‘Worst politicization of the Corps of Engineers in modern times’: Stalled projects raise ire at Senate hearing
- Mark Sabbatini
- Mar 1
- 5 min read
USACE head says agency making 'the most significant transformation of the program since at least 1986' at hearing where reversal on long-term flood fix for Juneau challenged
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
Projects are stalled in many states, communications with congressional offices have ceased and the priority appears to be appeasing donors of President Donald Trump, the head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was told at a U.S. Senate Committee hearing last week.
The agency’s leader, in turn, told senators the Trump administration is pursuing "the most significant transformation of the program since at least 1986" via an initiative announced last Monday.
Recent actions — and lack of them — by the USACE were sharply questioned by some members of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee last Wednesday. Among those actions was the sudden reversal on advancing a long-term solution for Juneau’s annual glacial outburst floods.
Among other project delays questioned were flood mitigation efforts in Arizona, and flood control and water infrastructure in California.
But a broader, politically charged accusation about the USACE’s actions since Adam Telle became the agency’s leader last August was made by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, the ranking Democrat on the committee.
"Most egregiously, in the seven months since the Senate confirmed your nomination, we're seeing what I consider to be the worst politicization of the Corps of Engineers in modern times," Whitehouse said. "Like many other federal agencies, the Corps permitting process has been corrupted to stymie safe, affordable renewable energy, and to give advantage to the President's big fossil fuel donors, I don't think that's fair, and I don't think that's right.”
Whitehouse said the USACE has so far issued implementation guidance on only three of more than 180 provisions in the Water Resources Development Act of 2024, which took effect in January of 2025, just before Trump began his second term. The senator also said communications between the USACE and congressional offices "have been largely shut down."
"Your office does not answer requests for information from my staff," Whitehouse told Telle. "Letters from members of this committee receive no response.”
Telle, in an opening statement following Whitehouse’s remarks, said "one thing I've observed this point is that the Army Corps of Engineers is at its very best when responding to emergencies where it's unburdened by red tape and enters what we like to call ‘army mode.’"
"On Monday we unveiled a plan we call ‘Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork,’" Telle said. "It's comprised of approximately 27 individual, but complementary initiatives to start. It's designed to reimagine and rejuvenate the Army Civil Works program and with your support, this will be the most significant transformation of the program since at least 1986. Much of the content of this product was informed by the feedback I heard from members of this committee, the frustrations that they've experienced."
Among the plan’s provisions are reducing permit regulations, allowing commanders to "take informed risks" to advance water resource projects, contracting feasibility studies to the private sector and canceling contracts that are “not in the interest of the American taxpayer,” according to a U.S. Army press release and other published reports.
The Trump administration has cancelled funding for a multitude of federal projects in Democratic-led states, with Trump acknowledging the political targeting is deliberate. The USACE was accused of such motives last October when more than $11 billion in projects in cities such as New York, San Francisco, Baltimore and Boston were frozen.
Alaska has an all-Republican congressional delegation and a Republican governor. However, Sen. Lisa Murkowski has frequently expressed disagreement with key Trump policies — prompting him to refer to her as a "disaster" and “loser” who “should never be elected to office again.” He was accused of retribution by another Republican, Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, when he vetoed a water project in that state after she pushed the administration to release government’s files on convicted sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump has also stated he wants to turn over many disaster management responsibilities to states and made large-scale cutbacks to federal programs including the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
On Wednesday the halt of an approved USACE river ecosystem project in Los Angeles, which agency officials reaffirmed support for last September, was questioned by Sen. Adam Schiff, D-California.
"Has there been a political decision made not to go forward with this project?" he asked the Army Corps leaders present at Wednesday’s hearing.
Lt. Gen. William H. Graham Jr., the USACE’s chief of engineers and commanding general, denied politics was part of the decision-making process. He said that project, like some others, is so large in scope that complications are impeding its progress.
"Sir, we're not political, as you well know," he said. "My struggle with this project is just putting the pieces together to move it forward."
A similar response about project complexity was given when Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, asked USACE leaders about the reversal of a commitment made last December on a preferred long-term solution for Juneau’s annual glacial outburst floods. Sullivan, whose questions didn’t challenge the agency’s political motives, did say he was hearing frustration from Juneau officials that "transparency isn't as good as it should be."
A "lake tap" drainage tunnel that would reduce the volume of water during floods was picked since it was seen as the most time-efficient, but USACE officials in February shocked city leaders by reversing that pledge.
"The guidance I gave the district is it’s too soon to take any options off the table because what we’re wrestling with most here is time," Graham told Sullivan, noting officials will continue evaluating five possible long-term options.
A key reason for the change, according to USACE officials, is HESCO barriers now in place as a temporary measure may not be sufficient protection during the decade it takes to implement a long-term solution. Record flood heights have occurred each of the past three years. A design peak flow of a 22.5-foot crest, described as a worst-case scenario, would well exceed the effective height of the semipermanent HESCO levee, Graham said.
Juneau city leaders, citing a lack of clarity about the Army Corps' plans going forward, expressed their concerns to Alaska’s congressional delegation last week, resulting in some of the questions asked by Sullivan at the hearing.
Similar complaints about lack of communication and clarity were voiced by other senators.
"I do feel like the flow of information has changed a bit over this last year, and I’m very concerned about that," said Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, noting questions submitted to the Army Corps after a September meeting about a project in his state were never answered.
Telle said he agreed the lack of answers was unacceptable and "this is something that I did not anticipate would take so long."
"Obviously, we had the longest government shutdown in history in the middle of that period, but it's still no excuse," he said, adding agency officials "are in the final stages of administrative review" on the questions and "we expect them very soon."
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
