I presided over the US Section Commissioner's meeting on 14 July, hosted by the Port of Pittsburgh Commission. The meeting was very productive, with 100% attendance by the PIANC USA Commissioners, and focused on the US Section's strategic goals for the next 5 years. Key to this strategy is to build on the recent PIANC successes (PIANC USA receiving the "Best Section" Award, Smart Rivers 2007, etc.) and to further elevate PIANC to higher levels of visibility and engagement. This includes playing the lead role, as well as working with other partners, in organizing and executing technical conferences (like upcoming Smart Rivers 2009 & 2011, Dredging 2012) to build momentum towards the US Section hosting PIANC's World Congress in 2014.
This year's Annual Meeting on July 15th included almost 100 participants from around the country, as well as some of our international PIANC guests who were visiting for the InCom meetings. More than 15 technical papers were presented, including a very well-executed presentation by John Henrikson of Manson Construction and 2009 U.S. De Paepe-Willems Award Winner on "Investigation of Turbulence Characteristics for Model Cutter Suction Dredging Operation." Additionally, Helen Brohl, CMTS, gave an update on the Marine Transportation System, including funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). A presentation by Carlos Gallegos of the Organization of American States - Inter-American Committee on Ports (OAS-CIP) on Latin American port and inland navigation initiatives further underscored PIANC USA's ties with OAS-CIP.
The attendees also took a tour of Emsworth Lock and Dams on the Ohio River on July 16th that highlighted the Emsworth / Dashields Lock and Dams concurrent closure, the fleet maintenance work, and the Emsworth Dam safety work. Since our tour, these efforts have been successfully completed and are fully operational. This work successfully demonstrated LRD's ability to perform high quality, essential repairs to one of the two locks, with dam repairs going on simultaneously, while minimizing impacts to the navigation industry.
The next PIANC USA event will be in New Orleans, LA, 28 October 2009, where we are organizing a one-day technical seminar on "Navigating the Environment - Managing Risks and Sustaining Benefits" - it should be very interesting! Professional Development Hours (PDHs) will be granted, so I encourage all in the navigation community to attend,
MG Bo Temple
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Photo: MG Bo Temple |
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