Army Corps targets red tape, delays

A new initiative by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is aimed at delivering critical projects and programs more efficiently, sooner and at less cost. The Army Corps’ Philadelphia District, which oversees projects in Delaware, is still figuring out exactly what the local effects will be.

Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam R. Telle announced Feb. 23 the implementation of an initiative called Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork for the Army’s Civil Works program.

“This will eliminate bureaucratic delays and provide fast, clear decisions needed to save lives and empower our economy,” Telle said in a statement. 

The plan comprises 27 initiatives grouped under five categories – maximizing the ability to deliver national infrastructure; cutting red tape; focusing on efficiency; transparency and accountability; and prioritization.

The initiative will return the Army Corps to a focus on its core missions and ensure the enterprise continues to be the most trusted national resource delivering water resources solutions, said Telle.

Several of the plan’s initiatives involve improving dredging capacity and efficiency. To do that, the Army Corps will work with Endangered Species Act resource agencies to significantly expand the seasonal windows for dredging activities. The Army Corps will also consider innovative solutions to improve the science on environmental window mitigation measures, said the release.

Closer to home, the Philadelphia District maintains about 500 miles of navigation channels in the district, including the 45-foot Delaware River federal navigation channel from Philadelphia to the Atlantic Ocean. The local district also oversees the dune and beachfill projects along about 100 miles of Delaware and New Jersey coastline.

An example of a project limited by seasonal windows for dredging is the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal project that’s planned to begin in October. The Army Corps is expected to dredge 90,000 cubic yards of sediment from the canal, from the Freeman Highway bridge in Lewes to the entrance of the canal at Rehoboth Bay, just south of Rehoboth Beach. Dredging can only go until March due to environmental windows.

Steve Rochette, Army Corps spokesperson for the Philadelphia District, said the Army Corps has multiple navigation projects in Sussex County that involve dredging, including the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal, the Indian River Inlet, Cedar Creek and Mispillion River. The Army Corps also has coastal storm risk management projects along the Atlantic coast and on Delaware Bay that involve dredging as well, he said.

“It begins now,” said Rochette, in an email Feb. 24. “At the Philadelphia District, we are sorting through the initiative and making some initial assessments on the opportunities for our program and projects. Some of the elements are broader and national, while others are specific, so there will certainly be internal and external coordination on much of it, but the bottom line is the initiative is designed to improve efficiency, speed and ability to execute projects.”