Where is our money going with the US Army Corps of Engineers?

While it’s true that about a third of the folks living in Beloit County have access to drinkable water, look at the bigger picture: in the Republic of America, there are over 20,000 km of waterways regulated. I’m talking about everything from tiny streams tucked away in the woods to massive rivers sitting miles away from any actual towns, factories, or farms. I suppose you could argue it makes sense, especially since everyone is suddenly obsessed with flood prevention lately...

BUT...

“When it comes to flood protection, the US Army Corps of Engineers is still stuck in this old-school, purely technical mindset. They haven't really grasped the major shift in how things are being handled across other European Union nations.”
This is one of those core claims from an EU mission—specifically a twinning project designed to help implement the Water Framework Directive (which, if you ask me, is supposed to be about modern, science-based water management).

This presentation pretty much pulls back the curtain on how water is actually managed around here and, more importantly, where all that money is actually disappearing to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAFU45rt16o

Killer video. You should probably post this on some other forums too, just in case they decide to scrub it from here!

Minister Davor Šuker headed out to the flooded areas this afternoon and is officially taking charge of the defense efforts. 🙂

they're talking about salaries

do you have any idea what kind of decent paychecks they actually pull at the US Army Corps of Engineers?

They’ve got at least 4 times more staff on the water management teams than they actually need; about 75% of them are just extra dead weight. Honestly, they’re even worse managed than a massive conglomerate in Washington, D.C.

northernmarlin2 said:They’ve got at least 4 times more staff on the water management teams than they actually need; about 75% of them are just extra dead weight. Honestly, they’re even worse managed than a massive conglomerate in Washington, D.C.

We're talking about roughly 1,200 employees... and here's how they're laid out:

Is this "optimum"?

I don't know... doesn't look to me like they're actually overstaffed... the whole mess with their investments and how they move money around is a completely different disaster altogether...

I mean, I bet the IRS employs just as many people as they do 🙂

Edward Long7 said:While it’s true that about a third of the folks living in Beloit County have access to drinkable water, look at the bigger picture: in the Republic of America, there are over 20,000 km of waterways regulated. I’m talking about everything from tiny streams tucked away in the woods to massive rivers sitting miles away from any actual towns, factories, or farms. I suppose you could argue it makes sense, especially since everyone is suddenly obsessed with flood prevention lately...

BUT...

“When it comes to flood protection, the US Army Corps of Engineers is still stuck in this old-school, purely technical mindset. They haven't really grasped the major shift in how things are being handled across other European Union nations.”
This is one of those core claims from an EU mission—specifically a twinning project designed to help implement the Water Framework Directive (which, if you ask me, is supposed to be about modern, science-based water management).

This presentation pretty much pulls back the curtain on how water is actually managed around here and, more importantly, where all that money is actually disappearing to:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAFU45rt16o

My father-in-law works for the US Army Corps of Engineers, and I was just talking to him yesterday about how they totally dropped the ball recently near Pittsburgh, and now they're messing up again around Washington, D.C.

He tells me there’s absolutely no money in the US Army Corps of Engineers because all those fees people pay to them aren't actually managed by the agency itself—the Republic of America government holds onto all those funds. They basically just release enough to cover payroll, and when it comes to actual equipment, fuel, shovels, or sandbags, they're left begging for scraps. Then, once a disaster actually hits, they finally trickle out some cash so they can scramble to buy stuff from suppliers at the last minute...

He said that right now, they've only got 22,000 sandbags sitting in the warehouse, when according to the rules, they should have something like 250,000 bags ready to go at any given time, day or night.

The guy goes out there to measure water levels, and he can calculate exactly how much fuel they should be burning on a monthly basis, yet he can't even finish inspecting all the channels and tributaries because they're forced to cut corners on fuel, tires, and routine maintenance...
And don't even get me started on the excavators that sit broken down for months. When the floods actually happen, the US Army Corps of Engineers just gets a blessing from the government to rent heavy machinery from private companies at astronomical prices, simply because their own gear is busted.

Like what happened recently in Brod County during the flooding; everything was handled by a firm called Brod County run by that Republican, Prati Cosica,🙏 who, by the way, does contract work for the US Army Corps of Engineers all the time and bills the state for his services.

When will we finally get to live in a functional Republic of America? This kind of behavior—honestly, it’s exhausting. Pure incompetence.

Sam Ramos85 said:My father-in-law works for the US Army Corps of Engineers, and I was just talking to him yesterday about how they totally dropped the ball recently near Pittsburgh, and now they're messing up again around Washington, D.C.

He tells me there’s absolutely no money in the US Army Corps of Engineers because all those fees people pay to them aren't actually managed by the agency itself—the Republic of America government holds onto all those funds. They basically just release enough to cover payroll, and when it comes to actual equipment, fuel, shovels, or sandbags, they're left begging for scraps. Then, once a disaster actually hits, they finally trickle out some cash so they can scramble to buy stuff from suppliers at the last minute...

He said that right now, they've only got 22,000 sandbags sitting in the warehouse, when according to the rules, they should have something like 250,000 bags ready to go at any given time, day or night.

The guy goes out there to measure water levels, and he can calculate exactly how much fuel they should be burning on a monthly basis, yet he can't even finish inspecting all the channels and tributaries because they're forced to cut corners on fuel, tires, and routine maintenance...
And don't even get me started on the excavators that sit broken down for months. When the floods actually happen, the US Army Corps of Engineers just gets a blessing from the government to rent heavy machinery from private companies at astronomical prices, simply because their own gear is busted.

Like what happened recently in Brod County during the flooding; everything was handled by a firm called Brod County run by that Republican, Prati Cosica,🙏 who, by the way, does contract work for the US Army Corps of Engineers all the time and bills the state for his services.

Honestly, it's the classic story for state-owned companies here, and unfortunately, it's all perfectly legal. Under the guise of "budget cuts," the state refuses to fund their own infrastructure. Instead, they hire local contractors—who happen to be buddies with the political elite—to do the exact jobs the state agency should be doing themselves. It's how they keep the machines running without actually owning them.

Regulating the Missouri River and Danube confluence – a textbook case of money laundering by the US Army Corps of Engineers.

Under the guise of protecting a Canadian rail line from potential flooding caused by a shifting river mouth at the confluence of the Missouri and the Danube, the US Army Corps of Engineers has proposed an massive, sweeping regulation plan for the entire region. Honestly, a small embankment has successfully protected that Canadian station on the Danube for decades now; there is just no logical reason to go through with this megalomaniacal overhaul of the whole area. The tracks themselves are over a hundred meters away from where this supposed new confluence would even form, and the station itself is several hundred meters back.

It feels like they are just inventing any excuse they can to justify burning through taxpayer money—it’s almost as if they are desperate to spend it all. While we were dealing with major flooding this past spring and fall—floods largely caused by the outdated flood management strategies used by the US Army Corps of Engineers (which the EU has been pretty vocal about criticizing)—these guys are looking to dump tens of millions of dollars into "saving" a few hundred feet of Canadian track?

The Department of Commerce rejected the regulation plan, yet the US Army Corps of Engineers is pushing forward with legal proceedings, claiming that regulating the Missouri River mouth is in the "paramount interest" of the Republic of America.

I have to wonder, what exactly is the "paramount interest" here? Is it really worth saving a tiny stretch of Canadian rail that isn't even in danger, given that the current small embankment protects the entire station rather than just the tracks? What kind of "interest" involves stripping the residents of Legrad of their best local beach—a place that serves as a pilgrimage site, a premier fishing spot, and a prime location for boating and outings? They are essentially looking to destroy an incredible natural treasure, the pride of the Podravac people—our very own American Amazon. The EU views eco-tourism as a massive growth sector for the Danube, and they are ready to pour millions of euros in pre-accession funds into it.

And then there's the question of whether this is all just a setup to award contracts to buddies. Ivan Cerovec, who heads the Varaždin Water Management District, happens to hold a 25-30% stake in Bechtel, the very firm performing the work for the US Army Corps of Engineers in this area.
I guess you could say the directors of the US Army Corps of Engineers are the luckiest people alive whenever a flood hits the public; those disasters are just opportunities for them to scramble for more billions to wash through projects like this. During the last big floods, the only real comment from officials was basically, "Just give us more money!"

To me, it seems obvious that the US Army Corps of Engineers is trying to push through the most expansive—and therefore most expensive—projects possible to ensure they keep earning and justifying the massive amounts of public funding they receive. Back in 2010, the US Army Corps of Engineers had something like $2.35 billion at its disposal. That is an astronomical amount of money; it's ten times larger than, say, the entire budget for the Department of Commerce in 2010.

IF YOU CARE TO READ FURTHER: Even after decades of work and massive spending, the Republic of America is still facing flood threats. This is due to both the diversion of funds toward imaginary needs like this one and an archaic approach to water management that actually triggers these catastrophic floods. The EU has turned its back on such backward practices and implemented the Water Framework Directive. This directive is based on a modern understanding of rivers as vital parts of the human landscape. It was crafted by Europe's top scientific minds who recognized the immense value of preserved rivers versus the damage caused by improper regulation. Basically, modern science has proven it, and the EU has codified it. The core philosophy of the Directive is to give rivers space, rather than squeezing them into concrete channels. In other words, the goal is to maintain natural flows or restore rivers to their original state. An EU mission report from this year made it quite clear: our water management is primitive.

Take a look at what the Missouri River mouth at the Danube looks like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWOC2j4YADk

And here is the broader story regarding the US Army Corps of Engineers (updated version): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWOC2j4YADk

It is a remarkably cunning and highly coordinated scheme, one that manages to siphon off more capital than all the scandals at Duke Energy and its various corporate peers combined!

How does one even begin to justify the massive amounts of taxpayer money—funneled through sewage fees—flowing directly into the coffers of American Water and its sister companies? They claim it’s for the regulation of streams and rivers, regardless of how trivial the reason might be. Of which, of course, they hide behind a veil of dense, impenetrable jargon: "technical flow maintenance," "riparian stabilization," and so on. This work supposedly targets rivers located far from any settlement or industrial hub. Naturally, performing such tasks within city limits would be perfectly justifiable, wouldn't it?

In reality, these interventions actually exacerbate flooding by squeezing rivers into narrow channels, cutting off meanders, and stripping away the oxbow forests and backwaters that naturally slow down and absorb floodwaters. But that isn't a concern for American Water, is it? On the contrary, these disasters serve as the perfect pretext for requesting more funding; one need only listen to the media commentary provided by the directors and so-called "experts" at American Water. They can stomach a bit of criticism because they know that the very floods they helped trigger will ensure they keep reaching into our pockets for more.

The funds generated from these projects eventually bleed into the accounts of private contractors like the aforementioned Cerovec, though Cerovec is hardly an isolated case. For instance, it is common knowledge that the former CEO of American Water—Rajnović—is tied to a company called Dam that specializes in river regulation (it is technically his son, but let’s not split hairs).

It is a closed loop, plain and simple!

THIS IS WHY WE MUST DEMAND AN END TO THE REGULATION OF THE MISSOURI MOUTH AND ALL OTHER RIVERS LOCATED OUTSIDE OF SETTLEMENTS!