| Civil Engineer |
What is your title?
Deputy Director, Division of Dam Safety and Inspections, Office of Energy Projects
|
How long
have you worked at FERC?
21 years
|
Education and Professional Experiences that led you to FERC?
I received a Bachelors Degree in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech and a Masters Degree in Environmental Engineering from Johns Hopkins Evening College. I spent 7 years with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a Water Resources project engineer working on flood control projects and harbor protection and improvement projects.
|
What are your primary responsibilities at FERC?
There are approximately 2,600 dams across the United States
that generate hydroelectric power. We make sure that the
owners operate the dams safely for the millions of people
that live downstream of the dams that could be hurt if the
dams fail. We do this by inspecting dams and doing engineering
analyses of the dams to make sure they are safe and will
not fail. |
Describe a typical day.
A major part of the day is spent working with the 5 Regional Offices FERC has located across the United States. The Regional Offices do most of the inspections and analyses. Here in the Washington Office, our staff of dam safety experts get involved with the more complex, state of the art problems and oversee the normal project workload. Some of our engineers are developing computer codes for analyzing dams.
|
Describe a challenge you had to deal with and what the outcome
was.
A major dam was in danger of failing during an earthquake and was in urgent need of a stability improvement project. There was significant local opposition that threatened to delay the award of the construction contract because the lake would have to be lowered for 2 recreational seasons. The residents wanted to be absolutely sure that all possible alternatives were considered and that the work was necessary. We worked with the project owner, made sure our analysis was correct, prepared our presentation and met directly with the residents on several occasions to explain the reasons the repair was urgently needed. While the residents were not happy about it, the intensive coordination and open exchange of information allowed the contract to be awarded on time.
|
