Senate Aide Approved for Army’s Top Civil-Works Post

The Senate on Aug. 7 confirmed longtime Senate staffer Jo-Ellen Darcy as assistant secretary of the Army for civil works. In that post, she will oversee the Corps of Engineers’ non-military programs.

Darcy was nominated on April 2 and was through committee in June, but floor action was delayed. An industry source says there was concern in Alabama’s congressional delegation about a multistate dispute over water rights from Georgia’s Lake Lanier. The Corps operates Buford Dam, which forms the lake. After meeting with Darcy on July 13, Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) said she committed to “an honest and fair adjudication of the situation.” Darcy joined the Finance Committee staff in 2007 and earlier was an Environment and Public Works Committee aide.

Pam Hunter McFarland was a Senior Editor of ENR and her expertise was: Sourcebooks, Environment, Labor

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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