In August 2003, the Director of Civil Works
designated five national Planning Centers of Expertise to enhance the Corps' planning capability for inland navigation, deep draft navigation, ecosystem restoration, hurricane and storm damage reduction, flood damage reduction, and water supply and reallocation. The Director also recognized the Northwestern Division as the acknowledged national
hydropower Planning Center of Expertise, and acknowledged the excellent support of the
National Nonstructural/Flood Proofing Committee across business line program areas. The Centers are part of the Corps’ national initiative to improve the quality and effectiveness of water resources planning, referred to as the Planning Excellence Program. This program includes planner training and development, planner leadership development, quality assurance and quality control, the Centers of specialized planning expertise, and other national initiatives to improve planning effectiveness.
The
role of the Planning Centers is to focus on plan formulation and the complex technical evaluation associated with formulation. Each Planning Center is led by a team of experts specialized in plan formulation, environmental sciences, economics, and related technical disciplines. Center Directors and Technical Points of Contact are:
National Center | Director | Technical Point of Contact |
Inland Navigation | Great Lakes and Ohio River Division Cincinnati, Ohio | Huntington District Huntington, West Virginia and Great Lakes and Ohio River Division Cincinnati, Ohio |
Deep Draft Navigation Small Boat Harbors | South Atlantic Division Atlanta, Georgia | Mobile District Mobile, Alabama
Alaska District, Anchorage, Pacific Ocean Division |
Flood Risk Management | South Pacific Division San Francisco, California | South Pacific Division San Francisco, California |
Coastal Storm Damage Reduction | North Atlantic Division New York, New York | North Atlantic Division New York, New York |
Ecosystem Restoration | Mississippi Valley Division Vicksburg, Mississippi | Mississippi Valley Division Vicksburg, Mississippi |
Water Management and Reallocation | Southwestern Division Dallas, Texas | Southwestern Division Dallas, Texas |
2005 Planning Centers of Expertise Conference and 1st Annual Report |