, loads of paperwork and weeks to pro-duce a very basic reading for one moment in time at one location.

“This new sensing technology could one day help guide environ-mental cleanup projects, monitor vapor intrusion into structures, control exhaust fans for industrial sites -- the possibilities inspire me,” said Hulla.

A different version of this device might be placed underground at a contaminated site, instantly report-ing changes in vapor escaping up through the soil. “Real-time read-ings of concentrations would be far more accurate than today’s com-puter modeling and time-weighted

District scientist shrinks time,

space todetect danger

story aNd photo by robert kidd

public affairs

Continued on page 28air force fuel haNdlers wear aN earlier belt pack versioN of the NaphthaleNe dosimeter. (photo

courtesy of JaNis hulla)

24

Lisa Gibson (left) was recognized with the Don Lawyer Regulator of the Year Award. The national award, presented annually, is the highest regulatory recognition a Corps employee can receive, which recognizes outstanding civilian service in making reasonable, balanced and timely permit decisions while projecting a positive and professional image. The award was named after Don Lawyer, a dedicated Corps regula-tory program coordinator.

Dan Williams (right) was awarded the Hard Hat of the Year award for his work on the Folsom Dam Joint Federal Project. The annual award is presented to the most outstand-ing field employee within the South Pacific Division. Williams was selected because of his knowledge of Quality Manage-ment Process, use of innovative methods in the field, leadership, dedication to success and posi-tive attitude.

And the winners are...Corps employees recognized for their hard work, contributions to projects, programs in 2012

Sara Platt (top) and Josh Holmes from the office of counsel were presented with two out of seven national awards for exceptional ser-vice the district commander, Col. Bill Leady, at district headquarters.

Pictured is Marjorie McDonald, chief of safety for the district.

This year, the district was recognized with the 2011 Chief of Engi-neers Safety Award of Honor, for outstanding performance in safety and occupational health program management. Nomination criteria includes: occupational safety and health for government employees, customers, or the public including environment and living and work-ing conditions. This can include professional outreach activities, such as writing professional journal articles or speaking at profes-sional conferences, and community outreach programs.

Erin Hess, a regulatory project manager and the 2011 recipient of the Randy Snyder Regulatory Excellence Award. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento District established the award in 2002 to recognize the challenge federal regulators face in allow-ing construction and economic development but still ensuring the preservation of waterways for the public. Watch Hess explain more about the award by scanning this QR code.

photos by todd plaiN, keviN vestal aNd JohN prettymaN

The ProsPeCTor

To help commemorate National Preparedness Month and California Preparedness Day, the Sacramento District joined the California Emergency Management Agency and other representatives from local, state, federal, non-profit and private agencies at the California State Capitol Sept. 18, 2012.

The event was held to help educate the public on how they can prepare for the next disaster in their communities. A website (pictured left) with helpful information was also launched during the same week.

Explaining Flood RiskCorps joins Cal-EMA, other agencies to raise awareness,provide tips on how to prepare for disastersphoto by carlos J. lazo

public affairs

25

The Herbert A. Kassner Journalism competition is an annual event that recognizes superior achievement and promotes further outstanding effort by Corps of Engineers journalists. First place winners in the USACE contest go on to compete at the Army-level Keith L. Ware journalism competition, and if they win there, at the Department of Defense level. This year, Sacramento District’s public affairs office won more awards than any other district.

Individual Awards Michael Nevins: First Place: Photograph Honorable Mention: Television Feature Report Todd Plain: Second Place: PhotographCarlos Lazo: Third Place: News FeatureJohn Prettyman: First Place: USACE Team Award at Keith L. Ware Journalism Competition: Command Information Campaign (This award recognizes John’s contribution to the USACE-wide “Build- ing Strong People” campaign, which highlighted USACE career opportunities) First Place: Television Feature Report Third Place: Television News ReportChris Gray: First Place: News Feature Third Place: Television Feature Report

Team AwardsFirst Place: Television Information Program – “Natomas Flood Risk” - John Prettyman, Chris GrayFirst Place: Local Television Newscast – “How levees fail, how we fix them” - John Prettyman, Todd Plain, Chris GraySecond Place: Command Information Campaign – “Central Valley Flood Risk” - John Prettyman, DeDe Cordell, Chris Gray

From left to right: Sacramento District employees Jesse Hogan, Paige Caldwell and Kim Carsell talk with members of the public during the California Preparedness Day at the State Capitol Sept. 18.

26

story by carlos J. lazo

photos by robert kidd, carlos J. lazo aNd tyler stalker public affairs

At 8.0, the building’s top floor fell, and the looks of worry intensified. As the ground below the building continued to shake - increasing to 10.0 on the Richter scale - everyone waited for the inevitable. Nearly 30 seconds after the ground initially began to shake, it happened; the building crumbled - but everyone still cheered.

Of course, this was no ordinary building; it was a 24-inch structure designed and constructed by ninth graders at Hi-ram W. Johnson High School in Sacramento, Calif., as part of an engineering challenge. It was one of three challenges the 125 students were assigned during a science, technol-ogy, engineering and mathematics - or STEM - event Nov. 9, 2012, hosted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacra-mento District.

“We are showing them some of the work we’ve done here locally, [to] create some recognition and awareness, and re-ally inspire some career choices as they approach that time in life when they might be thinking about what to do when they grow up,” said Alicia Kirchner, chief of the Sacramento District’s planning division.

Kirchner was joined by the deputy district engineer, Lt. Col. Braden LeMaster, and more than 12 other district employ-ees at the event.

“The Corps is really an agency filled with dedicated profes-sionals; many, of course, in the engineering and science dis-ciplines. And we are really enthusiastic about being able to get out and work with kids and inspire them to follow these career paths that so many with the Corps have followed,” said Kirchner.

Before Corps staff talked to the students about STEM, though, they met with their parents Nov. 8 to explain why the Corps was hosting such an event.

“We want your children to continue studying and pursue STEM-related degrees,” said LeMaster. “The Corps needs

more engineers, more architects, more biologists and many more employees with these specific skills. But more impor-tantly, the nation needs more STEM professionals.”

Working with the Corps to spread this message, both at the parent and student events, were representatives from Great Minds in STEM, who organized the day’s activities, which included a bit of STEM-specific role playing.

“We had them divided into teams and we told them because they are so smart, they got into the graduate program,” said Helen Barriere, coordinator for education programs with GMiS. “They went to [University of California - Davis] and got their bachelors; into the masters program at [University of Southern California]; and ultimately got their Ph.D. from MIT.

“For the rest of the day, all the students are doctors and have to refer to themselves as doctors,” said Barriere, “and they are working in their teams as doctors in different fields - we have biologists, environmental engineers, civil engi-neers, electrical engineers; you name it, we have it.”

Following their pretend graduation ceremonies, the newly-minted doctors began planning and building their towers.

Once they were built, it was on to the next challenge: build-ing a beam bridge according to specific plans provided to them by the Corps and GMiS.

To really drive home the message that a career in a STEM-related field could be theirs, the students were also given the opportunity to ask a Hiram W. Johnson High School graduate and current Corps employee, Linda Finley, about her journey to an engineering career.

“They were interested in the types of projects that I do, and what it took to be able to get through engineering - was it a four-year school, a five-year school?” said Finley, the Sacramento District’s deputy for project management. “They wanted to ask some of those details and you can see it’s got

Planting a seed for STEMCorps hosts science, technology, engineering andmathematics event for local high school

Continued on next page

27Watch hoW students tackled the earthquake challenge

A cutaway drawing of the naphthalene dosimeter pro-totype. This research project involves scientists from defense, academia and private enterprise. A special diode developed by Photon Systems Inc. of Covina, Calif., is at the heart of the device.(Graphic courtesy PSI)

averaging,” said Hulla.

“Once this method has been independently vali-dated by other institutions, we can move to the next phase of testing,” said Hulla. Test results are currently being examined at Temple University and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health. The research team also includes members from University of California-Davis and U.S. Army Research Institute for Environmental Medicine. Funding for this project comes from the Department of Defense, U.S. Army, National Science Founda-tion and NIOSH.

If this real-time monitoring technology is proven valid, worldwide public policy on how we monitor airborne chemicals could very well change. “We’re leading the world in this field of research,” said Hulla.

Arturo Ceballos, with the Sacramento District, explains the functions of the Folsom Dam and the auxiliary spillway, currently under con-struction, to parents and students during the Parents Night event at Hiram W. Johnson High School in Sacramento, Calif., Nov. 8, 2012.

From STEM (page 26)

From District Scientist (page 23)

Students put the finishing touches on their structure project during the earthquake challenge.

them thinking, and that’s a good thing.”Finley also served as an honorary judge for the students’ last challenge - devel-oping an invention for use in the year 3000. From portable solar charges to shrinking robots capable of fixing phones and computers, to breathing devices that could be used in space and underwater; the student doctors covered a wide spectrum of uses with their inven-tions. But none of them could protect their first challenge from its final test.

One by one, each team placed their tower on a portable earthquake simula-tor. Simulating earthquakes ranging from 0.1 to 10 on the Richter scale, the little device shook and brought down the first tower after 29 seconds.

Others would share a similar fate, but several teams - thanks to some ingenuity - saw their creations survive more than 40 seconds of a 10.0 earthquake with no signs of damage.

At the end of the day, LeMaster and Kirchner said they hope the students realized all the

great opportunities available to them with a STEM-related degree.

“I’m looking for STEM graduates or people that want to pursue STEM in the future as we walk away from this event today,” said LeMaster.

Added Kirchner, “The world needs scientists and engineers.”

At the heart of the disagreement are two issues: whether NFMS can properly consider the ongoing existence of the dams as part of the Corps’ operation and maintenance action, and whether the Corps has the authority and funding necessary to take the actions the jeop-ardy biological opinion requires.

In fact, neither dam requires much operation. They are ‘fill and spill’ dams; they hold back debris, but don’t regu-late the flow of the river – water flows uncontrolled over the top of them.

The district’s major responsibilities are inspecting the dams, maintaining fish ladders at Daguerre and managing recreation at Englebright Lake.

The opinion also directs the Corps to take additional measures, including implementing a fish passage program at Englebright, and recommends eventual removal of the dams.

The district has already completed the measures required by a 2010 court order.

Meanwhile, the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission has found doz-ens of redds, or salmon nesting sites, in gravel the district placed in the river in 2011 and 2012.

The program to add gravel to the river for spawning was designed by Dr. Greg Pasternack, hydrology professor at the University of California – Davis.

“It’s a little early in the process to say definitively that the program is a success,” said Englebright Lake and Dam manager, Doug Grothe. “But the number of salmon redds noted in the surveys is certainly a very good sign.

“We care deeply about this river and its fish,” Grothe said. “We’re doing every-thing we can – within our authorities and appropriations – to enhance habitat and improve spawning conditions.”

For the last two years, the Corps’ request to study additional fish passage options was included in the President’s proposed budget. Congress has yet to appropriate funding for the new study to

start. The Corps continues to manage a program to place gravel for spawn-ing in the river, as required by the 2012 biological opinion.

The Corps continues to meet with NFMS to resolve the differences. But in the fall, the South Yuba River Citizens League and Friends of the River both filed notices of intent to sue with the Corps.

The Yuba County Water Agency filed a notice of intent to sue the Corps and NMFS, over the biological opinion and its implementation.

“We’re going to continue to work di-rectly with everyone concerned to find a solution that works for all of us within our congressional authorizations and appropriations,” said Randy Olsen, chief of the Sacramento District’s operations and readiness branch.

“We will also keep doing everything we can to continue seeking authorization and funding for improving conditions on the Yuba River.”

From Yuba River (page 15)

A ground-breaking ceremony was held in August for the project, attended by Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Katherine Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installation, Energy and Envi-ronment).

“This is a unique project and a first-of-a-kind for any Army installation,” said Chuck Hubbard, chief of the Army/Air Force section of the Sacramento Dis-trict’s military construction branch.

But the project is just one of many more ECIP projects the district will oversee at multiple installations throughout Cali-fornia, Nevada and Utah. They include solar grids, windmills, photovoltaic sys-tems and solar-panel-covered parking.

Some of that technology is already present at various district locations in California.

The Sacramento District’s 10 parks have variously installed solar energy systems, converted office and shop lighting to compact fluorescent and LED lamps, updated heating and cooling systems and use dual-pane window glass to reduce their net consumption

of power.

Black Butte Lake, near Orland, Calif., will begin installation of a wind turbine later this December, helping sustainably generate power for park visitors.

Staff at several parks will soon be using electric vehicles during maintenance duties, decreasing the amount of car-bon emissions from gasoline engines.

Water usage efficiency has improved by incorporating low-flow toilets, timers on camping showers and tankless water heating systems.

But the solutions aren’t all found in new equipment. Recycling programs are in full swing at all Sacramento District parks and staff car pools are a popular practice.

“With our rangers and maintenance staff involved in conservation, that en-thusiasm gets shared with our visitors. Every visitor can feel better, know-ing they help protect the environment when they visit a Sacramento District recreation project,” said Friedman. “Our recreation operations are greener than ever before.”

From “green” (page 17) Solar panels sit atop the park headquarters and information center at New Hogan Lake, shown Mar. 4, 2010. (Photo by Tood Plain)

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U.S. army Corps of eNgiNeers

SacrameNto district

1325 J. Street

SacrameNto, ca 95814