Civil Works Office and its Mission

Army involvement in works "of a civil nature" goes back almost to the origins of the U.S. Over the years, as the Nation's needs have changed, so have the Army's Civil Works missions. Those missions today fall in four broad areas: water infrastructure, environmental management and restoration, response to natural and manmade disasters, and engineering and technical services to the Army, Department of Defense and other Federal agencies.
At Corps of Engineers Headquarters in Washington, DC, the Directorate of Civil Works oversees the program. Civil Works projects are located throughout the United States. The Digital Project Notebook is an internet map-based application that presents information on all US Army Corps of Engineers Civil Works projects.

Funds for the Civil Works program come from the annual Energy and Water Development Appropriation, not the Defense budget. Add to that the cost-sharing funds supplied directly by non-Federal sponsors for specific projects and the total civil program is about $5 billion a year.

Corps Process

The process for developing Civil Works projects begins when citizens see a need for flood protection, navigation, or other water-related infrastructure and ask Congress for help. Congress will direct the Corps to do a study to see if a project is warranted.

Corps watershed management studies are done in three phases:

• The first Reconnaissance Phase determines if a feasible solution is likely and whether there is a federal interest in further study.

• The second Feasibility Phase examines alternatives and selects the project that best meets national and local needs. Specific products include a proposed Watershed Management Plan and a programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. This phase is cost-shared with the federal government paying half and local agencies paying half of the total cost.

• The third Project Phase delivers the watershed improvements and includes supplemental environmental documentation, plans and specifications, facility construction, and operations guidance. Congress must first authorize the project and then appropriate funds. Most projects are built with a combination of 65% Federal funds and 35% in contributions by non-federal sponsors.

Ecosystem Restoration

Several of the missions of the Civil Works Office focus o n the environment. The purpose of ecosystem restoration is to re-establish the attributes of a natural, functioning and self- regulating system. Since passage of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, environmental protection has been an important component of the civil works planning process. Legislation passed in 1990 established environmental protection as one of the primary missions of water resources projects-- along with navigation and flood control. Over the last ten years, small ecosystem restoration projects have grown increasingly popular throughout the country. In one of the largest restoration projects ever attempted, the Corps and the National Park Service are cooperating on restoring the hydrologic regime for the Everglades in Florida, with funds provided by both agencies. This new direction has allowed us to expand our traditional environmental activities and enhance or restore natural resources at our projects.