USACE Establishes IWR Risk Management Center

ALEXANDRIA, VA – November 24, 2009. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has established a new Risk Management Center (RMC) to support USACE Headquarters efforts to improve management controls over infrastructure decisions, to serve as an independent advisor to senior leadership, to maintain and develop risk competencies, and to ensure consistency in processes, application of criteria and decision-making. IWR has named Nate Snorteland Director of the new center of expertise.

The Center will serve as a USACE-wide resource for risk-related tools, assessments, knowledge and methods. It is intended to offer a national perspective as well as support routine District and MSC dam and levee safety activities. It will play important roles in the work of the Corps Engineering and Construction Communities of Practice. The Center offers services to support dam safety; levee safety; and the Modeling, Mapping, and Consequence Center (MMCC).

The RMC will maintain a close working relationship with the Bureau of Reclamation as part of the charter between the two organizations. The Center will also maintain a working relationship with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) Dam Safety division. Other partners include professional organizations such as the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, U.S. Society of Dams and Association of Engineering Geologists, as well as academic institutions.

The RMC will have its primary facilities in Denver, Colorado. The location of a second office is yet to be determined, but likely to be located in the eastern U.S., with the two locations to provide mutual support. The eastern and western locations will allow easier recruitment of employees, allow closer coordination with the agencies that have the most in common (Bureau of Reclamation and FERC), provide easy access Corps-wide for training facilities, allow easy access to all of USACE's assets, and allows greater coverage for RMC risk assessment activities. Employees will also be located in the Pittsburgh, Louisville, Omaha and Tulsa Districts, and the Hydrologic Engineering Center.

More about the Risk Management Center

The mission of the Risk Management Center is to support Civil Works by managing and assessing risks for dams and levee systems across the Corps, to support dam and levee safety activities throughout the Corps, and to develop policies, methods, tools, and systems to enhance those activities. You can find out more about the Center, its services and partners.

Learn more:

• About the Risk Management Center
• Designation Letter (pdf, 1.4 MB)