|
Army Corps of Engineers salutes new district commander
By Matthew French
Staff Writer
The Charleston District of the Army Corps of Engineers welcomed its new commander, Lt. Col. Edward Flemming, earlier this month. He replaces outgoing Lt. Col. Alvin Lee.
Lee had served as the Charleston District commander for two years and will deploy to Afghanistan where he will serve as deputy district engineer for the Afghanistan district.
Lee has had a contentious relationship with the South Carolina State Ports Authority. The Army Corps is the issuing authority for permits for the waterfront in the region. Some have said the long delay in establishing another port terminal in the area can be directly attributed to the rocky relationship between the Army Corps and the SPA.
In his departing speech, Lee acknowledged the complexities and challenges presented by the port expansion projects.
“Through our partnership with the ports authority, we were able to work through the challenges by maintaining open lines of communication,” Lee says.
Al Parish, director of the Center for Economic Forecasting at Charleston Southern University, says the region’s port will face critical shortages in coming years if the state delegation, local community and Army Corps of Engineers continue what he calls “foot-dragging” on port expansion plans.
“The new terminal is just taking too long,” he says. “The Army Corps is taking too much time studying the issue and not doing something about it. The port of Norfolk got its permit in six months. We’ve been waiting for years.”
“The people in Norfolk and Savannah understand the economic importance of the port, and the people here either don’t understand or don’t care,” he adds. “We have to quit studying the issue and get to building the port.”
The Army Corps is expected to issue a draft of its environmental impact statement this fall, and the SPA could receive a permit to begin construction on the new terminal as early as August 2006.
Flemming comes to the Lowcountry from the Army Corps of Engineers headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he served as the assistant director of civil works for the east coast.
“I think Al Lee and Bill Stein (the Army Corps’ Deputy District Engineer for Project Management) have brought me up to speed on the major projects before the Corps right now,” Flemming says. “I don’t see any one as being more difficult than another and will try to treat all of the Corps’ customers the same.”
Flemming says he is aware of the port’s importance to the economies of the Charleston area, South Carolina and the southeast, and will pay particular attention to the port expansion project.
“The port is obviously one of our bigger customers, and anything we do with them will be important to us,” he says. “I see the regulatory issues we are entrusted with as being particularly important because they touch on the general public. My goal is to be responsive and to provide results that are better, faster, cheaper and greener.”
Army background
Flemming is a native of Lowell, Mass., and holds a bachelor of science degree in Engineering Science from the U.S. Military Academy and a master of science degree in environmental engineering from the University of Maryland in College Park. Flemming is a graduate of the Engineer Basic and Advanced Officer courses at the Combined Arms Services Staff school, and Command and General Staff College.
Lee came to the Charleston Division from Omaha, Neb., where he was deputy commander of the Army Corps’ Rocky Mountain area office. He also served in engineering roles in the Third Mechanized Infantry Division.
A graduate of Southern University, Lee holds a bachelor of arts degree in business administration. In 1994, Lee attended the Advanced Civil Schooling program at St. Martin’s College in Lacey, Wash., and earned a master of science degree in engineering management. He is also a graduate of the Engineer Basic and Advanced Officer courses at the Combined Arms Services Staff school, and Command and General Staff College.
Matthew French is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at mfrench@crbj.com.
|
E-Mail This Article
Printer-Friendly Version