ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, currently has 59 of its 600 employees deployed over the holidays to support relief efforts in the wake of hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria.
An additional nine employees are supporting recovery efforts from their desks in Minnesota, 68 employees have already deployed for at least 30 days and returned home, and 18 more are scheduled to deploy right after the holidays. Many of these individuals have deployed more than once.
All of these individuals volunteered to deploy to support hurricane recovery efforts.
Under the National Response Framework, the Corps of Engineers is assigned as the primary agency for Emergency Support Function #3 – Public Works and Engineering. The Corps supports the Federal Emergency Management Agency by coordinating federal public works and engineering-related support, as well as providing technical assistance, engineering expertise, and construction management to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from domestic incidents.
The deployed St. Paul District employees are currently supporting the temporary housing and critical public facilities missions in Texas, the power restoration and temporary roofing missions in Puerto Rico and the temporary roofing and debris removal missions in the Virgin Islands.
“I am very proud of our employees for putting their own lives on hold to help others, especially over the holidays,” said Col. Sam Calkins, St. Paul District commander. “The commitment our team shows by volunteering for these critical missions is commendable and makes this district a special place to work.”
The nearly 600 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2015 $100 million budget, nearly 1,600 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $155 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.
-30-