WASHINGTON -- Today, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam R. Telle announced a major initiative, “Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork,” for the Army’s Civil Works program.
“Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork” will provide greater focus on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) core Civil Works missions, while minimizing non-core programs, direct funding to priority water resources projects that will provide the greatest benefits to the nation, shorten permitting timelines, and reduce or eliminate extraneous regulations and paperwork that slow USACE’s delivery of Civil Works projects and programs.
“President Trump has empowered his administration to work with lightspeed efficiency to make our government deliver more for all Americans. The Army Civil Works’ ‘Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork’ initiative will enable the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deliver critical projects and programs for the nation more efficiently, sooner, and at less cost than the current ways of doing business,” said Telle. “This will eliminate bureaucratic delays and provide fast, clear decisions needed to save lives and empower our economy.”
“Continuous Army transformation is about rapidly delivering war winning capabilities to the Army today, not years in the future. But that’s not all; we’re also transforming at home, too,” said Secretary of the Army Daniel P. Driscoll. “I’m incredibly proud of the ‘Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork’ (BINP) transformation initiative the Army Civil Works and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers teams recently unveiled. BINP will build and strengthen American infrastructure across our nation, increasing resiliency and providing tangible, long-lasting value for the American people.”
“Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork” will enable USACE district commanders around the nation to execute the Civil Works projects and programs that benefit the nation. USACE commanders will be empowered to take informed risks in advancing critical water resources projects and programs to completion faster and at less cost. The policy changes will also bring greater transparency and accountability for the program to the American public, project partners and sponsors, industry, and the elected leaders who make the annual funding decisions for the Civil Works program.
The plan consists of 27 initiatives grouped under five categories:
- Maximizing the Ability to Deliver National Infrastructure
- Cutting Red Tape
- Focus on Efficiency
- Transparency & Accountability
- Prioritization
The initiatives do not affect USACE execution of its emergency response support to natural and manmade disasters.
"The U.S. Army’s Civil Works program has been an invaluable cornerstone for more than 200 years. ‘Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork’ will return USACE to a focus on its core missions and ensure the enterprise continues to be the most trusted national resource delivering water resources solutions,” added Telle. “This is only possible with President Trump’s leadership that has enabled our team to maximize our ability to deliver national infrastructure and cut red tape for the American people.”
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District
“The ‘Civil Works Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork’ initiative will enhance our ability to deliver results for the communities we serve more efficiently and effectively,” said Col. Matthew Chase, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, commander. “From flood risk management to commercial navigation, aquatic ecosystem restoration, disaster response and more, we recognize the imperative for continuous improvement as we focus on building, operating, and maintaining the infrastructure the nation relies on every day.”
One of the plan's initiatives will improve commercial navigation by focusing on dredging capacity, contracting approaches, and innovative solutions for dredged material management. The St. Paul District oversees a significant maintenance dredging program designed to keep the waterways across the Upper Midwest viable for safe, efficient navigation. The district is responsible for maintaining the 9-foot navigation channel on 243.6 miles of the Mississippi River from Minneapolis to Guttenberg, Iowa and 40.6 miles along three major tributaries. Keeping this system open for safe and efficient navigation is vital to the nation’s economy.
Another initiative will seek to streamline regulatory permitting, including alterations of federal civil works projects (“Section 408 permissions). St. Paul District is constructing the nation’s first civil works innovative Public-Private Partnership, or P3, project flood risk reduction project in the Fargo, North Dakota–Moorhead, Minnesota, metropolitan area. This initiative is expected to yield tailored application of permission requirements that ensure project alterations would not be injurious to the public or impair the usefulness of the project while minimizing the regulatory burden on the project’s non-federal sponsors and Section 408 applicants.
Also, St. Paul District is home to the Mississippi Valley Division’s Regional Planning and Environmental Division – North, responsible for completing planning studies for the St. Paul, Rock Island, and St. Louis districts who collectively serve the five Upper Mississippi states. The Corps of Engineers’ initiative includes a “R.A.P.I.D.” planning framework that will efficiently yield high quality authorizable projects.
UPDATE:
ASA(CW) Memorandums
-30-