The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District Regulatory Division, will host an open house from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday, July 2, at the Ritz Carlton, 6900 Great Bay, St. Thomas. The event is free and open to the public. For more information or to register for the open house, go to www.usacejacksonvilleregulatory.com. Pre-registration is requested but not required.
This is the fourth annual open house series, which provides an opportunity for the public to learn about current regulatory issues, and to meet with and provide input to members of the regulatory team. This year’s event will feature an opening general session, followed by an informal poster session that will focus on current topics of interest and provide an opportunity for participants to talk one-on-one with Corps regulatory project managers and leaders. Federal and state agencies with roles and responsibilities in the protection of the aquatic environment have been invited to participate as well.
“We brought our open house to St. Thomas for the first time last year. It was very well-received and we were asked to be sure to return this year,” said Donnie Kinard, chief of Jacksonville District’s Regulatory Division. “The Corps and its partner agencies look forward to this annual opportunity to take information directly to the public and to hear directly from them about the topics that are important to them. This is just one way in which we strive for continuous improvement in our services and efficiency in our processes.”
Poster session topics for this year’s event include wetland delineation, mining, dock construction guidelines, emergency response, permit compliance and enforcement, endangered species, beach nourishment and mitigation.
The St. Thomas open house is the final offering of the 2010 series, which also visited Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Tallahassee in Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Jacksonville District administers the largest regulatory permitting program in the Corps, covering the state of Florida and the Caribbean. The program protects waters of the United States, including federally-delineated wetlands and navigable waters, by regulating dredge and fill activities and the placement of structures in waterways. For more information, visit the district’s Web site, www.saj.usace.army.mil and click on the Regulatory Division link.
