WASHINGTON – A new initiative designed to increase focus on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ core Civil Works mission recently was announced by Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam Telle.

With the change in focus, “Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork” also will minimize 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 the Corps’ 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,” Telle said in the announcement. “This will eliminate bureaucratic delays and provide fast, clear decisions needed to save lives and empower our economy.”

“In North Dakota, we’ve proven that the Corps can save time and money on vital infrastructure, like the permanent flood protection we’ve been advancing for the Red River Valley, when we employ new, innovative methods for Corps’ projects,” said U.S. Sen. John Hoeven, R-ND. “This new Corps’ policy continues that innovation and cuts red tape to ensure that the Corps is able to build vital projects for our nation more efficiently and cost effectively. We appreciate the Trump administration and Assistant Secretary Telle for modernizing the Corps’ process to make it work better for the American people.”

“I, along with my constituents, have struggled with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for years,” U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND, said. “It’s time to right the ship. I look forward to working with Assistant Secretary Telle to deliver more efficient, accountable and results-driven solutions.”

Secretary of the Army Daniel Driscoll said the initiative will empower Corps commanders to take informed risks in advancing critical water resources projects and programs to completion faster and at less cost. The policy changes also will 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, he said.

The plan consists of 27 initiatives grouped under five categories:

– Maximizing the ability to deliver national infrastructure

– Cutting red tape

– Focusing on Efficiency

– Transparency and accountability

– Prioritization

The initiatives do not affect Corps execution of its emergency response support to natural and manmade disasters, the Corps stated.

“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, St. Paul District commander with the Corps. “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.

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, flood risk reduction project in the Fargo-Moorhead 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.