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  • October

    Corps announces closure of Regulatory offices due to government shutdown

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District today announced it will close its Regulatory offices due to the absence of available federal funding. Regulatory offices will be unable to evaluate individual permit applications, Pre-Construction Notifications for Nationwide Permit or Regional General Permit authorizations, or requests for jurisdictional determinations until after current year funding is received and the offices reopen.
  • Upstream view of the Los Angeles River channel above Butte Street bridge during construction.

    The LA River and the Corps: A brief history

    The Los Angeles River is regarded as an icon of LA’s sprawling hyperurbanization. To some, it’s nothing more than a part of the landscape that splits the concrete jungle in two. To others, it’s an eyesore; a resplendent piece of nature stunted in a tomb of steel and cement. But the 51-mile-long river wasn’t always a flood control channel.

  • Corps projects continue during government shutdown

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District projects continue to operate temporarily despite the government shutdown. Many Los Angeles District projects have enough remaining funding from past appropriations for work to continue beyond Oct. 1.

  • September

    USACE Mehrbad Golshani, an electrical engineer with the Los Angeles District, inspects an electrical panel at this Fort Irwin Office. The Los Angeles District sent a team of more than 70 engineering and technical support professionals to the fort to assess damage and provide recovery operations after flooding from a monsoon-like storm covered the post with mud and debris Aug. 25.

    South Pacific Division commander tours Fort Irwin flood damage

    FORT IRWIN, Calif.—-Brig. Gen. David Turner, commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers South Pacific
  • KEARNEY, ARIZ. – Mike Langley, A senior project manager in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District Arizona-Nevada Area Office’s Regulatory Division, discusses options during a public meeting held Sept. 24 for the proposed new tailings facility for Asarco’s Ray Mine. Langley is working on drafting an Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed facility and held the meeting to set forth the plan the District is working on during the course of the study.

    Corps holds two public meetings on proposed Ray Mine changes

    Members of the Regulatory Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District’s Arizona-Nevada Area Office held public scoping meetings on Sept. 24 and 25 in Kearney and Apache Junction, Ariz., to discuss a proposal for a new tailing facility for the Ray Mine in Pinal County.
  • The District conducts pre- and post-flood season visual inspections of flood control channels built and operated or maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. On Sept. 25, District personnel, along with graduate student volunteers from Harvard University identified native and non-native plants and observed damage, like undercutting, in a portion of the channel.

    Harvard students help Corps inspect portion of Los Angeles River

    The District conducts pre- and post-flood season visual inspections of flood control channels built and operated or maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. On Sept. 25, District personnel, along with graduate student volunteers from Harvard University, identified native and non-native plants and observed damage, like undercutting, in a portion of the channel.

  • Compton Creek: thinking globally, acting locally

    Compton Creek, a concrete-lined channel feeding into the Los Angeles County Drainage System, is beset by conditions prevalent in many of our nation’s waterways: debris, maintenance issues, and a lack plants, wildlife and recreation, to name a few. If students at Compton High School have anything to say, that may change some day.
  • Los Angeles District Program Manager Robert Klein was selected as the Corps’ Program Manager of the Year for 2013 in July.

    Award winning program manager is customer of his customer

    He’s not the type of person who says one thing but does another. He isn’t someone who does just enough to get by. In fact, Los Angeles District Program Manager Robert Klein’s impressive dedication was recognized by headquarters when they selected him as the Corps’ Program Manager of the Year for 2013 in July.

  • San Luis Rey River habitat maintenance resumes

    Habitat maintenance along the San Luis Rey River resumed in Oceanside, Calif., Sept. 9 when RECON Environmental, Inc., once again deployed water trucks to help establish recently planted native vegetation in the riverbed.

  • Corps, public talk about Whittier Narrows Dam modifications

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District held a public meeting in Pico Rivera, Calif., Sept. 11 to describe potential structural modifications to Whittier Narrows Dam and to seek comments from the public on issues and concerns they wish to have considered during the preparation of its supporting Environmental Impact Statement.
  • Cover page of the Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study report posted for public review and comment Sept. 13.

    USACE finalizes draft L.A. River study report and initiates 45-day public comment period

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finalized preparation of a draft report for the Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration Feasibility Study and posted the report to the Los Angeles District website Sept. 13. The report will appear in the Federal Register Sept. 20, which will trigger a 45-day public comment period that will help inform a final report and result in the Corps’ recommendation to Congress.
  • Several California highway patrolmen, trainers, and volunteers ascended on the spillway of the Sepulveda Dam to train on the use of the CHP's newest patrol car, the Ford Police Interceptor-Utility Model, during an exercise Aug. 16.

    CHP uses district asset to train with new patrol car

    More than 20 patrolmen, trainers, and volunteers participated in the training, which saw them test the brand new Ford Police Interceptor Utility model, which is being phased in to replace the force’s aging fleet of iconic white-and-black Crown Victorias.
  • The commander of the South Pacific, Col. David Turner, visited numerous projects and met with district personnel during a trip to Southern California.

    South Pacific Division commander visits district projects, people

    Col. David Turner, the commander of the South Pacific Division, went on a whirlwind tour of several Los Angeles District projects during a visit to the area Aug. 19-23. Turner, who took command of the division in June, was joined by James Dalton, the Corps of Engineers’ chief of engineering and construction, and Brad Schwichtenberg, deputy chief of the division’s regional integration team.
  • SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. -- Jesse Laurie, project manager in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District's Tucson Resident Office, speaks with members of the Sierra Vista, Ariz. community during a public meeting held Sept. 4. Laurie and other District team members were on hand with representatives from local and state agencies to discuss the District's upcoming remedial investigation of Formerly Used Defense Sites within the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area

    LA District hosts public meeting in Sierra Vista

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District hosted a public information meeting Sept. 4 to discuss an upcoming remedial investigation of two Formerly Used Defense Sites within the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. District representatives discussed the planned investigation activities and answered questions about the former training areas.

  • August

    An artist’s rendering of the water treatment plant shows what the facility will look like upon completion. (Illustration courtesy of CDM Smith)

    Fort Irwin team picked as Corps’ project delivery team of the year

    LOS ANGELES — A team of people working on a water treatment plant and distribution system project at
  • KINGMAN, Ariz. – Fran Firouzi, a project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District, talks with a member of the public at an informational public meeting held Aug. 20 at the Fraternal Order of the Eagles meeting facility in Kingman, Ariz. about the upcoming time-critical removal action work at site of the former Kingman Ground-to-Ground Gunnery Range. The work at the site will "abate, prevent, minimize, stabilize, mitigate, or eliminate the release or threat of release” of contaminants according to 40 Code of Federal Regulations 300.415(b) (1) at up to 42 properties in the area in addition to the ten properties already completed.

    LA District prepares for next round of FUDS cleanup in Kingman

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District held a public meeting Aug. 20 in Kingman, Ariz. to discuss upcoming time-critical removal action work at the site of the former Kingman Ground-to-Ground Gunnery Range. Contractors will work to clean up 42 properties of soil which was contaminated with chemicals known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The contaminants were leftover from the clay pigeon debris strewn across the ground when the area was used as a skeet range during WW II.
  • DAVIS-MONTHAN AFB, Ariz. – (From left to right) Lt. Col. Phil Acquaro, 42nd Electronic Combat Squadron commander; Michele Mickle, quality assurance representative in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District’s Tucson Resident Office; Tony Gomez, 355th Civil Engineer Squadron lead architect; and Andrew Erquiaga, RSCI Group construction team lead, toss ceremonial shovels of dirt for the new EC-130H Simulator Training Operations Facility during a groundbreaking ceremony held Aug. 15 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. When it is complete in August 2014, the new facility will provide space for new EC-130H flight deck simulator, new EC-130H mission crew simulator and one relocated EC-130H mission crew simulator among its many benefits.

    Los Angeles District breaks ground for new project on Davis-Monthan AFB

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District joined with officials and contractors at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson Aug. 15 to break ground for the EC-130H Simulator and Operations facility. The new facility will provide space for the new EC-130H flight deck simulator, new EC-130H mission crew simulator and one relocated EC-130H mission crew simulator among its many benefits. The project includes demolition, grading, parking, support utilities, landscaping, and interior finishes.
  • Staff Sgt. Henry Howell and Sgt. Nathaniel Boecker of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 249th Engineer Battalion, inspect generators at the Ocean Bay Public Housing complex. The 249th installed over 200 generators, providing 54 MW of emergency temporary power to critical infrastructure after Hurricane Sandy pummeled the northeastern United States in October 2012.

    Tool streamlines Corps’ power mission response during disasters

    The Emergency Power Facility Assessment Tool, or EPFAT, is designed to store important information regarding the emergency power needs of critical facilities, including hospitals and emergency response organizations. The Los Angeles District is encouraging the thousands of organizations eligible for emergency temporary power support to enroll in EPFAT, which greatly minimizes emergency response time in the event of a disaster.
  • Cadet Mackenzie Vaughn, left, a senior at the U.S. Military Academy, and Cadet Chris Lillie, a junior with the University of Notre Dame's Reserve Officer's Training Corps program, completed a three-week-long internship with the Los Angeles District Aug. 8. The two shadowed engineer officers and district civilian professionals through a myriad of projects in order to gain experience and expose them to the inner workings of the Corps, its mission, and impact on society.

    Cadets complete district internship

    Two future Army officers took advantage of a rare opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the inner-workings of the Corps of Engineers as part of a summer internship program, which they each successfully completed Aug. 8.
  • Upon issuing a film permit, another group of Corps professionals step in to ensure the environment is protected and facilities are not damaged during filming. Most of all, they ensure filming is conducted in a safe manner. For example, in May, the U.S. Army National Guard released their newest commercial, which was filmed in the Corps’ Whittier Narrows flood control basin and incldued high risk maneuvers using a Blackhawk helicopter.

    Los Angeles District employees often play a role in film productions

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District is sometimes nicknamed the Hollywood District. This is because movie companies often need to shoot in uncongested and iconic areas of Los Angeles and regularly appeal to the Corps for permission to film on properties the district manages.