Cat Island Project Receives Chief’s Award

The USACE Detroit District and its employees were recognized by the 2014 Chief of Engineers Awards of Excellence Program, with the Environmental Merit Award, for the Cat Island Dredged Material Disposal Facility (DMDF) project.

“It has been a privilege to be part of a team that has provided a quality product in a timely manner and that brings engineering and the environment together as a whole,” said Tom W. O’Bryan, area engineer, Lake Michigan Area Office.

This $17.2 million project, located west of the mouth of the Fox River in Green Bay, Wisconsin, was finished one year ahead of schedule and $10 million under budget, said Steve G. Check, project manager, Detroit District. 

The Chief of Engineers Award of Excellence is the chief’s highest award. A unanimous decision is required for an entry that truly exhibits excellence in all major professional disciplines.

“Receiving this award reinforces the fact that we are carrying out Chief of Engineers, Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick’s vision of expanding the Corps’ environmental footprint,” said Check.

The Cat Island project constructed three islands for the placement of dredged material from the Green Bay navigation channel, and restored and protected more than 1,000 acres of wetlands that were destroyed in the 1960s.

The project addressed decades of maintenance dredging for the federal channel and provided an estimated 25 years of disposal capacity, said Check. Pete’s Marsh and Duck Creek Delta Wetland have also been restored, providing 1,440 acres of wetland wildlife refuge as part of the project.

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