The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Galveston District, is hosting the 92nd Coastal Engineering Research Board (CERB) meeting this week at the district’s headquarters building in Galveston, Texas.
According to Jose E. Sanchez, SES, PE, director of the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory and alternate designated federal officer of the Coastal Engineering Research Board, the CERB provides guidance to the Army’s Chief of Engineers pertaining to the field of coastal engineering research and development for the benefit of the Army and the nation.
The main purpose of the meeting is to discuss the U.S. Gulf region’s engineering challenges with nature, and nature-based systems to enhance the resilience of coastal systems and marine transportation infrastructure and sustain the values they produce.
“ Our Texas navigation channels are nestled in unique and significant coastal habitats along the coast that we must restore and protect as nationally-valued resources, ” said Col. Richard P. Pannell, USACE Galveston District commander. “ In direct relation, we are experiencing well over $100 billion in non-federal investment for coastal infrastructure improvement to keep up with energy product delivery demand.”
According to Pannell, that investment is driving community development at the coast, which is an emerging coastal flood risk with rising sea levels and persistent hurricane activity in the Gulf of Mexico. Maintaining the environmental health of coastal wetlands is crucial to ensuring the continued success of many of the nation’s vital industries.
[mappress mapid=”21086″]