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U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District, helps the recovery effort after tsunami in American Samoa

photo of American Samoa Tsunami emergency response team

Emergency responders from Honolulu District, U.S. Army 249th Prime Power Engineer Battalion and FEMA pose outside their base headquarters in American Samoa. Photo by Terrie Zuiderhoek, FEMA Operations Section, Deputy Section Chief

   The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Honolulu District, in coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), continues to deploy personnel and provide support to the people of American Samoa in the aftermath of the Sept. 29 tsunami.

   “Our teammates in American Samoa are having a significantly positive impact in support of FEMA, the people of Samoa, and the territorial leadership,” said Maj. John Henderson, deputy commander for the USACE, Honolulu District. “American Samoa Governor Tulafono and Congressman Faleomavaega have expressed their sincere gratitude for all that we are doing for American Samoa.” 

   The District currently has six subject-matter-experts and 18 Soldiers from B Company, 249th Prime Power Engineer Battalion deployed in American Samoa.  The District Headquarters is facilitating project management, logistical, contracting, operations, personnel and funding support from Honolulu to the Soldiers and Civilians on the ground in Samoa.

   “In this emergency, our friends need help and the federal government, including FEMA and the Corps of Engineers, has responded aggressively,” said Brig. Gen. Mark W. Yenter, commander of the USACE, Pacific Ocean Division. “I am very proud of the support our federal employees and Soldiers have provided. We have a long way to go and we will get there together.” 

   The Corps of Engineers is executing emergency power missions, constructing temporary structures to serve as interim schools, conducting damage assessments on federal projects and providing technical assistance for debris removal, temporary housing, and water / wastewater.

   “Our team on the ground is experiencing the great rewards that come from selfless service to those who need it the most,” said Henderson.

   The Honolulu District water /wastewater subject-matter-expert, Michael Wong, who recently returned from Samoa, said that with the help of the supplemented power, all connected customers on the island had safe drinking water within one week of the disaster.

   The Corps has been and will continue to provide emergency power support until the American Samoa Power Authority (ASPA) can stabilize the grid and restore power generation capacity. The Satala Power Plant, one of the two power stations on the island of Tutuila, was severely damaged in the tsunami and is not operational. The Tafuna Power Plant is running at full capacity but under the threat of full system overload and failure.

   To relieve some of the stress to the Tafuna power station, the Soldiers of the 249th Engineer Battalion installed 46 generators and four transformers of various sizes in several locations to generate nine mega-watts of power for island usage.  Most of the generator sets were installed directly on to the grid, which is not a traditional mission for the 249th and is considerably more dangerous.

   “This is a rare task for the Corps to support the whole power system and augment the power station grid,” said Cindy Barger, a mission manager for the Honolulu District Power Planning and Response Team (PRT). “Usually the Power PRT installs smaller individual generators at essential public facilities like hospitals, emergency management centers, and water or waste water pump stations.”

   “We are confronting new challenges everyday, but we work to resolve them in new ways,” said Don Schlack, a Honolulu District Power PRT subject-matter-expert currently deployed to Samoa. “We are supplying communities with power that otherwise would be blacked out.”  

   FEMA also has tasked the Corps with constructing 12 buildings to serve as five temporary schools in communities that were heavily damaged or destroyed in the tsunami. Construction of these facilities is expected to be complete by Dec. 15th

                                                                                        [Read More...]


   

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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA) REQUESTS

General Information and Forms can be found at the following website: www.usace.army.mil/FOIA/Pages/AticleHome.aspx

Please submit forms to one of the following for local FOIA requests:
E-mail: foia-poh@usace.army.mil     Fax: (808) 438-9853

For General Questions regarding the FOIA process, please call or e-mail the Honolulu District Office at: (808)438-2423 or foia-poh@usace.army.mil


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YOU MUST REGISTER YOUR ELECTRONIC CONTACT INFORMATION IF YOU WISH TO RECEIVE PUBLIC NOTICES!! The Corps has transitioned to an electronic notification process (reference Public Notice #2009-005, dated April 1, 2009) and will no longer mail full paper copies of Public Notices to interested individuals or organizations.

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What's New...

image of Pacific Connection cover, Fall 2009      image of Recovery site button-click for more info
Pacific Connection
Fall 2009

Public Notices
Public Notice Mailing List Registration

Honolulu District Speakers Bureau

New: Afghanistan Volunteer Opportunities

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (POD &  NWD) is inviting Corps employees, those of other federal agencies and those from the private sector, to consider serving their country as a civilian in the Afghanistan Engineer District. Important work is being conducted to rebuild that nation's infrastructure and a variety of specialties are required.


In The News     

District dedicates a day to geography awareness

District amplifies its awareness of disabilities

Corps of Engineers focuses on deployment opportunities in town hall meeting

Public Notice: Notice of Final Rule Amendment to the Danger Zone at Marine Corps Base Hawai'i, Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawai'i

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Awards Contract for Architect-Engineer Services for the Design of Future Headquarters of the U.S. Army Pacific

District honors Native American heritage

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers helps recovery effort after tsunami in American Samoa

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers celebrates completion of Air Force intelligence facility

Honolulu District Awards Fiscal Year-end Contracts Worth $132.6 Million

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers deploys response teams to American Samoa

Corps, community clean-up Fort DeRussy on National Public Lands Day

National Public Lands Day Activities Announced

Army Corps works with local students to promote environmental understanding on World Water Monitoring Day

Public Notice: Honolulu District will Transition to an Electronic Notification Process, Fort Shafter, Hawaii

Corps joins Hawaii Congressional Staff and State and Local Officials in Kikiaola Maile Lei Untying Ceremony

Hawaiian Ground Blessing begins Army Corps, Garrison Partnership to Build New Soldier Barracks Complex

Awards Contract for Solar Water Heater Upgrades at Fort Shafter

Public Notice: Nationwide Permit Number 21 for Extension of Comment Period in the Appalachian Region of Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia

Fort Shafter celebrates progress of new barracks

Defense Department to Study Ocean Currents Near Two Underwater Munitions Disposal Sites in Hawai’i

Public Notice: of the Draft Hawai'i & Pacific Islands Regional Supplement to the 1987 Wetlands Delineation Manual

Kwajalein: Corps’ Resident Office closes after 50 years; Engineers impart legacy of technical improvements

Observations of BUILDING STRONG®; Toni Agustin: Bringing the “Spirit of Aloha” to the fields of Afghanistan

Observations of BUILDING STRONG®; Farley Watanabe: Surveying Impacts of Troops on the Afghan Landscape

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers releases listing of Recovery Act-funded Civil Works projects

Public Notice: Issuance of General Permit GP2008-01 for Boat Docks in Hawaii Kai Marina, Honolulu Hawaii

Public Notice: Re-Issuance of Nationwide Permits and Final Regional Conditions for Honolulu District

Public Notice: The Corps of Engineers Announces Final 2007 Nationwide Permits

Other Honolulu District News & Public Notices


Links
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Pacific Ocean Division
Civil Works Projects

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Content Information Contact

CEPOH-PA@usace.army.mil
(808) 438-9862

Features

Regional Sediment Management
Studying the islands from mauka (mountains) to makai (ocean), the Honolulu District and its partners hope to gain a better understanding of sediment transport, and improve upon how it is managed. [Read More...]

Army Corps of Engineers Offers Water Safety Tips
Drowning is the Nation's second leading cause of accidental death, yet it is possible -- just by wearing a life jacket -- to reduce drowning deaths. Statistics show that 90 percent of those who drown at U.S. Army Corps of Engineers lakes may have survived if they had done so. Here are safety tips from the Corps of Engineers to help recreation seekers keep fun in water-based activities over the summer. [Read More...]

 


Page Last Updated: November 20, 2009 Privacy and Security Notice
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