NEW YORK, NY – On February 23rd, 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:
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, New York District
USACE, New York District, oversees one of the most diverse programs in the country—a multibillion-dollar program, that includes coastal storm risk management, military construction at eight installations across the tri-state area and responsibility for regulatory actions, ecosystem restoration and infrastructure projects. New York District will look to integrate the Assistant Secretary’s transformative initiatives into its business practices. Projects that fall into this category include the South Shore of Staten Island Coastal Storm Risk Reduction Project, N.Y. and the Green Brook Flood Risk Reduction Project, N.J.
One of the plan’s initiatives includes increasing dredging capacity via maintenance dredging, which plays a key role in the transportation of goods and services via commercial waterways throughout the United States. New York District will work with resource agencies to expand seasonal dredging windows within ports and pursue innovative solutions to improve environmental mitigation science, including additional Research & Development funding. Executing the plan will result in more efficient use of the U.S. dredging fleet, expanded availability, reduced cost to the American taxpayer, and removal of artificial economic constraints. Projects that fall into this category include NY/NJ Harbor Deepening Channel Improvement Project.
“New York District built its reputation on tackling the toughest engineering challenges and coming up with innovative solutions,” said COL Alex Young, commander, USACE, New York District. “I believe these policies will help maximize and enhance our mission as we continue to work with our partners at the federal, state, and local levels to produce solutions that improve how we deliver these important projects to communities and industry across the nation.”
ASA(CW) Supporting Memorandums