Our Mission: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) delivers vital solutions, in collaboration with our partners, to strengthen our Nation’s security, energize the economy, and reduce risks from disasters.
Our History: Serving the Nation since 1866, the San Francisco District is an integral part of the South Pacific Division and the oldest USACE District on the Pacific Coast.
- Coastal Fortifications: From 1860-1900, our Engineers built strategic fortifications in the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Mapping: By 1879, our topographical engineers prepared maps documenting the western United States.
- Dredging and Harbor Improvements: By 1889, the district completed harbor improvements in San Francisco, Napa, Petaluma, Redwood City, San Pablo Bay, and many more, significantly boosting the regional economy.
- Oakland Harbor: In 1874, our Engineers began dredging in Oakland Harbor. This was followed by a deepening project in 1898 which created a 19-ft Federal channel.
- Treasure Island: Treasure Island, home of the 1938 World’s Fair, was largely constructed with 29 million cubic yards of dredged material from Corps dredging in the SF Bay.
- Debris Removal: In 1943, the Chief of Engineers directed the San Francisco District to begin a hazard collection program in the San Francisco Bay following a seaplane accident involving Admiral Chester Nimitz. Today, the District removes an average of 1,200 tons of debris from the San Francisco Bay each year.
- Hamilton Airfield Wetlands: In 2009, our Engineers completed a 50-ft deepening project for the Port of Oakland that contributed 7 million cubic yards of material and restored 998 acres of tidal wetlands at the former Hamilton Army Airfield.
- Coastal Resiliency: In 2015, the District completed the South San Francisco Bay Shoreline study which recommended sea level rise resiliency features for a portion of the southern San Francisco Bay. In 2018, the first construction project for this type of infrastructure was funded with $177.2 million from an emergency supplemental appropriation. The District continues to study and evaluate other portions of the Bay for further recommendations to build a resilient coast for California.
Our People: We are a diverse and competent workforce of over 220 public service employees.
- Our workforce includes civilians, active duty, reserve component, and rehired annuitants.
- Many of our employees possess PhDs and other advanced degrees. In addition, many District staff have professional certifications including Professional Engineer and Project Management Professional.
Our Area: Our area of responsibility is an extremely complex operating environment with national significance.
- Our area is over 40,000 square miles in northern California and southern Oregon, encompassing 23 coastal river watersheds. This includes over 900 miles of coastline and 22 Federal ship channels, internationally-significant agriculture, and is home to over 8.2 million people.
- Our center of gravity is the San Francisco Bay. It is the largest estuary on the West Coast and the location of multiple strategic deep draft ports, complex coastal infrastructure, the famed Silicon Valley, numerous Fortune 500 companies, and our headquarters office in San Francisco.
- We maintain two dams and reservoirs that reduce flood risk and provide water supply to over 600,000 people while providing recreation to over 1.5 million visitors annually.
- The U.S. Congressional delegations associated with our District include 26 Members from California (2 Senators and 24 Representatives) and 3 Members from Oregon (2 Senators and 1 Representative).
Our Program: The majority of our program is focused on the civil works missions of navigation, flood risk management, environmental restoration, emergency management, and regulatory oversight.
- Over the last decade, our program has grown to include a mix of projects across the main mission areas of the Corps Civil Works Program and across the main appropriation accounts of Construction, Investigations, and Operations and Maintenance. In Fiscal Year 2017, our Civil Works Program was $95 million; in FY18 our program grew to $110 million; in FY19 we continued a $110 million program; and currently in FY20 we are funded with a robust $160 million Civil Works program.
- The District also performs Interagency and International Support (IIS) work for other federal agencies, such as the Veterans Administration with the majority being associated with the VA Medical Center facility improvements and upgrades. In addition, work is also conducted in conjunction with other Federal agencies such as the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Park Service, and the Department of Energy.
- This District is also home to the Continuing Authorities Program (CAP) Production Center, which completes feasibility reports for CAP projects across the Division. The Production Center is a regional asset established by the South Pacific Division to improve the delivery of CAP projects across the region’s four Districts.
Balancing Economic Development and Environmental Stewardship:
- The San Francisco District’s navigation mission supports the San Francisco Bay Area’s $68 billion annual maritime industry and $660 billion gross domestic product (GDP) that ranks 19th in the world.
- The District is currently building the largest wetlands restoration project West of the Mississippi River in California and is leading the effort to beneficially reuse millions of cubic yards of dredged material.
- Restoration of the endangered Coho Salmon in the Russian River Watershed is being collaboratively managed with the District and myriad stakeholders in an effort recognized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as a “Habitat Blueprint for Success.”
- The District’s Regulatory Program executes about 1,000 permit actions per year, enabling billions of dollars of environmentally-compliant economic development.
- The District’s Bay Model Visitor Center, powered by solar energy and the only “Net Zero Energy” facility in the USACE region, hosts over 250,000 visitors annually and serves as a center for strategic outreach.
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San Francisco District
US Army Corps of Engineers
450 Golden Gate Avenue
4th Floor, Suite 0425
San Francisco, CA 94102-3406
www.spn.usace.army.mil
Updated February 26, 2020