An excavator mounted on a barge, removes dredged material from Honolulu Harbor during the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, maintenance dredging operations in July 2024. Maintenance dredging is a critical process that directly strengthens the navigation mission in the Pacific by ensuring the safe passage of shipping, commercial, and military vessels across Hawaii and U.S. Pacific territories. -- Photo credit U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

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

News Release 26-014 from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District, Feb. 23, 2026

HONOLULU -- 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’ (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 Dan 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 transformation 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.”

USACE Honolulu District highlights potential to strengthen pacific Navigation mission

One of the plan’s initiatives calls for increased dredging capacity through maintenance dredging - a critical process that directly strengthens the Navigation mission in the Pacific by ensuring the safe passage of shipping, commercial, and military vessels across Hawaii and U.S. Pacific territories.

The USACE Honolulu District oversees inspections and maintenance of 27 federal navigation harbors across a vast 15,000-square-mile region—including Hawaii and Pacific territories like American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. In Hawaii, about 85% of goods arrive by sea through the state’s commercial harbor system.

“Maintaining federal navigation channels and harbors is a core USACE mission – which we’re proud to support for the State of Hawaii, our nation, and our Pacific neighbors,” said Lt. Col. Adrian Biggerstaff, Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District.

Over the last 10 years, the Honolulu District’s dredging efforts removed more than 1.2 million cubic yards of material from 9 federal harbors, preventing operational and economic impacts to the region. 

“Every day, billions of dollars in goods, as well as critical military logistics, flow through harbors across remote Pacific islands, where geographic isolation makes reliable navigation channels indispensable. These initiatives will improve how we deliver our critical projects and programs in the region and strengthen our commitment to building infrastructure and delivering engineering solutions across the Indo-Pacific.”

As part of this initiative, USACE has empowered districts to assess program delivery and processes, reduce bureaucratic barriers, to maximize the ability to deliver national infrastructure and taxpayer value.

USACE will advance these efforts, with federal, state and local partners to remain a trusted national resource for critical infrastructure projects and the Navigation mission in the Pacific.