The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is changing how it delivers one of the most consequential civil works missions - keeping the nation’s ports, harbors and inland waterways open and navigable.
The United States is a maritime nation. U.S. ports and waterways support commerce, supply-chain resilience, energy movement and national defense. Dredging makes the marine transportation system work by maintaining the channels vessels depend upon to safely reach ports and navigate inland waterways.
USACE annually executes approximately 190 dredging contract actions across the country. Although these contracts support distinct local missions, many compete for the same limited industry resources and involve similar technical requirements, acquisition processes and administrative effort. Managing each dredging requirement principally as an individual acquisition can result in duplicative work, conflicting schedules and missed opportunities to obtain greater value for the nation.
USACE is addressing dredging delivery challenges by establishing the Enterprise Dredging Delivery Center (EDDC) and its interim Dredging Evolution for Enterprise Production (DEEP) Team. Together, they will help USACE manage dredging as an integrated national program while preserving the local knowledge and relationships essential to successful project delivery.
The effort advances the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works’ Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork initiative, which challenges USACE to reduce administrative burden, improve delivery and focus its resources on infrastructure outcomes.
The objective of the EDDC is straightforward: deliver a more predictable, efficient and responsive dredging program - and obtain greater mission value from every taxpayer dollar.
According to USACE, their districts will remain central to mission delivery. District teams understand local projects, waterways and regional conditions. Also, the districts will identify mission requirements, provide engineering and technical expertise, coordinate with sponsors and stakeholders, navigate environmental and real-estate requirements, and support execution in the field.
The EDDC will augment - not replace - USACE district capabilities. The EDDC will pair enterprise-level production and acquisition resources with district knowledge of local conditions and operational needs. This partnership will reduce repetitive effort, improve consistency and allow technical teams to concentrate more of their time on project delivery, USACE concluded.