PATRICIA A. RIVERS
Posted by smahaskey
The Army Corps of Engineers is a large, complex organization touching the lives of people in the United States and throughout the world. Our more than 30,000 civilian employees and soldiers work building barracks, providing engineering expertise to soldiers wherever they are stationed, mitigating damage from hurricanes and flooding, responding to emergencies, providing recreational opportunities, and cleaning up and restoring the environment.
We manage one of the largest federal environmental missions and follow a set of seven Environmental Operating Principles — our “green†ethics. We’re adapting these principles into all our business lines to achieve sustainability.
First adopted in 2002, and then reinforced in 2005, the Environmental Operating Principles provide us direction on how to better achieve stewardship of air, water and land resources.
The cornerstone of the principles is the first one: Strive to achieve environmental sustainability. An environment maintained in a healthy, diverse and sustainable condition is necessary to support life. Another principle close to my heart is: Respect the views of individuals and groups interested in Corps activities; listen to them actively, and learn from their perspective in the search to find innovative win-win solutions that protect and enhance the environment.
The Corps’ motto is “Let us try.†I believe every day is a great day because we follow that motto as we work to promote sustainability. I’m proud the Corps works hand in hand with the rest of the Army to ensure that the footprint we leave behind is as small as possible.
Rivers is chief, Programs Integration Division, Military Programs Directorate, Headquarters Army Corps of Engineers.