PNWA pushes back against DOGE cuts to critical USACE employees

The Pacific Northwest Waterways Association (PNWA) has written the Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington State congressional delegations expressing its “strong opposition to federal employee cuts being implemented by the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’ (DOGE). Specifically, the intention to fire thousands of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) critical employees, who are vital to the safety, efficiency, and economic vitality of the entire region. These USACE employees are experts who are essential in maintaining and operating our waterway infrastructure safely – protecting the millions of people who rely on its benefits including navigation, hydropower, irrigation, and flood control.”

PNWA has over 150 members, including ports, barge companies, steamship operators, grain elevator operators, agricultural producers, electric utilities, irrigation districts, cruise lines, and union labor.

In the letter, which is signed by PNWA executive director Neil Maunu and cc’d to Elon Musk and President Trump, PNWA says:

“DOGE intends to fire over 2,000 USACE employees nationwide who are on ‘probationary status’ (hired in a role for less than a year, and in some cases two years). We are told that well-over 600 of those employees are located in the Northwestern Division (NWD), which is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, and oversees five districts (Portland, Seattle, Walla Walla, Omaha, and Kansas City). The vast majority of USACE NWD employees are associated with the Seattle, Portland, and Walla Walla Districts. Several thousand additional employees have elected to take the Deferred Resignation Plan (DRP) and will be placed on paid leave beginning March 1st .

“USACE is unlike any other federal agency – they recruit, train, and retain the nation’s best engineers, program managers, operators, maintainers, environmental scientists, conservationists and more. It can take years, and sometimes decades, for a USACE employee to gain the experience necessary to be successful in their field. Losing these employees will dramatically affect the Corps’ ability to execute their mission safely and effectively.”

“Just two weeks from now,” says the letter, “USACE is planning a lock-outage to conduct major maintenance on the majority of dams and navigation locks on the Columbia-Snake River system. This well-coordinated and planned effort costs tens of millions of dollars and is absolutely critical to ensure the Congressionally-authorized federal navigation channel remains a vital supply chain link to our nation.”

“PNWA strongly urges that the federal firing of USACE employees, and other federal employees critical to the safety and operation of a wide range of infrastructure in our region, be halted immediately,” says the letter. “We are deeply concerned that this process will negatively impact the safe operations and maintenance of normal U.S. Army Corps functions; hydropower generation, flood control, navigation, irrigation, recreation, and more. Millions of Pacific NW residents are at risk due to this shortsighted approach.

“USACE employees are not just another cog in the wheel of unnecessary bureaucracy, they are the experts our nation relies on to ensure our federal infrastructure is safe, productive, efficient, and predictable –our USACE partners need help. The USACE facilitates economic trade and growth –losing key people today will have an adverse effect on the safety and efficiency of this system and all who rely on it for decades.”