Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works announces ‘Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork’ initiative for the Army’s Civil Works program

Photo By Andrew Byrne | An overhead view of Montgomery Locks and Dam shows the on-site concrete batch plant at the lock facility in Monaca, Pennsylvania, Nov. 21, 2025. Building the batch plant at the lock facility will allow contractors to produce 400,000 cubic yards of concrete for immediate use when constructing a new navigation chamber at Montgomery Locks and Dam. The Upper Ohio Navigation Project is part of the National Economic Development (NED) plan for improving the upper Ohio River navigation system, specifically the Emsworth, Dashields and Montgomery locks and dams. Emsworth, Dashields and Montgomery, each constructed prior to 1936, are the first three locks and dams on the Ohio River downstream of the Point of Pittsburgh. The three facilities have the oldest and smallest lock chambers operating along the entire river. The project involves replacing the auxiliary chamber at Montgomery Locks and Dam, measuring 56 feet wide by 360 feet long, with lock chambers measuring 110 feet wide by 600 feet long. The Pittsburgh District expects the project to support more than 15,000 jobs nationally throughout the construction period. Transporting commodities on the waterways is four times less expensive than by truck and 33 percent cheaper than by rail. Between 15 million and 20 million tons of cargo travel on the upper Ohio River each year, including mainly coal, but also coke, petroleum products, raw and finished steel, and aggregates. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers photo by Andrew Byrne)  

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, UNITED STATES

02.23.2026

Courtesy Story

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District

On Feb. 23, the 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 Pittsburgh District

The Pittsburgh District is advancing the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works’ directive to modernize business processes, leverage data-driven intelligence and actively reduce red tape across its core missions through the ‘Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork’ initiative.

“We are reviewing every project, process, and procedure to identify innovative ways to deliver our nation’s infrastructure more efficiently, while cutting through unnecessary red tape,” said Col. Nicholas Melin, commander of the Pittsburgh District. “Our focus is on commonsense strategies that accelerate delivery, keep projects on schedule, and eliminate steps that do not align with the new efficiency policy.”

The Civil Works initiatives will strengthen the Pittsburgh District’s focus on core mission areas, such as inland navigation, flood and storm damage reduction, and hydropower, while reducing or eliminating unnecessary projects, programs, policies, and bureaucratic delays.

The district has identified core missions to prioritize, including the Upper Ohio River Navigation Project, the Chartiers Creek Watershed PA Feasibility Study, Emergency Management, Temporary Power, and the permitting process.

Each of these projects aligns with the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works’ initiative.

“The ‘Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork’ initiative is supercharging the district’s continued efforts to deliver safe, uninterrupted navigation on our three rivers, deliver on time and on budget, manage temporary power to the nation in times of need, and reduce flood-risk for the region,” said Col. Melin.

The 2024 flood season underscores the value of the district’s 16 flood-risk reduction facilities and 44 local flood protection projects. The new ASA(CW) priorities ensure a timely, coordinated, flexible, and practical approach to engineering, giving commanders greater latitude to drive efficiencies.

“The initiative has an immediate impact that will be seen in how we execute the new Montgomery lock chamber,” said Col. Melin. “This is our opportunity to continue to get the engineering right, make efficient, responsible, and customer-friendly changes in our Regulatory and Real Estate permitting process, and keep navigation moving on Pittsburgh’s three rivers.”

ASA(CW) Memorandums

• Preliminary List for the Deauthorization of Projects
• Policy on Use of Project Labor Agreements on Army Civil Works Projects
• Prioritization of Effort within the Army Civil Works Program
• Increasing Dredging Capacity Through Better Mitigation Banking
• Prioritization of Effort in Planning, Design and Construction of Infrastructure Across the Army Civil Works Program
• Section 902 Reassignment - Reallocation Strategy
• Programmatic Direction on Processing Requests for Permission Under 33 U.S.C. 408 
• Propelling Project Delivery through Early Actionable Increments for complex water resources problems
• Realignment of the Investigation Phase and Federal Interest Determination to Ensure Effective Use of Federal Resources 
• Smart Real Estate Acquisition 
• Use of Ship Simulation in Navigation Project Design
• Development and Investment of Hydropower through Non-Federal Investments at Corps of Engineers Facilities

• Date Taken: 02.23.2026
• Date Posted: 02.23.2026 15:33
• Story ID: 558630
• Location: PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, US