KANSAS CITY, Mo. --
USACE Kansas City District highlights potential for improved support for flood risk management mission
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’ 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 Dan Driscoll. “I’m incredibly proud of the ‘Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork’ 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 Kansas City District
One of the plan’s initiatives includes maximizing the ability to deliver national infrastructure. By accelerating project delivery with smarter contracting, USACE will deliver major projects using higher design standards and a reformed partnership pipeline to build the infrastructure America needs, faster. The USACE Kansas City District’s Kansas Citys Levees project is a perfect example of effectively delivering national infrastructure to the region. Once completed, the project will result in better, more effective flood risk reduction for 32 square miles of industrial, commercial and residential areas, which includes 100,000 jobs, 7,000 structures and $22 billion in investments. The area is vital to the national economy as a manufacturing, distribution, transportation and warehousing hub.
“Providing flood risk management for the region and the nation is a vital part of our mission in the Kansas City District,” said Col. Andrew Niewohner, commander, USACE Kansas City District. “Civil Works projects like Kansas Citys Levees are great examples of how we are maximizing our ability to deliver national infrastructure.”
“The ‘Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork’ initiative will enable the Kansas City District to find more efficient ways to deliver our critically important flood risk management mission and the many other missions the district is responsible for in the region,” said Niewohner.
The Missouri River Bank Stabilization and Navigation Project, which exists to maintain the navigation channel, is another example of how the region will benefit from “Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork” by more efficiently executing the USACE’s critical water resources projects and programs.
Flood Risk Management Operations and Maintenance via the 18 lake project offices across a four-state region will also benefit from this initiative. The dams were authorized throughout the 1900s to provide flood risk management solutions for local communities which provide substantial economic benefit to surrounding communities.
The USACE Kansas City District is a full-service district whose missions include Civil Works, Military Construction and the cleanup of Hazardous, Toxic and Radiation waste. Its Civil Works boundaries take in parts of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado. Its Military Construction boundaries encompass the states of Missouri and Kansas. It is the primary design district in seven states and the secondary design district in eight states for the Hazardous, Toxic, and Radiological Waste cleanup program, and facilitates the disposal of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (non-fissionable materials) for the entire United States.
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