SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Task Force Recovery, held a change of command Aug. 29 where Maj. Scotty Autin assumed command of the Task Force from Lt. Col. John D. Cunningham.
Maj. Autin currently serves as the Los Angles District deputy commander.
“It's amazing to see the amount of work our team has accomplished so far. I am always impressed with their professionalism and drive,” said Autin. “As we approach the one-year milestone of the storm, there is still work to accomplish here on the island. I have closely followed the emergency response and recovery efforts, and my focus will be to complete these missions in a timely and efficient manner.”
Cunningham returns to his assignment as Portland District deputy commander.
"It has been an honor serving with all the dedicated professionals of the unified response and recovery efforts here in Puerto Rico,” said Cunningham. “The Corps of Engineers remains committed completing our assigned recovery mission and to finishing strong for the people Puerto Rico.”
Task Force Recovery manages missions assigned to USACE by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in response to Hurricane Maria. They include Environmental Stabilization, Temporary Emergency Power, Debris, and Bill of Materials that supports grid restoration.
As of Aug. 29:
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Bill of Materials continues to support power grid restoration through the purchase and distribution of materials for the grid restoration mission
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Two mega generators at Palo Seco Power Plant continue to run until sufficient power generation and/or transmission is achieved
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Task Force Temporary Emergency Power continues to subsidizing grid power with about 100 active generators, and three micro grids remaining in operation: Arecibo, Culebra and Vieques.
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Debris mission is pushing towards to close-out activities in the last five of 57 municipalities
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Environmental stabilization is almost complete with 4 sites out of 53 remaining, to restore areas disturbed during the emergency power restoration mission
The Corps of Engineers has a permanent presence on the island, with the USACE Jacksonville District Antilles office commanded by Maj. Alexander Walker, to provide federally authorized navigation, ecosystem restoration and flood damage reduction projects across the island.
Long-term Corps of Engineers missions total approximately $2.3 billion including:
Arecibo Harbor, Operation and Maintenance Dredging, $6,300,000
Christiansted Harbor, Operation and Maintenance Dredging, $400,000
Mayaquez Harbor, Operation and Maintenance Dredging, $6,000,000
Ponce Harbor, Operation and Maintenance Dredging, $1,600,000
Rio Puerto Nuevo, Operation and Maintenance Dredging, $8,285,000
Rio Puerto Nuevo, Construction, $1,552,453,000
Rio de La Plata, Construction, $500,000,000
Rio Grande de Arecibo, Construction, $82,892,000
Rio Grande de Loiza, Construction, $250,00,000
Rio Guanajibo at Mayaguez, Construction, $60,000,000
Rio Nigua at Salinas, Construction, $60,000,000
Mayaguez, Feasibility Study, $3,000,000
Rio Grande de Manati, Feasibility Study, $1,200,000
Rio Guayanilla, Feasibility, $3,000,000
San Juan Metro Area, Feasibility Study, $3,000,000
Rio Culebrinas, CAP Conversion, $400,000