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  • Informing the Community Engagement Framework for Natural and Nature-based Projects: An Annotated Review of Leading Stakeholder and Community Engagement Practices

    Abstract: In its infrastructure development work, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) engages and collaborates with numerous local, state, and national stakeholders. Projects incorporating innovative approaches, such as beneficial use (BU) of dredged materials and other natural and nature-based features (NNBF), are often not well-understood by stakeholders, including those at the community level. This often results in conflicts and project delays. By sponsoring the development of a Community Engagement Framework, the Dredging Operations and Environmental Research (DOER) program hopes to systematically improve how project teams design, conduct, and measure effective community engagement on infrastructure projects. The purpose of this focused Review was to assesses leading stakeholder and community engagement practices that reflect the state of practice of stakeholder engagement within USACE, and by other leading organizations in the US and internationally, to inform development of the Community Engagement Framework. While the resulting Framework will be particularly well-suited for community engagement on projects incorporating BU and other NNBF, it will be applicable to a broad range of USACE Civil Works’ initiatives where effective stakeholder engagement is critical to project success. The assessment showed the practice of stakeholder engagement has evolved significantly over the past 30 years, with much more focus today on ensuring that engagement processes are purposeful, meaningful, collaborative, and inclusive - reflecting stakeholders’ desire to participate in co-creating sustainable solutions that produce environmental, economic, and social benefits. This, and other key findings, are informing development of the Community Engagement Framework which is scalable and adaptable to a broad range of projects across the USACE missions.
  • Is Mean Discharge Meaningless for Environmental Flow Management?

    PURPOSE: River ecosystems are highly dependent on and responsive to hydrologic variability over multiple time scales (e.g., hours, months, years). Fluctuating river flows present a key challenge to river managers, who must weigh competing demands for freshwater. Environmental flow recommendations and regulations seek to provide management targets balancing socio-economic outcomes with maintenance of ecological integrity. Often, flow management targets are based on average river conditions over temporal windows such as days, months, or years. Here, three case studies of hydrologic variability are presented at each time scale, which demonstrate the potential pitfalls of mean-based environmental flow criteria. Each case study shows that the intent of the environmental flow target is not met when hydrologic variability is considered. While mean discharge is inadequate as a single-minded flow management target, the consequences of mean flow prescriptions can be avoided in environmental flow recommendations. Based on these case studies, a temporal hierarchy of environmental flow thresholds is proposed (e.g., an instantaneous flow target coupled with daily and monthly averages), which would improve the efficacy of these regulations.
  • Ecological Model Development: Evaluation of System Quality

    PURPOSE: Ecological models are used throughout the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to inform decisions related to ecosystem restoration, water operations, environmental impact assessment, environmental mitigation, and other topics. Ecological models are typically developed in phases of conceptualization, quantification, evaluation, application, and communication. Evaluation is a process for assessing the technical quality, reliability, and ecological basis of a model and includes techniques such as calibration, verification, validation, and review. In this technical note (TN), we describe an approach for evaluating system quality, which generally includes the computational integrity, numerical accuracy, and programming of a model or modeling system. Methods are presented for avoiding computational errors during development, detecting errors through model testing, and updating models based on review and use. A formal structure is proposed for model test plans and subsequently demonstrated for a hypothetical habitat suitability model. Overall, this TN provides ecological modeling practitioners with a rapid guide for evaluating system quality.
  • Standard Operating Procedures for Open-Air Solid Waste Burning in Contingency Locations

    Abstract: Service engineer doctrine and field manuals, such as Army Techniques Publication 3-34.40, Technical Manual 5-634, and Army Regulation 420-1, offer guidance on solid waste management but do not provide the level of detail and practical guidance for open-air burning of solid waste to reduce risk to the Warfighter. Studies have shown that there could be ill health effects to service members from exposure to toxins from open-air burning. Further practical guidance is necessary to ensure that if there are no other means available for solid waste disposal, the risks associated with open-air burning are minimized as much as possible during contingency operations. Commands have limited resources and reduced personnel available to study which open-air burning procedures are optimal based on readiness and mission requirements. Planning for efficiency and risk avoidance in open-air burning operations includes several facets (e.g., site planning, processing, and recordkeeping considerations). This special report provides operational guidance to minimize risk of open-air burning for the Warfighter and other joint service personnel, particularly when there is no other alternative to open-air burning, during initial phase operating a burn pit or for waste management planning to establish standard operating procedures.
  • waterquality for ArcGIS Pro Toolbox: User’s Guide

    Abstract: Monitoring water quality of small inland lakes and reservoirs is a critical component of the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) water quality management plans. However, limited resources for traditional field-based monitoring of numerous lakes and reservoirs covering vast geographic areas often leads to reactional responses to harmful algal bloom (HAB) outbreaks. Satellite remote sensing methodologies using HAB indicators is a good low-cost option to traditional methods and has been proven to maximize and complement current field-based approaches while providing a synoptic view of water quality (Beck et al. 2016; Beck et al. 2017; Beck et al. 2019; Johansen et al. 2019; Mishra et al. 2019; Stumpf and Tomlinson 2007; Wang et al. 2020; Xu et al. 2019; Reif 2011). To assist USACE water quality management, we developed an Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) ArcGIS Pro desktop software toolbox (waterquality for ArcGIS Pro) founded on the design and research established in the waterquality R software package (Johansen et al. 2019; Johansen 2020). The toolbox enables the detection, monitoring, and quantification of HAB indicators (chlorophyll-a, phycocyanin, and turbidity) using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. Four tools are available: (1) automating the download of Sentinel-2 Level-2A imagery, (2) creating stacked image with options for cloud and non-water features masks, (3) applying water quality algorithms to generate relative estimations of one to three water quality parameters (chlorophyll-a, phycocyanin, and turbidity), and (4) creating linear regression graphs and statistics comparing in situ data (from field-based water sampling) to relative estimation data. This document serves as a user’s guide for the waterquality for ArcGIS Pro toolbox and includes instructions on toolbox installation and descriptions of each tool’s inputs, outputs, and troubleshooting guidance.
  • Sediment Mobility, Closure Depth, and the Littoral System – Oregon and Washington Coast

    Abstract: Forty years ago, the depth of closure concept was introduced to provide a systematic, process-based approach to evaluate seasonal changes in cross-shore profiles and sediment mobility in the nearshore. This study aims to extend that theory by directly considering wave-asymmetry in the nearshore environment. This technical note introduces a methodology to calculate wave induced dispersal of dredged material placed in nearshore sites and summarizes analyses validating the approach using data from the South Jetty Site at the Mouth of the Columbia River. This investigation highlights the notion of a cross-shore gradient in nearshore placement effectiveness of dredged material that can assist project managers plan and execute sustainable sediment management practices at coastal inlets.
  • Stability Analysis of Old River Low Sill Structure

    Abstract: An updated stability analysis was performed on the Old River Low Sill Structure due to a change in the operating conditions from historic river sedimentation. Sedimentation of the Mississippi River channel since the 1973 spring flood has caused higher river stages at lower discharges. Numerical methods used included nonlinear analysis of pile group stability, seepage analyses, and limit equilibrium methods. The structure’s foundation was compromised during the 1973 flood, and emergency repairs were conducted to prevent scouring and undermining of the foundation by the flood scour. Rehabilitation included the reconstruction of a failed wing wall on the left abutment, rock and riprap fill in the forebay channel, and emergency grouting to fill the scour hole beneath the structure. An operating restriction was emplaced to limit the differential head across the structure due to flood damage. Taking these conditions into account, results from an updated analysis showed that full headwater uplift caused increased tension in the piles, while the increased body load caused increased compressive loads in the piles. Review of piezometric monitoring and the seepage analyses showed that full headwater uplift is unlikely, indicating the foundation grouting adequately sealed the scour hole beneath the structure. Analysis results exhibited lower magnitude compression and tension loads in the piles with design load cases compared to previous analyses. Recommendations from these analyses indicate that increased monitoring and additional investigation may support increasing the differential head limitation.
  • Properties and Detectability of Rogue Synthetic Biology (SynBio) Products in Complex Matrices

    Abstract: Synthetic biology (SynBio) aims to rationally engineer or modify traits of an organism or integrate the behaviors of multiple organisms into a singular functional organism through advanced genetic engineering techniques. One objective of this research was to determine the environmental persistence of engineered DNA in the environment. To accomplish this goal, the environmental persistence of legacy engineered DNA building blocks were targeted that laid the foundation for SynBio product development and application giving rise to “post-use products.” These building blocks include genetic constructs such as cloning and expression vectors, promoter/terminator elements, selectable markers, reporter genes, and multi-cloning sites. Shotgun sequencing of total DNA from water samples of pristine sites was performed and resultant sequence data mined for frequency of legacy recombinant DNA signatures. Another objective was to understand the fate of a standardized contemporary synthetic genetic construct (SC) in the context of various chassis systems/genetic configurations representing different degrees of “genetic bioavailability” to the environmental landscape. These studies were carried out using microcosms representing different environmental matrices (soils, waters, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) liquor) and employed a novel genetic reporter system based on volatile organic compounds (VOC) detection to assess proliferation and persistence of the SC in the matrix over time.
  • Application of Clean Dredged Material to Facilitate Contaminated Sediment Source Control

    Abstract: Navigation channels, turning basins, and other US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)–managed navigation infrastructure often serve as repositories for contaminated sediment from off-site sources. As much as 10% of the material that USACE dredges on an annual basis is contaminated such that it requires additional and more costly management (for example, rehandling and placement in managed confined disposal facilities). Presence of contaminated sediments constrain potential management options resulting in additional costs and opportunity loss from the inability to beneficially use the material. One potential solution is applying clean dredged material to stabilize and isolate contaminated sediment sources, preventing further transport and introduction to USACE-managed infrastructure. This document summarizes a comprehensive literature review of laboratory and field case studies relevant to using clean dredged material to isolate or stabilize contaminated sediments, focusing on the physical, chemical, and biological parameters critical to establishing its feasibility and long-term effectiveness. Potentially effective engineering control measures were also reviewed where erosion and site hydrodynamics are facilitating the transport of contaminated sediments to USACE-maintained navigation infrastructure. This literature review documents and summarizes those factors considered in establishing feasibility and long-term effectiveness of the approach as well as the applicable engineering tools employed and constraints encountered.
  • Evaluation of 11 Buildings in the Fort McCoy Cantonment

    Abstract: The US Congress codified the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA), the nation’s most effective cultural resources legislation to date, mostly through establishing the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). The NHPA requires federal agencies to address their cultural re-sources, which are defined as any prehistoric or historic district, site, building, structure, or object. Section 110 of the NHPA requires federal agencies to inventory and evaluate their cultural resources, and Section 106 requires them to determine the effect of federal undertakings on those potentially eligible for the NRHP. Fort McCoy is in west-central Wisconsin, entirely within Monroe County. It was first established as the Sparta Maneuver Tract in 1909. The post was renamed Camp McCoy in 1926. Since 1974, it has been known as Fort McCoy. This report provides historic context and determinations of eligibility for buildings in the cantonment constructed between 1946 and 1975 and concludes that none are eligible for the NRHP. In consultation with the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Officer (WISHPO), this work fulfills Section 110 requirements for these buildings.