US Army: summer06

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The New York

District TimesSummer 2006, Vol. 31, No.3 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District

New Jersey beaches voted tops in nation

(Cont inued on page 3)

Inside . . . Change of command nears Page 4

Before and after. Sea Bright to Manasquan Inlet beacheshave succeeded beyond expectations of a six-yearrenourishment cycle.

The American Shore & Beach Preser-vation Association has selected Sea Bright toManasquan Inlet’s beaches in MonmouthCoun ty, N.J., as one of the top restored beaches

for 2006.

The 18 miles of Monmouth County

shore is among six beaches from around thecountry being singled ou t for successful efforts

to restore the health, ecology and protectivebenefit of their coastlines.

“This year’s winning beaches againrepresent the bread th an d benefit of beach res-

torat ion – as wel l as theun ique natu re of each beachproject undertaken,” saidHarry Simmons, ASBPA

president. “These beachesare being brought back tohealth in ways that reflectthe un ique character and ecosys-tem of each one, as well as theunique challenges each one faces

both from nature and from m an.”

The Sea Bright to Man asqu anInlet project has succeeded be-yond the d esigners’ expectations

of a six-year renou rishm ent cycle.

The project, cond ucted by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,New York District in p artner ship

with the State of New Jersey, has re-du ced storm d amage for more than10 years.

It also has enh anced econom ic, recreational andenvironmental op portu nities in the area. Located in asubu rban an d u rban environment, it is the largest re-stored beach in the United States and will be the siteof th e ASBPA’s 2006 conference in October.

Designed as a storm protection p roject to pre-vent infrastructure dam age from ocean storms alongthe heavily p opu lated coastal area, the p roject involvedcreating a 100-foot-wide sand berm 10 feet above mean

low w ater.

E a r l y S u m m

e r I s s u e



U.S. Army Corps of Engineers • New York District2

of Engineers

New York District TimesNewsletter of the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,New York District

Summer 2006

Commander andDistrict Engineer

Col. Richard J. Polo Jr.

Chief, Public AffairsPeter H. Shugert

[email protected]

Editing and DesignVince Elias

[email protected]

- Authorization: The New YorkDistrict Times is an authorizedunofficial newsletter of the NewYork District. It is published inaccordance with provisions of

Army Regulation 360-1.

- Circulation: 1500 copies per

issue in print and available onthe Internet at:

www.nan.usace.army.mil

- Submission: News, features,photos and art are solicited.

Direct queries to: Editor, PublicAffairs Office, U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers, New York District,26 Federal Plaza, Room 2113,

New York, NY 10278-0090.

- Contents: Views and opinionsexpressed herein are notnecessarily those of the

Department of the Army or this

command. All photos, unlessotherwise credited, are official

U.S. Army photos.

US Army Corps

New York District

9-11-01Lest we forget

®

Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock

Chief of Engineers

The proud heritage of the Engineer Regiment began wh enCol. Richard Gridley became th e first Chief of Engineers on June16, 1775. Since then, gener ations of Army engineers, both Soldiersand Civilians, have answered the call to duty arou nd the worlddu ring peace and war.

Today is no different.Throughout the p ast year the U.S. Army Corps of Engi-

neers has made m any significant contribut ions on behalf of ournation and the armed forces. Our w orkload increased d ramati-cally as we m et the d emand s to sup port h urricane recovery, whilecontinuing ou r ongoing w ork in Iraq and Afghanistan. Add itionally, great work continuedalong w aterw ays, at recreation areas, in research facilities and at arm ed forces installationsaround the world.

We have been stressed and stretched in the past year, but you have responded tothose increased d emand s with great commitment and competence.One of the most demanding missions this year has been our hurricane recovery efforts, andit is immensely gratifying to see how the team respond ed.

In the first hou rs after Hu rricane Katrina hit last August, Col. Richard Wagenaa r

and his team from New Orleans District assessed the situation on the ground . And in avery short p eriod of time, 3,000 peop le deployed to the Gu lf Coast states. Only one week before, they had been w orking on other missions, but they qu ickly redirected th eir efforts.That response clearly show s the great agility of an outstand ing wor kforce.

Eventua lly, more than 8,000 volunteers an swered the call to help in the Gu lf Coaststates. They continue to do a trem end ous job.

The team sup ported the Federal Emergency Management Agency by providing iceand water, temporary p ower and housing, installing temporary roofing and m ovingmoun tains of debris.

The team also accomplished th e Herculean tasks of pump ing the flood water ou t of New Orleans, and rep airing the hurr icane protection system in time for the 2006 hu rricaneseason. Perhap s the most remar kable aspect of this achievemen t is that so man y employeesin the region su ffered substantial personal losses and hardships, yet they sum moned the

courage to focus on the needs of others.A strong public service ethic and w illingness to ride to the sound of the gun s hasallowed the Corps to m eet the deman ds of hu rricane recovery w hile also accomp lishing ourother importan t m issions.

The pace of work to supp ort the growth of dem ocracy in Afghanistan and Iraq hasnot lessened. We have mad e great strides on completing thou sand s of projects in Iraq, andcontinue to help improve conditions in Afghanistan w ith construction of facilities andimprovements to roads and bridges.

And wh ile those efforts have garn ered headlines, every day there is a great dealmore being accomplished around the world. For example, we are supp orting our armedforces with q uality military construction and r eal estate services—a vitally import antmission during this time of transformation.

This past year w e have d estroyed old land mines and ordnance in Iraq whilecleaning u p old ord nan ce here at hom e, continu ed efforts to restore the Everglades, andimproved homeland security. Also, our ou tstanding research an d development efforts w erehonored wh en the Engineering Research and Developm ent Center was selected as theArm y’s Labora tory of the Year.

I have mentioned only a very few of the many contributions mad e by the Corpsteam. I have enormous prid e and confidence in you.

Thank you for accomplishing so m any d ifficult missions und er dem and ing circum -stances. Thanks to you r w ork the p ast year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers add ed a pageto the long, prou d history of service to ou r nation.

ESSAYONS!

Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, Chief of Engineers

Engineer Day Message



3The New York District Times • Summer 2006

As senior coastalengineer for the U.S. Army

Corps of Engineers, LynnBocamazo, a professional

engineer in New York District, isresponsible for coastal planning,

engineering, construction, andoperation and monitoring as thecoastal works expert.

She is also responsible for designingbeachfills, coastal field data collection, and coastal

engineering special studies.

Bocamazo has more than 22 years of experi-ence in coastal planning and coastal engineering.

New Jersey beaches (cont’d. from page 1)

Outfall lines were extended and stone groinswere notched to facilitate sand movement along theshoreline. Before the project was completed in 2001

after seven years of seasonal construction, many areashad only seawalls and strips of beach a d ozen feet wideas p rotection from Atlantic storms.

One renour ishment cycle has been completed,

in Sea Bright and Monm outh Beach. Design plans arenear ly complete for the next section, Long Bran ch, withcontract aw ard sched uled for this fall.

Coastal communities are asked to nominate

their restored beaches, and an independent panel re-views the selections based on its ecological and eco-nomic success, the short-and long-term performan ce

of the restoration project and the unique challengesovercome in the course of comp leting the restorationproject.

Col. Richard J. Polo Jr., New York District com -man der, noted that th e estimate of dam ages preventedfor the total project was $53 million ann ually. “In ad -dition, this project has had enormous positive eco-

nom ic and ecological benefits for New Jersey and th enation’s economy.”

The ASBPA congratu lated Lynn Bocamazo, se-

nior coastal engin eer, N ew York District on thisachievement. Bocamazo was instrum ental in theproject’s success. She is a professionalengineer responsible for coastal plan-ning, engineering, construction, and op-eration and monitoring as the coastalworks expert, and also responsible for

designing beachfills, coastal field datacollection, and coastal engineering sp e-cial stud ies.

The Atlantic Coast of New Jer-

sey beach erosion control project, Sand yHook to Barnegat Inlet, Sea Bright toManasquan Inlet sections, is a federa llyauth orized p roject. The New Jersey De-partm ent of Environmental Protectionis the n on-federal sp onsor, along w ith

Monmouth County, and the mu nicipali-ties of Sea Bright, Monmouth Beach,Long Branch, Asbury Park, OceanGrove, Bradley Beach, Avon -by-the-Sea,Belmar, Spring Lake, Sea Girt, andManasquan.

A dredge pumps sand onto the beach at Sea Bright, N.J., during a beach

nourishment project.

The project has been a great su ccess in providing reduction in storm d amages from storm surges andwav e attack, providing beach erosion control and increased ecological habitat for threatened an d end angered species. The project has provid ed increased

recreational opportunities, especially in the sand-starved n orthern sections, wh ere the beach has becomemore accessible to the pu blic.

Significant littoral transpor t to the north of theproject area has alleviated th e severe erosion at the critical section of the Sand y H ook Unit, Gateway N ationaPark. The longevity of the fill material, and the lessthan-expected price per cubic yard of fill has providedconsiderable savings over estimated beachfill costs.




Col. Tortora’s complete biography willbe included in a future issue of the New York

District Times. Tortora is a native of south ernFlorida and was comm issioned an en gineer of-ficer in 1985 from th e U.S. Military Academ y at

West Point, N.Y.. He holds a bachelor of sci-ence degree from the U.S. Military Academ y, aMaster of Science in Civil Engineering from theUniversity of Texas, and a Master of Science inNational Security Strategy from the NationalDefense University. Tortora is a grad uate of the

Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced courses,

the U.S. Army Comm and and General Staff Col-lege, and the N ational War College.

New York District change of command set for August

In Jun e, Col. Richard J. Polo Jr., Command er, New York District an -nou nced h is retirement and sucessor, Col. Aniello L. “Nello” Tortora. Tortorawill become the 49th District Engineer at a ceremony to be h eld Aug . 25.

Col. Richard J. Polo Jr.

North Atlantic Division commander promoted to major general

Maj. Gen. William T. “Bill” Grisoli, Command er, Nor th Atlan-tic Division w as prom oted to h is present rank Ap ril 24 by Lt.Gen. Car l A. Strock, Chief of Engineers.

Maj. Gen. Ann Harrell, U.S. Air Force, and Maj. Gen. Grisoli’s

mother Jeanett e Grisoli pin on his extra star, as Lt. Gen. Strock looks on.

NAD

Photo

Lt. Col . CharlesKlinge, DeputyCommander, U.S.Army Corps of En-gineers, New York

District transferredin July to Haw aii tobecome the Com-man der, U.S. ArmyCorp s of Engineers,Hon olulu District.

Klinge bids aloha toNew York District

Rhee promoted to field grade

Maj. Charlot te Rhee of

Contracting Division waspromoted to her presentran k in April by Maj. Gen.William T. Grisoli, Com-mander U.S. Army Corpsof Engineers, North Atlan-tic Division . Grisolipinned on her new rank at

an af ternoon ceremonyheld at N ew York District.

Col. Aniello “Nello” Tortora




Army Chief of Staff announces NAD commander change

Maj. Leonard Law becam e the dep uty d istrict comman der of the U.S. Arm y Corps of

Engineers, New York District following the d epar ture of Lt. Col. Charles Klinge in July.

Law is a native of northern Idaho, and was commissioned an engineer officer in 1989

from the Un iversity of Idaho ROTC, Moscow, Idaho.

He h olds a bachelor of science degree from the University of Idaho, a Master of busi-

ness administration from the University of Colorad o-Colorado Springs, and a Master of Mili-

tary Arts and Science from the School of Advanced Military Studies at the Command and

General Staff College, Fort Leavenw orth, Kan.

He is a former enlisted Soldier and has served in a wide variety of tactical, opera-tional, and institutional assignments. His most recent assignments were in the 1st Cavalry

Division at Fort Hood , Texas. He served as a d ivision p lans officer for Task Force Baghd ad ,

and as a battalion S-3 operations officer.

Law’s leadership positions include: squad leader, 4th Battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division,

Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; platoon leader, Heavy Equipment Platoon, 116th Engineer Battalion (IDARNG), Lewiston,

Idaho; platoon leader, 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; company commander, B Company

554th Engineer Battalion, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.; and, company commander, 58th Combat Engineer Company, 11th

Arm ored Cav alry Regimen t, Fort Irwin, Calif.

His staff and training positions includ e: reconnaissance officer, HH C, 116th Eng ineer Battalion, Lewiston, Idaho;

company executive officer, B Company, 1st Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.; Battalion S-4, 2ndEngineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, Cam p Castle, Korea; observer-controller, Sidew inder Team, N ational Training

Center, Fort Irwin, Calif.; tactics instructor, Canadian School of Military Engineering, CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick;

battalion executive officer, 1st Battalion 338th Regiment, 85th Training Support Division, Fort McCoy, Wis.; division plans

officer, G-3, 1st Cavalry Division; and battalion S-3, 2nd Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st

Cavalry Division, Fort H ood, Texas.

Law is a grad uate of the Engineer Officer Basic and Adv anced cour ses, the U.S. Arm y Comm and and General Staff

College, and the School of Advan ced Military Stud ies.

His aw ards and d ecorations includ e the Bronze Star Medal, three award s of the Army Meritorious Service Medal,

three awards of the Army Commend ation Medal, and the Army Good Cond uct Medal.

Regional Headlines

Brig. Gen. Todd T. SemoniteMaj. Gen. William T. Grisoli

District welcomes deputy district commander

Maj. Leonard Law

The Chief of Staff, U.S. Army announ ced in a M ay

advisory that Maj. Gen. William T. Grisoli, Command er, U.S.

Arm y Corp s of Engineers, North Atlantic Division w ill be-come the d irector, progr am analysis and evaluation, Office

of the Deputy Chief of Staff, G-8, U.S. Army, Washington,

D.C.

Brig. Gen. Todd T. Semon ite will become the Com-

man der, U.S. Army Corp s of Engineers, North Atlantic Di-

vision. Semonite is assistant comman dan t, U.S. Army

Engineer School/ Deputy Comman ding General, Initial En-

try Training, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.




A contractor inspects the new flooring material during con-struction of the new dorm.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engi-

neers has constru cted several of the fa-cilities at Thu le Air Base in Greenland,

often under extreme Arctic cond itions.

The base is hom e to the U.S. Air Force,

American and Danish contractors and

Greenland ic personnel.

Army Corps project engineer

Paul Kara and his team are complet-

ing work on a mu ch-needed d ormitory

scheduled to be completed an entire

season ahead of schedu le.

The Corps designed and is

building the 3-story dormitory with 72 rooms de-

signed to withstand the extreme climate. Construc-

tion began in March by MT H ojgaard , a Danish firm,

and will continue unti l completed this summer.

Rooms w ill be divided into 4-bedroom mod ules with

bathrooms, walk-in closets, a shared social area,

housekeeping areas, and laundry rooms on each floor.

There will also be a common area with a kitchen

equipp ed w ith app liances in th e center of each floor

with large windows.

“The team is completing the project one sea-

son ahead of schedu le, staying within bud get and pro-

viding a quality landmark facility for American

military personn el at Thu le Air Base,” said Kara.

The dorm at Thule Air Base, Greenland, stands out against the Arctic snow-covered landscape. The steel structure has an insulated metal panel exte-

rior, pitched standing metal roof, and stands on concrete footings.

Greenland dorm project ahead of scheduleBy JoAnne Castagna, PPMD

Photos:SterrettDaniels

The dorm’s interior, mechanical, electrical,

plumbing, and fire protection systems are designed

to withstand sub-zero temperatures.

Due to the extreme w eather conditions, exte-

rior construction w ork is limited to a 3-month p eriod

from June to mid-September. Temp eratures in the win-

ter range from minu s 30 to minu s 40 degrees Fahren-

heit. Thu le has 24 hours of sunlight from May th rough

August and 24 hours of darkness from November

through February, leaving only the summer monthsfor construction work on the exterior.

Kara’s team worked 12-hour d aily shifts du r-

ing the sum mer m onths and w orked on the interior

du ring the winter month s. It is also du ring the sum -

mer m onths that building sup plies arrive. It is neces-

sary that ice breaker ships clear the channel of ice to

facilitate ship cargo deliveries.

The land is p rimarily composed of permafrost

perm anently frozen ground below th e earth’s surface

at 6 feet in some areas and up to 1,600 feet in others.

Most of the bu ilding material is pre-fabricated,

allowing workers to rapidly perform construction.

Building foundations also need to be elevated from

the terrain. The dorm must sit on concrete supports

and requires air corridors to separate the structure

from the ground with one meter of clearance at the

bottom of the structure. If not elevated, heat gener-

ated from the building wou ld melt the permafrost and

the building would sink.




This past w inter, New York, Baltimore an d

Philadelphia d istricts began restoring the h istoric Lusk

dam and reservoir at the U.S. Military Academ y, West

Point. The restoration began by cleaning and sealing

leaks in the century-old structure. It was the dam ’s

first cleaning in its 100-year history.

In 1895, the Corps of Engineers

augm ented the Academ y’s drinking wa-

ter system by constructing the dam un-

der the d irection of Capt. James L. Lusk,

a West Point grad uate.

The dam is now considered bythe USMA H istorical Society as a signifi-

cant elemen t within the Academ y’s na-

tional historic land mark p roperty.

Water from area ponds, creeks

and brooks is piped into this reservoir

and then p urified by a treatment facility.

The dam is a masonry block

structure, 225 feet in length and 35 feet high. Dur ing

an Army Corps inspection years ago it was discov-

ered tha t there w ere leaks behind a build-up of efflo-rescence. This raised concerns that there could be

problems in the futu re if left un mon itored.

The stones were cleaned using a san dblasting

techinque in which small coarse gra ins of silica (glass-

like particles) under high water pressure, removing

the calcite build-up along the seam s of stones. To ac-

complish this, workers stood on platforms, similar to

those high-rise building wind ow washers use. The

platforms were lowered over the side of the dam ’s

stone balustrade and the eight-foot wide brick walk-way.

When th e cleaning w as completed, leaks were

found and repaired. Plans include inspecting the struc-

tural condition of the dam’s upstream face by a dive

team for a thorough examination. The joints on the

dow nstream face of the d am were also cleaned of ef-

florescence crystallization that had accumulated on

its surface. Leaks that w ere covered by crystallization

crust w ere located, cleaned an d sealed. The cleaning

Corps restores historic dam at Army Academy

provided a fresh face to observe and categorize leaks

present and d etermine any further necessary repairs.

Mar ty Goff, project engineer for New York Dis-

trict, said it took one month to clean the d am and that

the method used was similar to cleaning a show er stall

that had lime bu ild-up.

“Efflorescence is caused by th e d issolving cal-

cium carbonate in the dam ’s mortar w ith the reservoir

wa ter,” explained Goff. “The water is slightly acidic

so it reacts chemically with the mortar between the

dam’s stones. When efflorescence builds up over the

stones, it becomes difficult to determine the locationof leaks because the water from the leak is diverted.

The water from the leak is moving u nd er the efflores-

cence crust and away from the leak source. By clean-

ing away the efflorescence, the actual location of the

leaks were ab le to be seen.”

Goff is optimistic abou t correlating the leak lo-

cations on the dow nstream face with the upstream face

cracks which will allow them to determine future

work.

A worker uses small

coarse grained silica

under water

pressure to clean

the calcite build-up

along the seams of

the Lusk dam

masonry stones.

By JoAnne Castagna, Ed.D, PPMD




Engineer judges projects at AISES fair

Lynn Bocamazo speaks with a student at theNational American Indian Science and En-gineering Fair.

At the Formerly Utilized Site Remedial Ac-tion Plan Maywood Superfund Site in New Jersey,the goal for Allen Roos, project manager and DannyLee, contracting officer of New York District is tosafely and efficiently complete the Corps’ missionwith m inimu m impact to properties.

Remedial activities on a four-acre area of a 14-

acre tract in Lodi ow ned by the State of New Jerseywhere a m otor veh icle comm ission office, vehicle in-spection station, and dr iver testing facility are locatedmeant th at nearly one-third of the area would be tem-porarily out of service.

Roos and Lee began coordination with facil-ity personnel on the cleanup evolution an d h eld fre-quent briefings regarding contam inants of concern,rad iation safety, cleanu p p lans and sched ule, and re-sults of an indoor air survey.

The primary contaminant at Maywood is tho-

rium, a natural radioactive element that was com-mercially extracted from sand at a chemical worksfrom 1916 to 1959. Waste water containing resid ua lamounts of thorium w as pump ed to disposal pond sor d isposed of in onsite waste pits. Some of this ma-terial was eventua lly carried by run -off and floodingto a local stream.

The Corps has excavated and removed over175,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil fromMayw ood since 1997 and completion of all MaywoodSite prop erty cleanu ps is expected by 2012.

Lynn Bocamazo of Engineering Division represented the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers at the National American Indian Science and

Engineering Fair held in Albuquerqu e, N .M., in March. Bocamazo’s par-

ticipation w as spon sored by Georgie Reynolds, USACE tribal liaison.

Bocamazo, a professional engineer, was the judge in the physics

category of 5th, 6th, and 7th grade school stud ent p rojects.

“Pam ela Silas, execut ive director of AISES was especially pleased

to have Lynn as a judge and invited h er back next year,” said Marty Goff,

New York District EEO special emp hasis program m anager for Native

Amer ican affairs.

AISES focuses on Am erican Indian stu den ts to encourage them to

pursue careers in engineering and science.

As remed ial construction a t the m otor vehiclecenter got closer, coordination by th e Corps and thefacility opera tions became the p riority. Several onsitemeet ings were he ld in 2005 in the run-up toremediation.

These meetings and site w alkovers identifiedseveral areas of concern, such as temporary rerout-ing of inspection station waiting lanes, driver testingroads, impacts to employee and customer parking,and h ealth and safety du ring construction.

Roos and Lee developed d etailed site plans of prop osed temporary facility operations. The p lan forthe temp orary road test showed traffic pattern s, loca-tions for the various driver testing elements (back-ing, turning, parallel parking, etc.), locations of perimeter a ir monitoring stations, and safety buffersbetween the testing operation and the remedial work.

Source and photo by William KollarCommunity Relations Depart

ment of Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, contractor for the

Maywood FUSRAP project.

Corps coordination keeps motor vehicle station openduring Superfund project

Remedial activities at the motor vehicle facility.




Retirements

Costas “Gus” Lymberis of NewYork District chaired t he N ational

Association of Corrosion Engineers,International Metrop olitan N ew York Section corrosion symp osium held inHoboken, N.J. in Febru ary. The themewas Oil Refining, Chemicals, andMetals Refining.

The session w as held at the Stevens Institute of Technology, where Lymberis w as one of eight sp eakers.Lymberis was responsible for enrollment, and chairmanof the session, as well as the afternoon program.

Lymberis spoke in the afternoon on the topic of copper refineries, metal and processing plants an d re-fineries.

NACE symposium speakers (l-r) Dennis Carenza, repre-sentative, Metropolitan New York Section 1 NACE, Cmdr.

Eric Christiansen, U.S. Coast Guard, and Costas “Gus”Lymberis, chairman, Metropolitan New York Section of

NACE.

John Scialabba of Logistics Managem ent retired in April after 20 years of service with th eCorp s. Sciliabba was the official dr iver for the past seven district command ers. Scialabba

also performed vehicle operator duties which ensured employees reached their destina-tion at a myriad of town hall meetings, commu nity forums, inspections, and press events

“John is a really good d river,” said Stella Marco of Military Program s. “I always wanted toknow w hat the red light in the car was for. I never did find out. “

“He w ent the extra mile. And sometimes we had to host events, and w e had to transportmaterials and John was never th e type of guy wh o wou ld leave it up to you to do it,” saidCarolyn Vadino of Harbor Programs.

“John is an excellent driver. He’s a courteou s driver, and he is a very nice man an d it’salways a pleasure to be w ith him,” said Lou Benard, executive assistant.

“John is a true p rofessional at all times,” said Robert Gold farb, Chief, Logistics Managem ent.

“H e’s dep end able. He’s reliable. He’s on time. All the time,” said Peter Shuger t, Chief Public Affairs. “When theChief of Engineers wou ld be w ith New York City med ia, he wou ld be u p at 4 o’clock in the morn ing, and beworking around -the-clock delivering the Chief back to the a irport.”

Lymberis speaks at regional NACE symposium

(l-r) Gordon Orlow, retired Corps employee and former union presi-dent; Howard Quinton; Frank Tangorra, Operations Division; and

Barbara Crawford, Operations Division.

How ard B. Quinton of the Regulatory Branch, Eastern Per-

mits Section, Operations Division retired in June after a 36-

year career with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Prior to

working in Op erations Division he w orked in Contracting. A

retirement lun cheon was h eld in his honor at a local restau-rant. Quinton was awarded the Army Command er’s Award

for Civilian Service at a ceremony h eld in the Op erations con-

ference room Jun e 20.

(Photo:PeterShugert)

John Scialabba

(Photo

NACE)




Corps Kids

Announcements

Welcome Wagon

WeddingBellsMegan McDonald sporting a

N.Y. Yankees bib and ball

cap was featured in Parents

Magazine . Megan is the six-

month-old daughter of Jodi

McDonald, Chief, Rivers and

Lakes Section of the Plan

Formulation Branch.

Peter H. Shugert, Chief, Public Af-

fairs, New York District is the recipi-

ent of the USACE 2006 Locke L.

Mouton Award for excellence in me-

dia relations and public information.

The announcement was made byHeadquarters USACE in April.

Shugert was selected from among

USACE world wide public affairs pro-

fessionals for the award. The an-

nouncement read, “Awarded for his

hard work and dedication and as a

valued member of the USACE public

affairs community of practice.”

Public Affairs chief receives

USACE excellence award

Naomi R. Fraenkel of Planning Division and James

Altschul were married March 25 at the Harvard Fac-

ulty Club in Cambridge, Mass. Fraenkel is a senior

planner and economist for New York District who spe-

cializes in planning for commercial navigation. (Photo:

Ryan Jensen)

Gene Urbanik, area engineer, Army

Corps’ New Jersey Office, was the re-

cipient of the 2006 Notable Achieve-

ment Award. The presentation

ceremony was held in Washington,

D.C., in April. He received the award

for his role with the EPA Montclair/West

Orange and Glen Ridge Project Team

during the clean-up project of the

Montclair/West Orange, and Glen

Ridge Superfund sites in New Jersey.

The award recognizes excellence in re-

gional waste management and emer-gency preparedness programs.

Urbanik receives national

award Milton Ricks received the New York

Federal Executive Board award for

Community Service. Ricks was pre-sented the award at ceremony held

on Ellis Island in May for his involve-

ment in the community.

Ricks receives FEB Award

Joseph Seebode, chief of business processes and spe-

cial projects, received the New Jersey Public Heroism

Award in May for saving the life of a man who was hypo-

thermic and nearly unconscious. An excerpt from the

citation read, “Having heard cries for help coming from

the ocean, Joe swam 60 yards out to sea where he

struggled to raise a nearly drowned victim above water

before bringing him safely to shore.”

Seebode receivesN.J. Public Heroism

Award

Paul Ancog, CO (Fort Drum)Aleksander Andrzejewski,

PPMD (Fort Drum)

Jodi Dutta, ENMercedes Fernandez, HR

Vernie Flores, RMNgu Hoe, PPMD

James Holmes, CO

Gerlyn Perlas, OP

Linda Kelly, RMGina Marie Kern, CO (NJ)

Gerlyn Perlas, OP

Stuart Rounds, CO (Fort Drum)Victoria Springs, RM

Laiking Yee, RMGeorge Yeoman, CO (Metro West




2005 Commander’s Awards

Frank Santangelo, Engineer of the Year

Jamal Sulayman, Employee of the Year

Lorraine Lee, Supervisor of the Year

Kimberly Rightler, Professional of the Year

Christopher Riccardi, Outstanding Scholar of the Year

Madonna Camishion, Assistant of the Year

Jean Hui, Outstanding Contribution of the Year

Quan Than Nguyen, Outstanding Contribution of the Year

Ronald Pinzon, Outstanding Scientific Achievement of the Year

Juan Piniero, Administrator of the Year

Gamal Awad, Field Representative of the Year

Milton Ricks, Service to the Army Award

Bhavesh Shah, Outstanding Government Improvement Award

George Colon, Castle Award

Sonny Knoop, Leadership AwardJerry Ye, Leadership Award

Stephen DeNardis, Leadership Award

Jenine Gallo, Health and Safety Award

Jeffrey Fry, Health and Safety Award

Team of the YearHarbor Litigation Technical Analysis Support Team

Jeffrey Cusano

Darin DamiantiRobert Engler

Bobbi Jo McCain

Ronald Pinzon

Tom Shea

Ellen Simon

Steven Weinberg

Project Delivery Team of the YearUSMA Arvin Physical Development Center

Project Delivery Team

Stars shine in 05 at New York District

Jose Diaz, Jim Demetriou, Johnny Martinez

Lawrence Danner, Jeffrey Fiese, Stephen DeNardis,Nicholas Multari, John Gerlach, and Andrew Smith

Driftmaster named Boat of the YearThe Corps’ survey vessel Driftmaster was

selected as New York District’s Boat of the Year

and now has the honor of flying the “safety andefficiency” flag from her mast.

The award was p resented by Col. Richard

J. Polo Jr., Comm and er, U.S. Army Corp s of Engi-

neers, New York District at a ceremony held in

Jun e at Caven Point, N.J. The Driftmaster won

the award du e to the outstanding performance of

the crew of Richard Bulvid , Dan Florio, William

Carl, Dan Redden, Adam Manzano and Mike

Skalitza.

The Driftmaster was selected from am ongthe New York District fleet. Driftmaster met the

strict criteria ou tlined in the competition gu ide-

lines and was chosen as a result of her superior

record in th e category of safety and overall per formance efficiency.

An engraved plaque with a chronometer with the words “Safety and Efficiency” now enhances the

bulkhead of the Driftmaster signifying the achievement.

The Boat of the Year Award was conceived in 1977. It is the only Suppor t Bran ch comp etition and is

awarded annu ally by the District command er. Several factors are considered in selecting the boat of the year,

such as tota l hours of availability, operat ions, cond itions, and th e age of the vessel.

The vessel Driftmaster moored at Caven Point as her crew and

Col. Polo display the safety and efficiency flag.




Work moves forward to restore fish and wildlife areaBy Carolyn Vadino, Harbor Programs Branch

In total, approximately 70 acres of marsh w illbe restored on Elders Point with a net increase of 61acres. Originally one island comprised of approxi-

mately 132 acres, the loss of marsh in the center por-tion severed the two ends, resulting in two separateisland s connected by mu dflat. The restoration plan forElders East and Elders West includ es restoring the ex-isting vegetated areas and th e sheltered and exposed

mudflats by placing fill material up to an elevationthat is suitable for low marsh growth. To do so, theCorps is p um ping m ore than 270,000 cubic yards ofsand that was dredged from various channels in theharbor.

Ad ditionally, more than 700,000 plants w ill be

hand p lanted on Elders East and some 200,000 plantedon Elders West. Plants include Spartina alterniflora

(saltmarsh cordgrass), Spartina patens (salt hay), and Distichis spicata (spike grass).

Through its Plant Materials Program, the U.S.Depar tmen t of Agriculture Natu ral Resources Conser-vation Service has overseen the collection and g ermi-nation of the seeds, wh ich began w ith seed collection

in the fall of 2005. The PMP is conserving the geneticplan t resources of the location by u sing seed collectednear th e restoration site. The plants were grow n an dtransported from the Plant Materials Centers in Cap eMay, N.J., Beltsville, Md. Alderson, W.Va., and EastLansing, Mich.

The Corps award ed the contract for the Elders(East) to Galvin Broth ers of Great Neck, N.Y. Therestoration is being performed by the State of NewYork and the New York/ New Jersey Harbor Estuary

Program.

On July 6 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,Port Auth ority of New York an d New Jersey, New York State Departm ent of Environmen tal Conservation an d

the N ational Park Service recognized the first phaseof construction at the wetland restoration project atElders Point Island in Jamaica Bay, N.Y.

It is part of an ongoing environmental mitiga-

tion program in the Hudson-Raritan Estuary that isbeing implemented in conjun ction with the New York-New Jersey Harbor Deepen ing Project.

All material used during the construction

ph ase will be biodegrad able to enhance the environ-mental conditions of the national park. More than on eand one-half million p lants will be planted through -

out the region and more than 143 acres of wetlandswill be restored.

“Working w ith our par tners, this project is thefirst step toward the long and complex journ ey of ad-dressing the salt marsh loss w ithin Jamaica Bay thatwas brough t to the attention of the federal governmentby local stakeholders. It also show s our commitmen t

to balancing the n eeds of the environment w ith that of deep ening the Port of New York and New Jersey.,” saidCol. Richard J. Polo Jr., Command er, U.S. Arm y Corpsof Engineers, N ew York District.

“Du ring the first phase, more than $13 millionof construction activity to restore the environment atthis site that will provid e 70 acres of wetland s for ourharbor estu ary. This will be the first large scale mar shisland restored, bu ilding on th e Big Egg pilot, und erthe District’s Jamaica Bay Marsh Islands Ecosystem

Restoration Program an d will furth er our larger goalswithin the Harbor Estuary Program th rough the pres-ervation and restoration of ecologically important habi-tat and communit ies that support an opt imumdiver sity of living resou rces such as fish, wildlife,

and plant comm un ities,” said Polo.

Jamaica Bay contributes signifi-cantly to the overall vigor of the NewYork an d New Jersey Harbor Es-tuary. The marsh islands ecosys-

tem is an integral part of JamaicaBay an d is a refuge for a variety of wildlife. It also provides valuablehabitat for fish species as well as anursery for juvenile, migratorybirds.

The restoration plan for Elders East and Elders West includes restoring the exist-

ing vegetated areas and the sheltered and exposed mudflats by placing fill mate-

rial up to an elevation that is suitable for low marsh growth.




More than 200 area stud ents joined environmental comm u-nity leaders throughout the region to celebrate Earth Day at

the Elizabeth, N .J. Marina City dock in Ap ril.

This is the third Earth Day event that was hosted by theArthu r Kill/ Elizabeth River Watershed Association. In conjunc-tion with Estuary Day in September, to date, more than twothousan d area stud ents have p articipated in activities since itsinception. The event w as spon sored by the Elizabeth River/

Arth ur Kill Watershed Association in conjunction w ith City ofElizabeth, the Elizabeth Marina, and the offices of N.J. Sen.Robert Menend ez and Rep. Donald M. Payne.

Stud ents from various h igh schools, midd le schools, and a

local academ y spent the m orning learning about the health ofthe New York and New Jersey Harbor estuary, the effects ofpollution, and the everyday imp ortance of Earth Day throughinteractive educational exhibit stations.

The exhibit stations were hosted an d tau ght by a variety ofprofessionals in the academ ic and environ men tal field includ ing the U.S. Arm y Corp s of Engineers, U.S. CoastGuard , U.S. Environ men tal Protection Agency’s Harbor Estuary Program , New Jersey Sea Gran t, the New Yorkand New Jersey Baykeep er, and Keane University.

The program kicked off with an en vironmental harbor insp ection aboard th e Corps vessel Hocking, wherestud ents on deck observed various sites in the Arthu r Kill Chann el. On d eck stud ents also learned about th ehistorical significance of Shooter ’s Island , observed var ious typ es of habitat living in the estu ary, and received

an overview of significant, ongoing Corp s activities to imp rove the w atershed.

“Earth Day was a great opportunity to energize the students of Elizabeth, our future environmentalleaders, about the health of their own estuary in the New York and New Jersey Harbor, and un derstand theconnection between land and water,” said Lt. Col. Charles H. Klinge, former Deputy District Engineer, U.S.

Army Corp s of Engineers. “Stud ents had an opp ortun ity to speak openly with Corps biologists, engineers,archeologist, and other p artners to learn abou t the rich history of the harbor, its current state and got a han ds-onview of its marine life and ongoing p ort activities.”

District celebrates Earth Day with New Jersey studentsBy Carolyn Vadino, Harbor Programs Branch

On the dock, students rotated through stationsthat included visual exhibits such as touchtanks and aquariums with marine life, as well

as interactive pollution displays, water qualitytesting and an exhibit depicting the life of anoyster.

Tidbits

The race horse Secretariat was once

owned by Christopher T. Chenery, an of-

ficer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

during World War I.

Chenery was born in Richmond, Va., in September1886. Serv-

ing in the Corps for three years, he reached the rank of major.

He went on to become a successfu

businessman in the water, gas, and

pipeline industry.

Named by Chenery’s daughter and his

executive secretary, Secretariat was

featured on the front cover of numer-

ous magazines. Secretariet was

named one of the top athletes of the

twentieth century by ESPN, and was considered to be

among the greatest thoroughbred race horses ever.

(Source: USACE Office of History)

Did you know?

By Mary Stavina




The EPA Building was the site of aAmerican Indian dance performance ar-ranged by Kristen Davis-Smyth e of New York District.

Davis-Smyth e coordinated the eventwith GSA and hosted the performance byAmerican Indian tribal dancers from threetribal nations.

Mary Goff, EEO special emphasis pro-gram manager for Native American pro-grams, was on hand along with Corps andGSA emp loyees. Attendees were invited tobring their lunch and enjoy the traditionalAmerican Indian music, dance, singing and

regalia. The dan cers were dressed in tradi-

tional American Ind ian tribal attire made fromdeer skins, bird feathers and bison along w ith face paint.They displayed their musical talent du ring a group an dsolo performan ce using d rum s, the flute and rattles.

Mike Day Wolf, Raymond Two Feathers, andLouis Sky Cloud m ade u p the trio from th e Hopi, Chaquaand Cherokee nations.

Performances included the hoop, warrior, feather and flutedan ces, and a mu sical performance of the flute, rattles and d rum s. At-tendees were invited to join in the feather dance in which the dancer

mu st pick up a feather from the floor using his or her mouth . A questionand answer period also was included and the event ended w ith a coinpresentation.

The Corps of Engineers and GSA teamed u p and spon-sored this year ’s Asian-American Heritage Month program .

The EEO a rranged for local television aw ard-winn ingnew s reporter Ti-Hu a Chang to be the featured gu est. Chang

spoke about h is career as a journ alist to a packed au dience and

also posed w ith employees and signed autograp hs. Trad itionalAsian food w as also served .

Chang w as previously an investigative prod ucer with a

major national news network, and has won four Emm y award sand Press Association aw ards.

He is active in Asian-American community affairs, andwas both a n ational and local New York Board m ember of theAsian-American Journalists Association. Chang also has beenpu blished in a num ber of magaz ines.

(l-r) Maj. Charlotte Rhee of Contracting and

Lorraine Lee of the Office of Counsel take a

moment for a photo opportunity with Ti-Hua

Chang.

Journalist sparks Asian-Pacific Heritage event

American Indian performers display their talent

Louis Sky Cloud

directs Tom

Smythe of New

York District

during his partici-

pation in the

feather dance.

Photos:VinceElias

(l-r) Mike Day Wolf, Kristen Davis-Smythe, Raymond Two Feath-

ers, and Louis Sky Cloud.




Corps builds new military entrance processing station

District team responds to Arkansas tornado disaster

Photo:ArmandoJimene

z

Constru ction began in April of a newMilitary Entrance Processing Station in Syra-cuse, N.Y., at the H ancock Air Na tionalGuard Base.

Col. Richard J. Polo Jr., Command erU.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District was at the groundbreaking alongwith John Steinbeck, Fort Dru m resident en-gineer, District representatives Brett Gorham,Joseph Wojnas, Donald H ale and Arm and oJimenez, pro ject engineer of New York Dis-trict.

The contractor is Northland Associ-ates and Lisa Bobotas of NAO is the teamleader and Joseph Wojnas of New York District is the

project engineer.

“The scope of work includ es the constructionof a mod ified stan da rd d esign of a MEPS facility,” saidJimenez. “The facility will have a reception area, of-fices, medical laboratory, changing rooms, mail room,fire sprinkler supp ression system an d commu nicationclosets. An intru sion detection system, and energymon itoring and control system w ill be installed.”

Members of the Corps housing team execute

the mission in Arkansas.

The MEPS is being built at the Hancock Air National Guard Base in

Syracuse, N.Y.

Three major tornad oes ravaged n ortheast Arkansas in April Two registered F3 and one registered F1 onthe Fujita Scale. The tornad oes touched d own in the comm un ities of Marmad uke, Wynne, and Ravensd en. In thehardest hit community of Marmaduke, over 150 homes were damaged or destroyed in a community of 1,100

people. FEMA received the p residen tial disaster declaration author izing the governm ent to provide individu aand pu blic assistance as well as temp orary h ousing. This w as the green light th e U.S. Army Corp s of Engineersneeded to proceed w ith the solicitation for m obile hom e installations.

The first contract for h auling and installing m obile hom es was award ed. Following a brief pre-construc

tion conference with the contractor, trailers began m oving fromthe FEMA national mobilization area in H ope, Ark., to the stag-ing area in Marmad uke.

As the mission evolved, add itional mem bers of housing

team arrived to execute the mission including Randall Hintz,mission m anager, New York District tempora ry h ousing team;Milton Ricks, mission sp ecialist, and Walter Grauling and TimLaFointaine, quality assurance team leaders.

The team was supplemented by quality assurance in-spectors w ith Little Rock District.

“Although the scale of this mission appeared muchsmaller in scope when compared to the USACE response toKatrina, it neverth eless reflected highly on N ew York an d LittleRock Districts as well as FEMA,” said Hintz.

Supporting facilities include utilities, electri

service, fire protection and alarm systems, pavingwalks, curbs and gutters; parking; storm dra inage anstorm water management, information systems, ansite improvem ents. Heating and air cond itioning w ibe provided by a self-contained un it. Security measureinclud e ap prop riate setback d istances from the instalation bound ary and adjacent roadw ays and parkinareas, bollards, concrete p lanters, curbs and guttersand laminated glass.




Attn: PAO, Rm 2113

26 Federal PlazaNew York, NY 10278-0090

FIRST CLASS MAILAddress Correction Requested

Security Office lists vacation crime prevention tips

Taps

Crime prevention tips to deter burglars from targeting yourresidence while you are away on vacation:

- Don’t widely broadcast your vacation plans. This should be con-sidered “need-to-know” information.

- Make sure a trusted neighbor knows your itinerary and has atelephone number to reach you in case of an emergency.

- Stop delivery of mail and newspapers. If possible have some-one pick these items up daily, as mail or circulars or unexpectedpackages can also be delivered.

- Arrange for someone to mow your lawn and remove leaves andarrange for them to place garbage cans at the curb on collectiondays to make your home appear lived in.

- Use automatic timers to turn lights on at different times and indifferent rooms, mimicking your normal activity as much as pos-sible.

- Turn off your telephone ringer. An unanswered telephone ring-ing loudly with no pick up is a sure sign that no one is home.When using an answering machine or voice mail, don’t announceyour absence on your message.

- Leave blinds like you normally would if you were home. Onlyclose them all the way if that is what you normally do.

- Close and lock your garage door, storage sheds, gates, etc.

- Ask a trusted neighbor or relative to occasionally park theirvehicle in your driveway. If you are leaving a vehicle parkedoutside, have them move it periodically so it appears as thoughyou are home.

- Activate your home alarm system. Prior to your vacation checkwith your service provider to make sure your alarm system isfunctioning properly and complete repairs or preventative main-tenance if necessary.

A funeral service was held June 18 for Pedro Pichardo of Construction Division, who passed

away.

He had over 20 years of service with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers working in Resource

Management and Construction Division as a program analyst.

“He was always willing to help and assist others — from the project engineers in the field offices,

to his fellow employees in New York District,” said George DeMarinis, Chief, Administrative Ser-

vices Section, Construction Division. “Pedro touched everyone he met in a special way. He will

best be remembered as a person who could light up a room with his smile and mere presence.”

Next Issue – Late Summer July /August 2006

Change of Command Issue

Col Polo passes the torch to Col Tortora

Retirement of of 48th District Engineer

2006 Employee Recognition Day – Awardees and picnic Photos

Announcement s

Documents

US Army: summer06