Our place in the Seattle District

The Environmental Resources Section (ERS) is one of Seattle District's principle resources for addressing environmental questions and issues. In the District's organizational hierarchy, ERS is a part of the Planning Branch which is a part of the Planning, Programs, and Project Management Division. ERS serves as a technical resource for all offices in the district, including Planning. ERS is both a support section as well as an initiator of studies and projects.

Other organizational units within the Seattle District that focus on environmental matters include: Regulatory Branch, the Dredged Material Management Office, and the Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Design Center.

What we do

ERS staff work as both environmental coordinators, assuring that environmental compliance is achieved for Corps projects, as well as technical experts in fisheries, wildlife biology, wetlands, water quality, archaeology, and Native American Tribes. ERS's primary responsibility is to assure that District civil and military projects comply with the pertinent environmental laws and regulations. This usually entails preparation of environmental documentation, such as Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) or Environmental Assessments (EA), to evaluate anticipated impacts from the proposed projects. Associated with the preparation of these documents is coordination with various resource agencies and development of supporting documentation, such as biological assessments (BA) and technical resource studies. For more details on the applicable environmental laws and the documents we produce, please see our Environmental Compliance page. ERS staff is also responsible for producing natural resources studies and technical analyses as support to others.

Projects we work on

ERS works on five types of projects:

1. Civil Works Planning - Civil works projects are predominantly water resource development projects, such as flood control and marina development, or habitat restoration projects. These projects are cost shared with a local sponsor. ERS staff provide technical input during project planning, and handle environmental compliance/coordination tasks.

2. Military - The Corps of Engineers was founded to provide engineering support to the U.S. Army. This function is still a primary mission of the Corps. The District routinely provides design support for Ft. Lewis, McChord Air Force Base (AFB), Malstrom AFB, Fairchild AFB, and Mountain Home AFB.

3. Operations - ERS staff provide technical input and environmental compliance/coordination services to the Seattle District's six operating civil works projects: Albeni Falls Dam, Chief Joseph Dam, Howard Hanson Dam, Lake Washington Ship Canal and Locks, Libby Dam, and Mud Mountain Dam. We handle environmental compliance for maintenance dredging of District navigation projects, and for emergency actions. ERS also provides technical advice on permitting actions to the Regulatory Branch.

4. Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Sites (HTRW) - ERS staff provide support to the Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste Design Center on cleanup activities at Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) and Superfund Sites.

5. Work for Others - ERS technical expertise is also available to provide design, technical and environmental compliance services for other entities not served under the existing civil works or military authorities. The Planning Assistance to the States Program (PAS) is one example of the potential to cost share technical studies with other entities.

What's the deal with the Moose?

Since the 1970s, the ERS area of the Seattle District's office has been adorned with a moose head, which we lovingly call Morris. Morris has become the unofficial symbol of ERS and is a well known landmark for visitors to the District office. The Legend of Morris the Moose was recently chronicled in the Seattle District's magazine, The Flagship.