Alexandria, Va. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
increased its use of third-party Environmental Collaboration and Conflict
Resolution (ECCR) in 2015, reporting 29 specific uses as well as a significant
number of non-third-party collaborative efforts across all USACE divisions and
mission areas.
This was a significant
increase from the 15 uses reported in 2013 and 2014. The volume and breadth of non-third-party
collaborative efforts were also significant with many efforts noted in both the
Navigation and Regulatory business lines.
Interesting to note were the six priority, or emerging, areas of
conflict and cross-cutting challenges in USACE:
Water Security, Statutory Requirements and Federal Law, Native American
Cultural Sites, Climate Change, National Historic Preservation Act, and
In-stream Flows.
The USACE Collaboration
& Public Participation Center of Expertise (CPCX), located at the Institute for Water Resources (IWR)
collected and summarized the uses of ECCR across the agency, including both
third-party and non-third-party collaboration and conflict resolution
efforts. The USACE 10th Annual ECCR
Report (Report) was then coordinated across HQ-USACE, the Division
Liaisons, and the office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Civil Works).
Given the success of third
party facilitation, the Report highlighted a Norfolk District Regulatory action regarding
proposed aerial electric transmission lines.
By enlisting a facilitator, the District was able to effectively
communicate its requirements while stakeholders helped USACE better understand
their interests in the project. This effort has fostered better relationships
with stakeholders which has allowed the process to move forward in ways it
otherwise may not have been able. Notable
advances by all Divisions in the use of ECCR were captured in the Report.
The annual assessment also
helps CPCX gauge interest in training courses and direct assistance. Divisions and Districts identified eligible
staff to participate in the Environmental Conflict Resolution Certification
Program with US Institute for Environmental Conflict Resolution, suggested
developmental assignments to or from CPCX, suggested additions to the USACE
facilitator database, and gave suggested topics for webinars.
Documenting the costs and
benefits of ECCR continues to be a challenge for the agency, as confirmed by
the responses from the field. Thus, future work is needed to capture and
quantify the benefits of ECCR to demonstrate the power and effectiveness of its
use in those government programs that affect the public.
The annual ECCR report is
required by the 2012 Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) and Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) joint
memorandum on Environmental Collaboration and Conflict Resolution. This 2012 memorandum supersedes and
broadens the original OMB/CEQ 2005 joint memorandum on Environmental Conflict
Resolution by explicitly encouraging appropriate and effective upfront
environmental collaboration to minimize or prevent conflict.