The Detroit District was well represented at the world association for waterborne transport infrastructure’s, PIANC, 33rd world congress June 2014 in San Francisco, Calif.
Jim Selegean, a hydraulic engineer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Detroit District, was at the congress presenting a paper on sediment management for the St. Joseph river and harbor, Mich.
At the congress he met Jo Ellen Darcy the assistant secretary of the Army for Civil Works, who is a commissioner for the PIANC, because USACE has the authority on maritime and inland navigation for the United States. A few other USACE districts were represented at the congress, and all of those were coastal districts.
PIANC was originally known as the permanent international association of navigation congresses, and still maintains the acronym. PIANC originated in 1885 with the U.S. joining in 1902. The congress is held every four years in one of the member countries, this is the first time the U.S. has hosted it in over 50 years, and this year drew over 600 researchers representing over 40 different countries, to discuss topics such as sediment, dredging, lock gates and adaptable land development.
“ It is interesting seeing how Europeans deal with these issues, it is truly a world congress ,” said Selegean .
What Selegean found most interesting was how the different countries deal with regulatory issues when they all have different laws, but the same waterways.
Overall Selegean passed along his knowledge and gained new insight on how the rest of the world manages water.
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Press Release, July 10, 2014