LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- LOUISVILLE, Ky. - 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 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 Louisville District
The "Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork" initiative will be instrumental in advancing the Louisville District’s key Civil Works missions: reducing flood risk for communities and ensuring the reliable flow of commerce on the Ohio River. By empowering commanders to cut red tape, this effort helps the district refocus on its core functions and maximizes the ability to deliver national infrastructure. For the Louisville District, this also translates to a more streamlined approach across all mission areas as it will also allow for necessary maintenance and repairs on our aging but essential navigation infrastructure and will enable our Regulatory Division to provide faster permit decisions needed to get critical projects built, including energy infrastructure, coal mines and data centers.
This new focus will support several high-priority flood risk management projects such as the Rough River Dam Safety Modification project, the Metro Louisville Flood Protection System Reconstruction Project, and a nine-county flood risk management feasibility study in flood-prone Eastern Kentucky. By reducing bureaucratic delays, we can advance increments of critical flood protection studies and projects across the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
The devastation of the 2025 spring floods underscores both the importance of our existing infrastructure and the need for new, agile solutions. The Louisville District has integrated the RAPID planning process, outlined in the ASA(CW)’s initiatives, to decisively deliver flood risk solutions for nine counties in Eastern Kentucky. Instead of studying problems for years and developing unaffordable solutions, we are narrowing the focus to deliver incremental wins to ensure communities are better prepared for flood events.
"With the memory of last year's devastating floods still fresh, there is no better time than now to leverage these tools and expedite this work for communities across the Commonwealth," said Col. L. Reyn Mann, Commander, USACE Louisville District. "This initiative sharpens our focus on delivering results, whether it's protecting communities from flooding, ensuring goods can move efficiently on our waterways, or making sound and timely permit decisions. 'Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork' empowers us to be more agile and responsive, in tackling the region's most pressing challenges for the American public.”
Updated 3/2/2026:
ASA(CW) Memorandums