FJ Sayers Dam Master Plan Revision / Media / News Stories

  • February

    Restoration Regulation

    A $30 million project on the Manokin River in Somerset County is on track to be the world’s largest oyster restoration effort. For any restoration project, permits are required to evaluate potential project impacts - both positive and negative - on the environment before work can proceed. While USACE has been the lead for reef construction efforts on other tributaries, in the case of the Manokin, USACE played the role of regulator.

  • January

    The Gunde Maersk at the Port of Baltimore.(Photo courtesy of the Maryland Department of Transportation, Maryland Port Administration)

    Critical study to help Port of Baltimore meet vessel needs

    With its existing 50-foot deep channel and Neo-Panamax cranes, the Port of Baltimore is already able to accommodate some of the largest container ships in the world, and has experienced significant growth in containers in recent years. Baltimore District is teaming up with the Maryland Port Administration to ensure future capacity needs are met.

  • November

    Baltimore District employee honored as USACE Program Manager of the Year

    David Chai, the deputy chief of the Baltimore District’s Real Property Services Field Office, was

  • May

    Army Corps Navigation Mission Part of Baltimore’s Continued Maritime Heritage

    Baltimore is historically a port city with a rich maritime history and the Army Corps of Engineers,

  • March

    Hear remarks by Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy and Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, USACE Commanding General and 54th U.S. Army Chief of Engineers, specific to support by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the national Coronavirus response. These clips are excerpts from today's press conference in the Pentagon. The full event, including remarks by Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy; Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. James McConville; Army Corps of Engineers Commander Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite; and Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Scott Dingle can also be viewed here: https://facebook.com/DeptofDefense/videos/2643688735757461/

    USACE Support to COVID-19 Response

    Hear remarks by Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy and Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite, USACE Commanding General and 54th U.S. Army Chief of Engineers, specific to support by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to the national Coronavirus response. These clips are excerpts from the March 20, 2020 press conference in the Pentagon. https://www.facebook.com/USACEHQ/videos/215875549492744/ The full event, including remarks by Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy; Chief of Staff of the Army Gen. James McConville; Army Corps of Engineers Commander Lt. Gen. Todd Semonite; and Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Scott Dingle can also be viewed here: https://facebook.com/DeptofDefense/videos/2643688735757461/

  • Memo from the Director of Contracting re: COVID-19

    For USACE Contractors, As the Director of Contracting for the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, I wanted to personally reach out to all of you and let you know that we are actively monitoring the situation in regards to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Attached is the guidance we received on planning for potential Novel Coronavirus Contract Impacts.

  • November

    Col. John Litz, Baltimore District commander, presents Sean Dawson, Baltimore District value engineer, with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2019 Value Engineer Professional of the Year award at the Baltimore District headquarters, Sept. 11, 2019. (U.S. Army photo by John Sokolowski)

    "Taxpayer Advocate” Sean Dawson, 2019 Value Engineer of the Year

    For Sean Dawson, personal connections have been the driving force throughout his four years as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District’s Value Engineer. It’s the connections, problem-solving skills and dedication that made Dawson the recipient of the Army Corps’ 2019 Value Engineer Professional of the Year award.

  • July

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District employees Sean Fritzges, a construction representative, and Katie Perkins, a civil engineer, discuss Poplar Island expansion construction progress with a contractor on-site of the expansion July 11, 2019.

    Twenty-five years of work at Poplar Island brings improved habitat, expanded use of dredged material

    For the past 25 years, the Paul S. Sarbanes Ecosystem Restoration Project at Poplar Island has built island habitat in the Chesapeake Bay. Since 1994, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, and its partners have been working to restore remote island habitat in the Chesapeake Bay by beneficially using dredged material at Poplar Island.
  • A view of the exterior of the Secure Administrative/Operations Facility (SAOF) on Fort Belvoir, Va. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, is putting the finishing touches on a state-of-the-art 381,000-square-foot SAOF that will provide the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command a consolidated administrative facility to well-equip them for future operations.

    A facility for a dynamic future — Army Corps delivers high-tech space for intelligence command

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, is putting the finishing touches on a state-of-the-art 381,000-square-foot Secure Administrative/Operations Facility (SAOF) on Fort Belvoir that will provide the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM) a consolidated administrative facility to well-equip them for future operations.

  • June

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District Geologist Brian Shedd looks at the top of the soil layer in the recently completed scaled model aquifer February 26, 2019, constructed at the Corps’ Fort McHenry Yard as part of a Department of Defense Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program research project he is leading. The research is using the scaled aquifer model to learn more about how an emerging contaminant known as PFAS behave in soil and groundwater in a setting where chemistry and aquifer conditions can be controlled. This type of information is important to designing future cleanup methodologies and measuring their effectiveness in addressing PFAS contamination.

    Baltimore District conducts research on emerging contaminants

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District is teaming up with the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, U.S. Geological Survey and other federal partners to learn more about how complex chemical contaminants behave in the environment to help inform future cleanup efforts.
  • Sectioned pieces of steel from the STURGIS vessel are seen stacked and prepared for recycling February 26, 2019 during the vessel’s shipbreaking in Brownsville, Texas. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District managed the final decommissioning and dismantling of the STURGIS, the Army’s former floating nuclear power plant, and in addition to safely removing more than 1.5 million pounds of radioactive material the project team was able to recycle approximately 600,000 pounds of lead and more than 5,000 tons of steel and other assorted recyclables.

    Recycling a key factor in dismantling of STURGIS floating nuclear power plant

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently completed the safe removal of more than 1.5 million pounds
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Manager Alex Zahl looks on as contractors use Advanced Geophysical Classification technology to identify potentially buried munitions items on a municipally owned parcel of property along the Dalecarlia Parkway within the boundaries of the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site in Washington, D.C., Sept. 6, 2018. The Corps is using the latest in geophysical mapping technology to reduce the amount of unnecessary digs during its munitions investigation where cultural debris like scrap metal, nails and other construction debris make up the majority of the digs on site.

    Corps of Engineers uses latest technology to tackle WWI cleanup in DC

    Crews searching for buried explosives at a Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) in northwest Washington D.C.’s Spring Valley neighborhood are using the latest in advanced technology to reduce unnecessary impacts to private property and to improve efficiency.

  • May

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District Deputy Commander Lt. Col. Geoffrey Kuhlman looks on aboard an Army Corps contracted dredge operated by Norfolk Dredging as a load of material is pulled from the bottom of Curtis Bay Channel in Baltimore Harbor Tuesday March 19, 2019 as part of maintenance dredging of channels associated with the Baltimore Harbor and Channels Project. Curtis Bay Channel was one of six dredged during the Fiscal Year 2019 maintenance cycle, during which crews removed nearly 2.6 million cubic yards of material from channels to ensure continued safe navigation for vessels traveling to and from Port of Baltimore facilities.

    Army Corps crews dredge nearly 2.6 million cubic yards of material from six Baltimore Harbor channels

    Crews finished the dredging of nearly 2.6 million cubic yards of material this April from shipping channels leading to the Port of Baltimore as part of a contract managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District.

  • February

    Water testing inside the Advanced Treatment Pilot Study trailer at the McMillan Water Treatment Plant, Washington Aqueduct, District of Columbia, Dec. 19, 2018. (U.S. Army photo by Sarah Lazo)

    Pilot study seeks drinking water advancements for nation’s capital

    In an unassuming blue trailer just a few miles north of the heart of the District of Columbia, work is underway to improve the drinking water that serves more than 1 million people in and around the nation’s capital.

  • October

    First responders from local fire departments, alongside U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District team members, practice an emergency basket lift and chain fall in preparation for assisting injured personnel during a training exercise at East Sidney Lake Dam in Delaware County, New York, Oct. 13, 2018. More than 25 members of the Wells Bridge, Otego and Unadilla fire departments practiced safety procedures and rescue operations in confined spaces during the training simulation. (U.S. Army photo by Brianna K. Dandridge)

    Baltimore District, local first responders simulate rescue operations at East Sidney Lake Dam

    First responders and fire departments are always preparing to respond to worst-case scenarios. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, alongside area emergency responders did just that Oct. 13 during a training exercise simulating rescue operations in the event of a medical emergency at East Sidney Lake Dam.

  • September

    Dam operators and engineers began providing 24/7 monitoring of the project to measure the water level, the water pressure against the earthen structure and outflows downstream to ensure the dam was performing as designed for the community.

    Sayers dam successfully prevents major Tropical Depression Gordon and Florence floods

    After rainfall from Tropical Depression Gordon had already inundated Foster Joseph Sayers Lake and Tropical Depression Florence was on its way, Baltimore District personnel answered the call to protect the surrounding communities from major floods.
  • Undated image of STURGIS operating in the Panama Canal Zone. The STURGIS, a former World War II Liberty Ship, was converted into the first floating nuclear power plant in the 1960s. Before being shutdown in 1976, the STURGIS’ nuclear reactor, MH-1A, was used to generate electricity for military and civilian use in the Panama Canal.

    STURGIS Nuclear Decommissioning Completed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Team

    No challenge is too complex for this team of experts. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers team has recently completed a very complex and unique project phase by finishing the decommissioning of the Army’s first and only floating nuclear reactor prototype – the MH-1A aboard the STURGIS.

  • April

    Crew aboard the Survey Vessel CATLETT help a boater come aboard from his disabled vessel in the Chesapeake Bay during a rescue operation Thursday April 5, 2018. The CATLETT’s U.S. Army Corps of Engineers crew was conducting a routine condition survey of the Tolchester Channel when she responded to a mayday call, rescuing the boater and bringing him back to the Corps of Engineers’ facility at Fort McHenry where local emergency medical services assisted him further.

    Newest Army Corps survey vessel performs maiden rescue in Chesapeake Bay

    The Survey Vessel CATLETT crew was busy conducting a condition survey of the Tolchester Channel in the Chesapeake Bay last week when a mayday call came over the radio from a boater in dire straits.
  • U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, drift removal crews pulled a small alien spacecraft out of waters at the confluence of the Anacostia and Potomac rivers early this morning as part of their day-to-day mission of clearing debris from channels that could be hazardous to navigation. (Please note, this is an April Fools’ Day joke)

    Corps of Engineers pulls UFO out of DC waters near Reagan National Airport

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, drift removal crews pulled a small alien spacecraft out of waters at the confluence of the Anacostia and Potomac rivers early this morning as part of their day-to-day mission of clearing debris from channels that could be hazardous to navigation.

  • December

    Safety exercise at Jennings Randolph Lake promotes multiagency cooperation

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers works alongside local, state and federal partners to ensure staff