Describing the organization as “critical to public safety,” a group of Massachusetts lawmakers asked leaders of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers whether staff reductions have eroded its ability to prepare for the next big storm.
Both U.S. senators and all nine U.S. representatives from Massachusetts signed a letter that asked the U.S. Army Corps to provide details regarding its staffing levels and their effects on the state, saying they were “deeply concerned” about its status.
“At the same time as Massachusetts is experiencing an increase in the severity and number of major storms, the Trump administration is undermining the Army Corps’ capacity to respond to such extreme weather events,” the letter says.
The letter sent Wednesday asks Assistant Secretary for the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle and Lt. Gen. William Graham Jr., commanding officer for the corps, for a response by Oct. 1.
Besides creating infrastructure to tame floodwaters, the Army Corps clears debris, helps with search and rescue efforts, and establishes temporary housing after extreme weather, the lawmakers wrote.
They said the Army Corps has faced a “significant workforce reduction,” as it was subject to the hiring freeze that the Trump administration placed across the federal agencies. The administration also offered Army Corps staff pay until the end of September if they resigned earlier this year, the letter says.
The Army Corps did not immediately answer The Republican’s questions regarding staffing levels in its New England district.
In April, the Army Corps announced the hiring freeze prevented it from bringing on about 60 to 70 temporary summer rangers to staff its recreational facilities. A dozen properties across Massachusetts faced limited access and reduced numbers as a result, including the Cape Cod Canal, Conant Brook Dam in Monson and Knightville Dam in Huntington.
The move did not affect the full-time rangers tasked with managing the dams and controlling flooding in the region, Army Corps said on social media at the time. “We are prioritizing public safety over recreation,” it said.
After the floods of 1936 and 1938 that swept away bridges and left some area residents using boats to travel flooded main streets, the Army Corps launched a flood management program across the region, according to its website. For instance, it was the Army Corps that built the earthen dikes that lie between Hadley and Springfield and the Connecticut River.
As part of its flood management efforts, the Army Corps constructed and maintains 11 dams and reservoirs across the state.
In April 2024, the Army Corps employed about 500 civilians across New England, according to the latest available report, with most of them working out of its headquarters in Concord.
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