The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has just announced that it fully supports the administration’s One Federal Decision Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was signed Monday by numerous secretaries of federal agencies, including the Department of the Army.
President Donald J. Trump established the policy of One Federal Decision for the federal government’s processing of environmental reviews and permits for major infrastructure projects in Executive Order 13807, signed by the president August 15, 2017.
Monday’s MOU formalizes the commitment by all the signatory agencies to implement EO 13807’s framework. It ensures the federal processing of environmental reviews and permits for major infrastructure projects is coordinated, predictable and transparent.
Secretary of the Army Dr. Mark Esper , who signed the MOU, commented, “ The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is committed to meeting the needs of our nation’s project sponsors in the processing of its environmental reviews and permits in a timely, coordinated and concurrent way as called for in the MOU. ”
The agencies that signed the One Federal Decision MOU have committed to work together to make the necessary environmental and permitting decisions for major infrastructure projects with a goal to complete the entire process within two years.