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Buffalo District: The Past is Prologue
The Buffalo District traces
its roots to Corps of Engineers
officer Captain Theodore
Maurice, first assigned to the
territory in 1824 to supervise
federal engineer operations on
Lake Erie.
The Corps improved several ports
following the first Rivers and
Harbors Act in 1824, beginning
with Erie Harbor in
Pennsylvania. Before the end of
the decade, the ports of
Buffalo, Dunkirk, Fairport,
Huron and Lorain on Lake Erie,
and the ports of Rochester,
Great Sodus Bay and Oswego on
Lake Ontario were improved.

During the early years, engineer
officers assigned to the Great Lakes
were supervised from West Point. The
first permanent Corps office opened
in Buffalo in 1857. Today, the
Buffalo District covers 38,000
square miles from Massena, New York,
to Toledo, Ohio. It encompasses the
U.S. drainage basins for both lower
Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence
River, and a significant portion of
the Nation's industrial heartland.
There are approximately 280
employees in the District, which
includes six field offices.
The District program is
approximately $80 to $100 million
annually, with about half of the
funding for the FUSRAP. Buffalo is
also designated the LRD lead
district for radiological waste. A
significant portion of the
District's budget is used for
maintenance of Great Lakes harbors,
including 100 miles of federal
navigation channels; 38 miles of
breakwaters, piers, and jetties; and
operation and maintenance of the
Black Rock Lock. Buffalo District
was also responsible for the design
and construction of the U.S. portion
of the St. Lawrence Seaway,
including the Eisenhower and Snell
locks. The Buffalo District operates
and maintains Mt. Morris Dam and the
Visitor Center. The District
completed construction of the dam,
the largest concrete gravity dam
east of the Mississippi River, in
1952. Since that time, it has
prevented over a billion dollars of
flood damages to the city of
Rochester.
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District employees plan, design,
construct, and operate water
resource projects to maintain
navigation, flood and storm
damage reduction, stream bank and
shoreline protection and
ecosystem restoration. Our
substantial expertise in water
resource management supports
ongoing programs related to
wetland planning and management,
water quality, and water supply.
The Buffalo District also has
regulatory authority over work
impacting navigable waters and
discharge of fill material into
waters of the United States,
including wetlands. The Buffalo
District partners with other
federal agencies including the
Environmental Protection Agency,
the Federal Emergency Management
Agency, the Fish and Wildlife
Service, the Department of
Homeland Security, and the
Department of Agriculture Soil
Conservation Service.
Black Rock Lock
Mount Morris Dam
Erie Ordnance Photos
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