Army Corps of Engineers - Global pulse News
  • Biden to visit Baltimore bridge collapse site Friday; no effect from NJ quake is seen so far on recovery effort

    Biden to visit Baltimore bridge collapse site Friday; no effect from NJ quake is seen so far on recovery effort

    BALTIMORE — President Joe Biden on Friday will take an aerial tour of the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, meet with families of the six men killed and receive an update on the massive cleanup and rebuilding efforts that he’s promised the federal government will pay for.

    Meanwhile, a spokesperson at the information center for the bridge said officials were unaware of any impact from the the 4.8-magnitude earthquake that struck New Jersey Friday morning on the recovery efforts. The quake rattled parts of Maryland and other states. Citizens reported feeling the quake in Baltimore and Annapolis, as well as the Eastern Shore and Washington, D.C.

    Biden, a Democrat seven months away from an election rematch with former Republican President Donald Trump, has vowed to support Baltimore since a 984-foot shipping vessel hit the Key Bridge, sending it tumbling into the Patapsco River on March 26.

    Democratic Gov. Wes Moore will join him on the aerial tour, and a host of federal, state and local leaders will participate in his briefing with the Coast Guard and Army Corps of Engineers, a White House official said in a statement.

    The operational update will include information on the work to clear the Port of Baltimore and reopening it to shipping traffic “as soon as humanly possible,” the official said.

    “The president is continuing to lead a whole-of-government approach to the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge,” the official said. “As the president said within hours of the collapse: This administration will be with the people of Baltimore every step of the way.”

    Biden’s visit will come a little over a week after he pledged to fully finance the bridge cleanup and rebuild.

    A $60 million “down payment” was approved within days, allowing for vital cleanup work as cranes began arriving and removing the debris.

    The Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday that it was pushing an “ambitious timeline” to return port access to “normal capacity” by the end of May. A channel 280 feet wide and 35 deep that would allow barge container service and some vessels to pass through could also be open by the end of April.

    Meanwhile, the remains of four of the six men who were killed when the bridge came down remain in the water, and the 21 crew members on board the Singapore-flagged Dali are still on board.

    State officials are planning on tapping federal emergency relief funds for a bridge-rebuilding process for which planning is already underway. Most of that can be approved by Biden, though some will need congressional approval. Maryland Democrats like U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, of Baltimore, have said they’ve been in contact with Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson and others about securing the rest.

    Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young, in a letter to Congress last Friday, asked for them to ensure that the federal government pays for 100% of the costs. She said the administration would pursue “any compensation for damages or insurance proceeds” to reduce the burden on taxpayers.

    The financial impact will be immense. Total costs for a new bridge could run high into the hundreds of millions, and insurance claims expected to reach $1 billion or more could make the collapse the maritime industry’s largest-ever financial loss.

    Other officials expected to join the president Friday will be U.S. Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, Mfume, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. and Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman. All are Democrats.

    U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan and Lt. Gen. Scott Spellmon, chief engineer of the Army Corps of Engineers, will also be there, according to the White House. Fagan and Spellmon will join the aerial tour.

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    (Baltimore Sun writer Christine Condon contributed to this report.)

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  • Lake Okeechobee releases to St. Lucie River in Stuart will not resume

    Lake Okeechobee releases to St. Lucie River in Stuart will not resume

    Lake Okeechobee discharges to the St. Lucie River will not resume at this time, Maj. Corey Bell of the Army Corps of Engineers said Friday. One reason is because of toxic algae that prompted the state to issue health alerts for five locations since March 29. Another reason is because of a recommendation by the South Florida Water Management District to halt discharges. Beneficial releases to the Caloosahatchee River will begin because of dry conditions in the watershed.

    Lake O discharges have been on a routine two-week pause since March 30. Discharges to both Florida coasts were necessary to lower the level of Lake O before the start of the 2024 hurricane season June 1. Over 41 days, the lake level dropped slightly more than one foot — from 16 feet 4 inches to 15 feet 3 inches.

    An aerial view of the St. Lucie River on March 12, 2024 showing the dark water from Lake Okeechobee discharges in Martin County.
    An aerial view of the St. Lucie River on March 12, 2024 showing the dark water from Lake Okeechobee discharges in Martin County.

    Lake Okeechobee discharges

    A total of 54.9 billion gallons of Lake O water has poured into the St. Lucie River since Feb. 17, according to Army Corps data. An additional 104.4 billion gallons has been sent west through the Caloosahatchee River.

    U.S. Rep. Brian Mast of Fort Pierce urged the Army Corps to stop discharges in a March 25 letter and a March 28 news conference that preceded a meeting of the Rivers Coalition, which formed in 1998 to stop discharges. The South Florida Water Management District also recommended the Army Corps stop discharges in a March 27 letter, SFWMD Executive Director Drew Bartlett said at that Rivers Coalition meeting.

    “It’s time to be done with harmful discharges,” Bartlett said.

    The most recent discharges have had significant negative impacts on the estuary and the organisms living in it, said Mark Perry, executive director of the Florida Oceanographic Society in Stuart. Extended discharges can lower salinity in the normally tidal, brackish river to lower than 5 parts per thousand. Low salinity allows algae to live and spread, and kills oysters and seagrasses, the main food of manatees.

    Lake O water moving west to east often carries microcystin aeruginosa — technically a cyanobacteria commonly called “blue-green algae” — into the St. Lucie (C-44) Canal and eventually into the St. Lucie River.

    The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has confirmed the algae contains the microcystin toxin in five locations since March 29, some in concentrations higher than 8 parts per billion, which the Environmental Protection Agency says is harmful to people, pets and wildlife to touch, ingest or inhale:

    • St. Lucie Canal (C-44) at the 96th Street bridge: 17 parts per billion

    • St. Lucie River at Four Rivers in Palm City: 11 parts per billion

    • St. Lucie River at the Harborage: 1.4 parts per billion

    • St. Lucie River at the Palm City Bridge: 0.92 parts per billion

    • St. Lucie (C-44) Canal at the Army Corps campground: 0.6 parts per billion

    Water samples collected April 1-2 at these locations showed no sign of the toxin:

    • Port Mayaca Lock and Dam at Lake Okeechobee

    • St. Lucie (C-44) Canal at the Army Corps campground

    • St. Lucie Canal (C-44) at the 96th Street bridge

    • St. Lucie River at Four Rivers in Palm City

    • St. Lucie River at the Palm City Bridge

    The health department advises people to take these precautions during discharges:

    • Do not drink, swim, wade, use personal watercraft, water ski or boat in waters where there is a visible blue-green algae bloom.

    • Wash your skin and clothing with soap and water if you have contact with algae or water that’s discolored or smelly.

    • Keep pets away from the area. Water containing algae blooms are not safe for animals. Pets and livestock should have a different source of water when algae blooms are present.

    • Do not cook or clean dishes with water contaminated by algae blooms. Boiling the water will not eliminate the toxins.

    • Eating fillets from healthy fish caught in freshwater lakes experiencing blooms is safe. Rinse fish fillets with tap or bottled water, throw out the guts and cook fish well.

    • Do not eat shellfish in waters with algae blooms.

    How to report algae blooms

    • DEP collects and analyzes algal bloom samples. Report algae sightings to DEP online or via its toll-free hotline at 855-305-3903.

    • Report fish kills to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute at 800-636-0511.

    • Report symptoms from exposure to an algal bloom or any aquatic toxin to the Florida Poison Information Center at 800-222-1222.

    • Contact your veterinarian if you believe your pet has become ill after consuming or having contact with water containing cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). If you have other health questions or concerns, call DOH-Martin at 772-221-4000.

    Ed Killer covers the environment and fisheries issues for TCPalm. Email him at ed.killer@tcpalm.com.

    This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Army Corps: Lake Okeechobee releases to St. Lucie River won’t resume

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  • Thoughts on an environmental study for the port’s ship channel? Here’s how to share them.

    Thoughts on an environmental study for the port’s ship channel? Here’s how to share them.

    A study on how ship channel dredging may impact the environment – and suggestions on how potential environmental impacts may be mitigated – is up for public review.

    The comment period on the 433-page environmental impact statement, posted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will remain open until April 21, a notice posted by the federal agency shows.

    The Port of Corpus Christi Authority’s proposal, in part, calls for lengthening the channel.

    Sea Bay, an oil tanker from Hong Kong, navigates through Corpus Christi Bay and heads toward the Port of Corpus Christi on Oct. 19, 2022, in San Patricio County, Texas.
    Sea Bay, an oil tanker from Hong Kong, navigates through Corpus Christi Bay and heads toward the Port of Corpus Christi on Oct. 19, 2022, in San Patricio County, Texas.

    Plans would see a section of the current ship channel, from an area near Port Aransas and Harbor Island, extend its endpoint further east into the gulf waters by about 5.5 miles, according to the news release announcing the launch of the public comment period.

    The document shows that the project would also increase the depth of an existing 54-feet-deep section of the ship channel, also near Port Aransas.

    Under the proposal, that section would see an additional 40% drop, bringing its depth to 77 feet, the document states.

    Port officials have said the intent of the project would be to facilitate passage of larger ships.

    To make public comment:

    By email: SWG201900067@usace.army.mil

    By postal service:

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District

    Regulatory Division

    2000 Fort Point Road, Galveston, TX 77550

    More: Port of Corpus Christi receives $157.3 million to finish ship channel improvement project

    More: Port Aransas council calls for ‘no impacts’ from Port of Corpus Christi dredging proposal

    This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Public comment period opens for ship channel environmental study

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