New bill aims to improve USACE Environmental Mitigation

Earlier today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) introduced new legislation that would allow the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to contract with 3rd party restoration providers to execute Civil Works environmental mitigation projects. 

Currently, USACE is mitigating only 58% of what’s required each year. This bill would provide USACE with the tools to bring this percentage up, matching mechanisms provided under the USACE Regulatory program’s 2008 final rule guiding mitigation requirements.

“As the Army Corps makes vital repairs to levees and critical infrastructure to protect against flooding, we must pair any disruptions to river flows or aquatic habitat with comparable and timely ecosystem restoration,” said Senator Padilla. “This legislation will help build lasting, sustainable flood infrastructure while saving taxpayer dollars and protecting the biodiversity of our waterways.”

North Carolina, Senator Tillis’s home state, had a great track record of completing environmental mitigation projects using innovative contracts and strong partnerships between USACE, the state Department of Transportation, and the Division of Mitigation Services. EPIC has highlighted these successes in the white paper, Procurement doesn’t need to be a chokepoint. We’re excited to see that learnings from North Carolina are rising to the federal level. 

“North Carolina has a long track record of delivering successful mitigation projects to offset the ecological impacts of NC DOT projects,” said Senator Tillis. “I am proud to partner with Senator Padilla to expand this proven performance model to projects across the country and give the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers the flexibility needed to clear its unmet mitigation backlog.”

EPIC applauds this bill, recognizing the long-time need for improvements to USACE’s Civil Works projects’ procurement. We’ll be tracking its progress and will update this piece as needed. If passed, we encourage USACE to incorporate these new mechanisms for Civil Works projects quickly.