US Army Corps of Engineers failed to explain drop in environmental mitigation work: Watchdog

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers did not seek to mitigate environmental damage for more than 50 projects over the past five years and did not provide detailed explanations to Congress , a government watchdog found.

Measures to prevent environmental damage were proposed in only 22 of 74 civil works projects the Corps submitted to Congress for approval from 2020 to 2025, according to a report published Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office.

The Corps deemed that no such measures were needed for the remaining 52 projects and failed to provide detailed evidence as to why, the watchdog alleges.

The agency regularly works to improve water navigation channels to prevent flooding and restore aquatic habitats around the country through its civil works program. It is required by statute to make detailed reports to Congress outlining whether its projects will require measures to prevent possible harm to fish, wildlife and the environment.

The engineers are expected “to plan for environmental mitigation — that is, to take actions to avoid, minimize, or compensate for expected losses to fish and wildlife and damage to ecological resources,” which could include reinforcing riverbanks or restoring wetland areas to create new habitats for fish and wildlife, according to the report.

The Corps of Engineers may decide not to undertake conservation measures if it deems certain projects will not cause harm. However, the Army is expected to provide Congress with clear explanations for those decisions.

A chart published by GAO shows a sharp decline in the Corps’ decisions to make mitigation plans for wildlife and habitat protection from 2022 to 2025. In 2024, for example, the agency decided that only one of 13 projects would require measures to safeguard the environment.

The GAO’s chart shows zero mitigation plans made in 2025.

In its findings, the GAO alleges that the Corps failed to provide necessary details to Congress demonstrating the reasons behind its decision-making in cases when it deemed no environmental protection measures were needed.

The watchdog said the vast majority of documents sent to Congress during those five years contained broad and general language that failed to clarify how the Corps reached its decisions.

The GAO recommended that the Army establish clear guidance for the Corps to document how it reaches decisions to keep Congress and the public better informed.

The Army disputed the GAO’s recommendations in a Sept. 16 letter signed by D. Lee Forsgren, the senior official performing the duties of the Army’s assistant secretary for civil works.

“We do not concur with the recommendation in the draft that we need to create more guidance about mitigation decision making on Civil Works projects,” Forsgren wrote.

“The water resources project reports (including associated Chief’s Reports) produced by USACE have sufficient technical information for decision makers and the public and resource agencies to understand when habitat mitigation is or is not included in a final recommendation.”

Zita Ballinger Fletcher previously served as editor of Military History Quarterly and Vietnam magazines and as the historian of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. She holds an M.A. with distinction in military history.

政府监督机构发现，美国陆军工程兵团在过去五年中，有超过 50 个项目没有采取措施减轻环境损害，也没有向国会提供详细解释。

根据美国政府问责局周三发布的一份报告，在陆军工程兵团于 2020 年至 2025 年向国会提交的 74 个民用工程项目中，只有 22 个项目提出了防止环境破坏的措施。

监督机构称，陆军工程兵团认为剩余的 52 个项目不需要采取此类措施，但未能提供详细证据说明原因。

该机构定期通过其民用工程项目改善水道航道，以防止洪水泛滥并恢复全国各地的水生栖息地。根据法律规定，该机构必须向国会提交详细报告，说明其项目是否需要采取措施来防止对鱼类、野生动物和环境造成潜在损害。

报告称，工程师们需要“制定环境缓解计划，即采取措施避免、减少或补偿对鱼类和野生动物造成的预期损失以及对生态资源的破坏”，这些措施可能包括加固河岸或恢复湿地，为鱼类和野生动物创造新的栖息地。

如果陆军工程兵团认为某些项目不会造成损害，则可以决定不采取保护措施。但是，陆军需要向国会提供这些决定的明确解释。

美国政府问责局 (GAO) 公布的一张图表显示，从 2022 年到 2025 年，美国陆军工程兵团制定野生动物和栖息地保护缓解计划的决定数量急剧下降。例如，到 2024 年，该机构决定 13 个项目中只有 1 个需要采取措施来保护环境。

美国政府问责局的图表显示，2025 年没有制定任何缓解计划。

美国政府问责局在其调查结果中指控，陆军工程兵团未能向国会提供必要的细节，以证明其在认为无需采取环境保护措施的情况下做出决策的理由。

监督机构表示，这五年间提交给国会的绝大多数文件都使用了宽泛笼统的语言，未能阐明陆军工程兵团是如何做出决定的。

美国政府问责局建议陆军制定明确的指导方针，要求陆军工程兵团记录其决策过程，以便让国会和公众更好地了解情况。

陆军在 9 月 16 日的一封信中对 GAO 的建议提出异议，该信由陆军民事工程助理部长的高级官员 D. Lee Forsgren 签署。

“我们不同意草案中的建议，即我们需要为土木工程项目的缓解决策制定更多指导方针，”福斯格伦写道。

“美国陆军工程兵团编制的水资源项目报告（包括相关的总指挥报告）包含足够的技术信息，供决策者、公众和资源机构了解最终建议中是否包含栖息地缓解措施。”

齐塔·巴林格·弗莱彻曾任《军事史季刊》和《越南》杂志的编辑，以及美国缉毒署的历史学家。她拥有军事史硕士学位（成绩优异）。