NEW ORLEANS - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District participated in the 106th annual Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association’s Convention, Aug. 10-12 in New Orleans.

District senior leaders and members of the Navigation and Operations divisions attended the two-day conference to learn more about key issues and concerns relating to barge industry operations along the Gulf Coast.

Commander of the Eighth U.S. Coast Guard District, Rear Adm. Roy Nash, who took command June 1, thanked industry leaders for their professionalism and collaboration during this year’s Mississippi River flooding events (the worst flood to occur on the river since 1927) and applauded GICA for the crucial role it played in managing waterway traffic during this natural disaster.

“Your years of experience and expertise in this industry plays such a critical role in our nation’s economic stability,” said Nash. “Your work and steadfast leadership on the waterways keeps cargo moving safely.”

Nash discussed upcoming proposed changes in regulations to ensure the safety of vessels transiting along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and encouraged feedback from industry leaders.

Galveston District Commander Col. Christopher Sallese was a one of four members of the conference’s USACE Funding and Operations Perspective Panel to brief participants on the current status of USACE operations around the nation, highlighting the Galveston District’s achievements, upcoming programs and studies.

Sallese explained that over the last year the Galveston District awarded $26 million in contracts to remove four million cubic yards of dredge material along the Texas coast, replace mooring buoys, rehabilitate gates and guide walls and make improvements to dredge material disposal site areas.

“We have four of the top 10 busiest ports in the nation responsible for transporting 58 percent of the nation’s cargo which ranges from petroleum products to supplying our military overseas,” said Sallese. “We need to work together to get the biggest bang for our buck and identify ways to improve the waterway system.”

Sallese conveyed the importance of keeping Texas waterways open as a national strategic investment and thanked industry partners and sponsors for their continued collaboration with GICA, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Corps.

For more news and information, visit www.swg.usace.army.mil. Find us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/GalvestonDistrict or follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/USACEGalveston.

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