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  • May

    News Release graphic with red castle logo and the words "news release" underneath

    Caribbean District seeks industry input for North Coast Super-Aqueduct relocation

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Caribbean District issued a Sources Sought Notice to identify qualified firms for an upcoming construction contract supporting the Rio de La Plata Flood Control Project and the North Coast Super-Aqueduct (NCSA) Relocation Project in Dorado and Toa Baja, Puerto Rico. This market research effort will help USACE determine the appropriate acquisition strategy for a future construction contract with an estimated magnitude between $25 million and $100 million.
  • USACE announces historic $1 billion award for Contract 3 of the Río Puerto Nuevo Flood Risk Management Project: Río Puerto Nuevo Flood Risk Management Project: To increase protection from a 2‑year flood event to a 100‑year event, the project widens and deepens the existing channel, replaces narrow bridges that restrict flow, and incorporates modern, nature‑friendly design techniques to improve capacity and long‑term resilience.

    USACE announces historic $1 billion award for Contract 3 of the Río Puerto Nuevo Flood Risk Management Project

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Caribbean District, has awarded a $1.078 billion construction contract to Ferrovial Construcción PR, LLC, a subsidiary of the Ferrovial S.A. Group, Caribbean District Commander Col. Charles L. Decker announced today. This award is the largest Corps of Engineers Civil Works contract in Puerto Rico’s history and one of the most significant single‑contract investments across the USACE enterprise. The investment will widen and deepen the most critical section of the existing channelized Río Piedras, improving conveyance capacity and reducing flood risk to life and property for surrounding neighborhoods, schools, businesses, and transportation corridors.  

  • April

    Participants in the South Atlantic Division’s Leadership Development Program gather on the beach in Old San Juan during their April 13–16, 2026 visit to Puerto Rico. Throughout the weeklong leadership immersion, participants learned from Caribbean District leaders, toured infrastructure and military construction projects, built professional connections, and deepened their understanding of the district’s mission and regional challenges.

    Inside the Leadership Lab

    SAN JUAN, P.R. — The South Atlantic Division’s FY26 Leadership Development Program (LDP) participants stepped into a fully immersive leadership laboratory during their April 13-16, 2026, visit to the Corps of Engineers Caribbean District, where four days of training were transformed into a hands‑on practicum in communication, decision‑making, and mission execution in a complex operating environment. This marks the second LDP class to train with the Caribbean District this year, underscoring how USACE’s newest district is rapidly becoming a hub for leadership development and mission-learning across the South Atlantic Division.

  • March

    Artist’s rendering of the AST Barracks, which will provide modern lodging for Soldiers attending short term training at Fort Buchanan.

    Fort Buchanan breaks ground on AST barracks

    Fort Buchanan marked a major milestone March 23, 2026, with the groundbreaking of its new Advanced Skills Training (AST) Barracks, a $22.27 million military construction project that will expand the installation’s capacity to support short‑term institutional training for Soldiers across Puerto Rico. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Caribbean District is overseeing the project.
  • News Release graphic with red castle logo and the words "news release" underneath

    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers seeks public comments on potential future changes to the nationwide permits

    The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced on March 16 that it is seeking input from all interested parties on ways to increase the efficiency of the nationwide permit program. Nationwide permits authorize activities that are similar in nature and cause no more than minimal adverse environmental impacts to jurisdictional aquatic resources separately or on a cumulative basis. Activities range from work associated with aids to navigation and utility lines to residential developments and maintenance activities.
  • South Atlantic Division Regional Leadership Development Program participants walk the Bastion de San Fernando project site in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, to observe ongoing cliff stabilization efforts. As part of the SAD RLDP visit to the Caribbean District in late February 2026, participants explored how the Corps of Engineers and the National Park Service are protecting this historic landmark. The group moved along the cliffside trail to examine erosion risks and view areas where the cliff face is most vulnerable. The walk was one of several field activities during the RLDP’s weeklong immersion in the Caribbean District’s mission, projects, and unique operating environment.

    SAD’s future leaders gather in Puerto Rico 

    Emerging leaders from across the South Atlantic Division traveled to Puerto Rico in early March 2026 as part of the South Atlantic Division’s Regional Leadership Development Program (SAD RLDP), spending a week immersed in the Caribbean District’s mission and operating environment. The cohort explored some of the district’s most complex engineering, environmental, and military construction projects while learning directly from district leaders, technical experts, and senior division leadership. The visit offered a rare, hands‑on look at how USACE delivers critical infrastructure and resilience projects in a uniquely challenging island setting.
  • Brig. Gen. Zachary L. Miller delivers the keynote address at the 2026 SAME San Juan Field Chapter Industry Day, held March 3-5, 2026, at the El Conquistador Resort in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. This year’s SAME event featured one of the strongest speaker lineups yet and provided a platform for federal agencies and industry partners to connect, collaborate, and explore upcoming opportunities across the Caribbean.

    Caribbean District and SAME highlight historic infrastructure momentum

    More than 400 federal leaders, A/E/C professionals, and small business partners converged in Puerto Rico in early March for the 2026 Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Industry Day, marking one of the most significant federal‑industry engagements in the Caribbean in decades. Across two days of briefings, panels, and technical sessions a clear message emerged: the Caribbean is entering a new era of infrastructure investment, resilience planning, and federal‑industry collaboration. And the pace of work is accelerating. From the opening remarks to the final technical sessions, the conference underscored both the scale of opportunity ahead and the shared responsibility to deliver on it.

  • February

    Official Logo of the 2026 Caribbean Water Resources Summit

    Caribbean District and Silver Jackets lead water summit for Puerto Rico’s water future

    From aging infrastructure to rising flood risks and shifting rainfall patterns, Puerto Rico’s water systems are under growing pressure. Last week, more than 130 experts from across the Caribbean islands, the federal government, and academia, came together for the first ever Caribbean Water Resources Summit, hosted by the Army Corps of Engineers Caribbean District and the Silver Jackets Program. The summit brought scientists, agency leaders, nonprofits, and academics into one room to share data, strengthen partnerships, and collaborate on solutions that protect communities and ecosystems. From advanced modeling tools to discussions on energy, land use, and emergency response, the day highlighted how interconnected Puerto Rico’s water challenges truly are, and how essential coordinated action will be in the years ahead.
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    UPDATED: Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works announces 'Build Infrastructure, Not Paperwork' transformation initiative for the Army’s Civil Works program

    Today, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Adam R. Telle announced a major initiative, “Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork,” for the Army’s Civil Works program. “Building Infrastructure, Not Paperwork” will provide greater focus on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) core Civil Works missions, while minimizing non-core programs, direct funding to priority water resources projects that will provide the greatest benefits to the nation, shorten permitting timelines, and reduce or eliminate extraneous regulations and paperwork that slow USACE’s delivery of Civil Works projects and programs.
  • News Release graphic with red castle logo and the words "news release" underneath

    Public Notice Announcing the Reissuance of the Nationwide Permits and the Caribbean District Final Regional Conditions

    On January 8, 2026, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) published a final action in the Federal Register (91 FR 768) announcing the reissuance of 56 existing nationwide permits (NWPs) and one new NWP, as well as the reissuance of NWP general conditions and definitions with some modifications. One NWP was not reissued. These 57 NWPs will go into effect on March 15, 2026, and will expire on March 15, 2031. The Corps has also issued final decision documents for the new and reissued NWPs. These final decision documents are available at www.regulations.gov at docket number COE-2025-0002. The NWP general conditions and definitions that were issued in the final action apply to the 56 reissued NWPs and the new NWP 60. Interested parties can access the January 8, 2026, final action and related documents at: https://www.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Regulatory-Program-and-Permits/Nationwide-Permits/. The Caribbean District Regional Conditions can be accessed at https://www.sad.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/Puerto-Rico/ (Puerto Rico) and https://www.sad.usace.army.mil/Missions/Regulatory/US-Virgin-Islands/ (U.S. Virgin Islands).

SPECIAL PUBLIC NOTICE

This is an advisory Special Public Notice to announce to the public about the implementation of emergency permitting procedures developed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Caribbean District, for the purposes of E.O. 14156 and to provide information to the public about those special emergency processing procedures. The E.O. 14156 was signed on January 20, 2025, by the the President of the United States declaring a National Energy Emergency. The order, enacted under the President’s legal authorities, aims to accelerate efforts to address the energy crisis. More specifically, Sections 2 and 3 of the E.O., directs agencies to use, to the fullest extent possible and consistent with applicable law, all relevant lawful emergency, and other authorities available to them to facilitate the Nation’s energy supply. These alternate procedures will be utilized until E.O. 14156 is rescinded.

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