Whew, what a year (or 3 years) it has been with the sweeping changes implemented in Export Control Reform (ECR) as well as highly publicized shifts in US export controls on Iran, Cuba, and Russia/Crimea/Ukraine. And just as we start to get a handle on the historically significant recent changes, now the new US President promises bold changes in virtually every area of US Government policy. Join John Black as he brings his perspective as a 32 y...

The OpTac International Tactical Team Policy and Organization Program will be held January 9-11, 2017 in Hagerstown, Maryland. This program provides commanders, administrators, team leaders, and tactical team personnel with contemporary guidelines for the development of tactical team policy and procedures along with strategies for optimal team organization. Critical elements of SWAT policy and procedures to be presented emphasize: organization...

The USACE has been conducting economic risk analyses for evaluating benefit cost ratios for levee projects since the 1960s. With a new focus on life safety, these same analytical techniques are now being used to evaluate priorities for infrastructure investments and required design reliability to achieve various goals, including National Economic Development and life safety risk reduction. This webinar will look at how the USACE is integratin...

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) will present a new First Thursday Seminar, Electric Vehicle Charging for Employee Vehicles and Agency Fleets, from 1:30 to 3:00 pm EST on January 5, 2017. This First Thursday Seminar will provide fleet and facility managers with an overview of how meeting electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) goals can decrease greenhouse gas emissions, save money, and lead by exam...

For your programs to function properly, you need residents and businesses to understand what you do, discover what you need them to do, and do it. Sounds easy enough—but we all know it is one of the most challenging parts of our jobs. You are competing with cute kitten photos and so much more. In this webinar, you’ll learn to understand the competition, the communications challenges embedded in your job, and the necessity of target...

This webinar will review the current state of the practice for rehabilitation of embankment dams to address seepage issues. Seepage rehabilitation measures can generally be grouped into two categories: seepage reduction / limitation measures and seepage collection measures. Seepage reduction / limitation measures include such features as foundation grout curtains, low permeability blankets, and seepage barrier walls. These measures are intend...

Recent improvements in the computational capacity of computers and in the availability of high-quality terrain data have allowed 2D hydraulic models to become highly valuable tools in dam and levee safety analyses. Today, there are several free and commercially-available 2D models on the market. This webinar will provide a background on 2D hydraulic modeling theory, identify steps to set up a 2D model, describe important specifications for 2D...

Inadequate spillway capacity, significant hydrologic loadings on embankments and structures, and operation and maintenance are common dam safety issues, instigating the need for risk-reduction measures and/or rehabilitation. 3D weirs, or weirs with a crest length greater than the spillway width, are a particularly efficient approach to reduce these concerns. These weirs are also commonly used in new dams and may be useful as levee spillways. I...

During the last 10 years, there have been unparalleled levels of activity in dam and levee foundation remediation. This has been triggered mainly by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ evaluation of their dam and levee portfolio following the disastrous flooding of New Orleans and surrounding areas in 2005. Remedial diaphragms walls have been in installed in dams in the US since 1975 when Wolf Creek Dam, in Kentucky, was repaired for the...

Dam failures typically result from interactions of human and physical factors which extend over years or decades. Understandably, engineers and others involved with dams normally focus on the physical factors. However, because physical systems such as dams are subject to physical laws and do not make ‘mistakes’, it may be asserted that dam failures (and incidents) are fundamentally due to human factors. The other side of this coin...