 State Workers will Co-locate with Corps of Engineers November 11, 2004
The agreement establishes two liaison positions for the purpose of expediting design and implementation of highway and airport improvements. Federal permits are needed because the COE is responsible under federal statutes and regulations to protect aquatic and other natural resources. "The state has an increasing number of federal-aid highway and airport construction projects that involve areas for which the Corps of Engineers has federal regulatory responsibility," said Barton. "We believe that by co-locating two of our employees with the Corps staff we should be able to significantly expedite those projects. Given the short construction season, we are interested in anything we can do to assure that permits are not holding up a construction project. This agreement is an excellent step toward that goal." The agreement establishes a COE central point of contact to be located in the Alaska District for highway and airport projects in Alaska to increase efficiency and streamline the environmental review process. The mobility assignment will facilitate the management of COE workload of transportation project applications. Under the agreement, ADOT&PF will fund salaries for two full-time Liaison Environmental Analysts to support regulatory services, while the Corps' Regulatory Section Chiefs will provide day-to-day supervision and work product review of the liaison positions. The COE will also provide administrative support to include on-site training, office space, and equipment. The assignment agreement will
benefit the COE by applying the ADOT&PF employees' experience
in environmental areas, in obtaining appropriate information
for reviewing transportation applications for the COE. The employee
will use their state and federal regulatory experiences for project
review and coordination. The assignment agreement will last approximately
24 months, expiring October 31, 2006, with a possible extension.
Upon completion of their assignment agreement the employees will
return to positions at ADOT&PF.
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