Agencies use the goals in agency strategic plans and annual performance plans to inform annual budget decisions, longer-term investment planning, and human resource planning. The agency’s strategic goals and objectives are listed below.
Strategic Goal: Assist in Providing For Safe and Resilient Communities and Infrastructure
Strategic Goal: Help Facilitate Commercial Navigation in an Environmentally and Economically Sustainable Fashion
Objective: Help facilitate commercial navigation by providing safe, reliable, highly cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable waterborne transportation systems.
Description:
The Nation’s marine transportation system encompasses a network of navigable channels, waterways and infrastructure maintained by the USACE, as well as publicly- and privately-owned marine terminals, intermodal connections, shipyards and repair facilities. The USACE maintains approximately 25,000 miles of inland and coastal waterways including 241 river locks at 196 sites and 926 coastal, Great Lakes, and inland harbors. The USACE navigation program is also responsible for costs associated with the operation and maintenance of 241 locks with associated dams and 64 dams without locks that provide water storage for controlled releases to maintain dry season navigable depths, dredging of sediment to maintain navigable channel depths, and clearing waterways of snags and other impediments to commercial navigation.
Priority Goal:Help facilitate commercial navigation by providing safe, reliable, highly cost-effective, and environmentally-sustainable waterborne transportation systems.
Goal Statement:Help facilitate commercial navigation by providing safe, reliable, highly cost-effective, and environmentally-sustainable waterborne transportation systems.
Through 30 September 2013, limit annual lock closures due to mechanical failures of main lock chambers on high and moderate use waterways to no more than 46 for closures lasting more than 1 day and no more than 26 for closures lasting more than one week.
Description:
The Corps’ navigation infrastructure consists of coastal channels and harbors (including those on the Great Lakes) and inland and intracoastal (inland) waterways, which provides a low-cost transportation alternative to shippers. Transportation savings are passed on to the Nation’s consumers and producers. In addition, the Corps’ infrastructure supports state and local economies and jobs. The Corps is responsible for operating, maintaining, and upgrading (either through rehabilitations or new investments) approximately 25,000 miles of coastal channels and harbors and inland waterways, 241 lock chambers at 196 different sites, and numerous bridges, jetties, breakwaters, and other structures. This high priority goal focuses on inland navigation, which includes approximately 11,000 miles of inland and intracoastal fuel taxed waterways, 207 lock chambers at 171 sites, and 1,000 miles of non-fuel taxed inland waterways. The goal will specifically address the high use waterways (carrying more than 3 billion ton-miles of traffic annually) and moderate use waterways (carrying 1 to 3 billion ton-miles of traffic annually). The Corps is working to ensure that the locks on these waterways are reliable and available to pass traffic when needed. While the system is operating at a satisfactory level overall, many locks are aging and are in various states of deterioration, which result in periodic mechanical failures and lock closures to make repairs. Repairs are becoming more frequent, extensive, and costly. Scheduled and unscheduled lock closures have increased in recent years resulting in a decrease in the time that main chamber locks are available for passing traffic. Lock closures result in either complete stoppage of traffic – if there is only one lock – or result in significant delays to traffic if a smaller auxiliary lock must be used. These delays result in increased costs to shippers and the general public, delays in getting raw materials to factories, impacts caused by delays in delivering energy commodities to power plants and the general public, and increased fuel consumption and pollution.
Strategic Goal: Restore Degraded Aquatic Ecosystems and Prevent Future Environmental Losses
Objective:Provide sustainable development, restoration, and protection of the Nation’s water resources by restoring degraded habitat.
Description:
Completed aquatic ecosystem restoration projects will contribute to restoration of more natural conditions and improve the sustainability of various ecosystems. Construction of the projects provides the conditions necessary for achievement of ecological success but full achievement of the benefits may not occur for several years.
Priority Goal:Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration.
Goal Statement:Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration.
By 30 September 2013, the Corps will: Show progress through completion of identified study, design, and construction activities that will contribute to a long-term goal of improved ecological conditions in the Great Lakes Basin, the Everglades, and Columbia River basin, consistent with the Federal restoration strategies developed for each unique ecosystem.
Description:
This goal focuses on the most critical ecological issues in three priority ecosystems. The actions that are being taken will contribute to restoring these ecosystems to less degraded conditions or contribute to the reduction of future threats.
The Great Lakes Basin is vulnerable to continued degradation from a potential influx of invasive species which have the potential to drastically change the fisheries in the Great Lakes. The actions taken include work on a study to identify alternatives to limit introduction of aquatic invasive species and the continuation of work on barriers to prevent the Asian Carp from entering the Great Lakes.
The work in the Everglades contributes to recovering and sustaining those essential characteristics of historic water distribution, flow and depth, and the associated biological characteristics that both defined the original Everglades and made it unique among the world’s wetlands. The items being tracked are necessary elements of the South Florida Everglades Ecosystem Restoration Program. Actions include completion of three construction items, a recommendation for a new project, and a plan for the operation and maintenance of a completed project.
In the Columbia River Basin the focus is on compliance with the Biological Opinion as required by the Endangered Species Act. This is a long term effort that involves numerous actions to be taken to restore endangered salmon species. Salmon have traditionally played a critical role in the lives of the Native Americans as well as the general economic well being in the basin. The actions tracked are critical to the success of this effort. Included is the completion of three projects, two of which are expected to meet requirements for fish passage at two dams. The third item will reduce the threat of bird predation on salmon near the mouth of the Columbia River.
Objective: Prevent future environmental losses by executing the regulatory mission in a manner that protects the aquatic environment (ensures zero net-loss of wetlands) while making timely, fair permit decisions.
Description:
The objective of the Clean Water Act (CWA) is “to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the Nation’s waters.” Toward achievement of this goal, the CWA prohibits the discharge of dredged or fill material into wetlands, streams, and other waters of the United States unless a permit is issued by the USACE or approved state under CWA Section 404. USACE will develop and implement actions that will result in streamlined and transparent regulatory processes that balance economic development while sustaining aquatic resources. Initiatives will focus on achieving greater consistency across Districts, improving responsiveness and efficiency, and aiding the decision making process.
Objective: Assist in a cost-effective manner in the clean-up of contaminated, hazardous, toxic, and radioactive waste sites as authorized or requested by other under the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP).
Description:
USACE is assigned the responsibility of implementing the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP). FUSRAP sites are contaminated by hazardous, toxic, or radioactive wastes as a result of work performed as part of the Nation’s early atomic energy program.
Priority Goal: Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration.
Goal Statement: Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration.
By 30 September 2013, the Corps will: Show progress through completion of identified study, design, and construction activities that will contribute to a long-term goal of improved ecological conditions in the Great Lakes Basin, the Everglades, and Columbia River basin, consistent with the Federal restoration strategies developed for each unique ecosystem.
Description:
This goal focuses on the most critical ecological issues in three priority ecosystems. The actions that are being taken will contribute to restoring these ecosystems to less degraded conditions or contribute to the reduction of future threats.
The Great Lakes Basin is vulnerable to continued degradation from a potential influx of invasive species which have the potential to drastically change the fisheries in the Great Lakes. The actions taken include work on a study to identify alternatives to limit introduction of aquatic invasive species and the continuation of work on barriers to prevent the Asian Carp from entering the Great Lakes.
The work in the Everglades contributes to recovering and sustaining those essential characteristics of historic water distribution, flow and depth, and the associated biological characteristics that both defined the original Everglades and made it unique among the world’s wetlands. The items being tracked are necessary elements of the South Florida Everglades Ecosystem Restoration Program. Actions include completion of three construction items, a recommendation for a new project, and a plan for the operation and maintenance of a completed project.
In the Columbia River Basin the focus is on compliance with the Biological Opinion as required by the Endangered Species Act. This is a long term effort that involves numerous actions to be taken to restore endangered salmon species. Salmon have traditionally played a critical role in the lives of the Native Americans as well as the general economic well being in the basin. The actions tracked are critical to the success of this effort. Included is the completion of three projects, two of which are expected to meet requirements for fish passage at two dams. The third item will reduce the threat of bird predation on salmon near the mouth of the Columbia River.
Strategic Goal: Implement Effective, Reliable, and Adaptive Life-Cycle Performance Management of Infrastructure
Objective: Increase the amount of hydropower produced at USACE dams
Description:
USACE’s multipurpose dam and water reservoir authorities provide hydroelectric power as an additional benefit of projects built for navigation and flood control. USACE is the largest owner-operator of hydroelectric power plants in the United States and one of the largest in the world. USACE operates 350 generating units at 75 multi-purpose reservoirs, mostly in the Pacific Northwest. The facilities account for approximately 24 percent of the Nation’s hydroelectric power and approximately 3 percent of the country’s total electrical generation capacity. USACE hydroelectric plants produce nearly 70 billion kilowatt-hours each year – sufficient to serve about 7 million households or equal to 12 cities the size of Seattle, WA. Hydropower is a renewable energy source and one of the least environmentally disruptive sources of electric power generation, producing none of the airborne emissions that contribute to acid rain or greenhouse gases.
Priority Goal: Improve the current operating performance and asset reliability of Hydropower plants in support of Executive Order 13514.
Priority Goal: Reduce the Nation’s risk of flooding that places individuals at risk of injury or loss of life and damages property.
Goal Statement:Reduce the Nation’s risk of flooding that places individuals at risk of injury or loss of life and damages property.
By 30 September 2013, reduce at least 10 Dam Safety classification ratings, conduct at least 600 levee risk screenings, and improve the condition rating for at least 13 high consequence projects that have failed or have inadequate condition ratings.
Description:
This Priority Goal addresses the issue of risk to life and economic damages occurring in the United States resulting from floods on rivers and coastal storms. Every year floods sweep through communities across the United States and storms impact our coasts taking lives, destroying property, impacting businesses, harming the environment, and causing millions of dollars in damages. One of USACE’s primary missions is to support flood risk management activities in urban and rural areas throughout the US in order to reduce economic and human life losses from flood disasters. To carry out this mission, USACE implements a number of structural and nonstructural measures. As a part of the structural response, USACE is responsible for maintaining and operating 383 flood damage reduction reservoir projects and inspecting over 11,750 miles of levee and dike systems operated and maintained by non-federal agencies that are designed to reduce the risk of flooding throughout the nation’s watersheds. This priority goal focuses on three important programs that ensure the performance and ability of the nation’s flood damage reduction infrastructure to perform reliably to reduce flood risks
Priority Goal: Help facilitate commercial navigation by providing safe, reliable, highly cost-effective, and environmentally-sustainable waterborne transportation systems.
Goal Statement: Help facilitate commercial navigation by providing safe, reliable, highly cost-effective, and environmentally-sustainable waterborne transportation systems.
Through 30 September 2013, limit annual lock closures due to mechanical failures of main lock chambers on high and moderate use waterways to no more than 46 for closures lasting more than 1 day and no more than 26 for closures lasting more than one week.
Description:
The Corps’ navigation infrastructure consists of coastal channels and harbors (including those on the Great Lakes) and inland and intracoastal (inland) waterways, which provides a low-cost transportation alternative to shippers. Transportation savings are passed on to the Nation’s consumers and producers. In addition, the Corps’ infrastructure supports state and local economies and jobs. The Corps is responsible for operating, maintaining, and upgrading (either through rehabilitations or new investments) approximately 25,000 miles of coastal channels and harbors and inland waterways, 241 lock chambers at 196 different sites, and numerous bridges, jetties, breakwaters, and other structures. This high priority goal focuses on inland navigation, which includes approximately 11,000 miles of inland and intracoastal fuel taxed waterways, 207 lock chambers at 171 sites, and 1,000 miles of non-fuel taxed inland waterways. The goal will specifically address the high use waterways (carrying more than 3 billion ton-miles of traffic annually) and moderate use waterways (carrying 1 to 3 billion ton-miles of traffic annually). The Corps is working to ensure that the locks on these waterways are reliable and available to pass traffic when needed. While the system is operating at a satisfactory level overall, many locks are aging and are in various states of deterioration, which result in periodic mechanical failures and lock closures to make repairs. Repairs are becoming more frequent, extensive, and costly. Scheduled and unscheduled lock closures have increased in recent years resulting in a decrease in the time that main chamber locks are available for passing traffic. Lock closures result in either complete stoppage of traffic – if there is only one lock – or result in significant delays to traffic if a smaller auxiliary lock must be used. These delays result in increased costs to shippers and the general public, delays in getting raw materials to factories, impacts caused by delays in delivering energy commodities to power plants and the general public, and increased fuel consumption and pollution
Strategic Goal: Build and Sustain a High Quality, Highly Dedicated Workforce.
Objective: Establish tools and systems to get the right people in the right jobs. Then develop and retain this highly skilled workforce.
Description:
Getting the right people in the right jobs is essential for mission success. In addition, training and continuing education are increasingly important activities as the USACE works to keep its workforce current in evolving engineering and design concepts and practices. Success in this area means having leaders and employees whose technical leadership, management, and communication abilities equal or exceed the requirements of their current position and prepare them for advancement.
