Contractor Furnished Process Description In certain instances, the Government may determine that it is in the Government’s best interest to require the construction contractor to furnish its own borrow material.  The contractor must therefore make its own arrangements, which may involve an agreement with a landowner.  The Government may opt to provide in the construction contract a complimentary list of “Government Approved Contractor Furnished Borrow Sites” that have been deemed to have suitable material and to be environmentally acceptable.   The Government does, however, caution that it cannot vouch for the availability or quantity of suitable borrow material from such listed sites.  The construction contractor is not obligated to select a site from the Government Approved Contractor Furnished list.  If, however, the contractor chooses to obtain borrow elsewhere, then it must demonstrate that its source has undergone environmental clearance conforming to the Government’s requirements and that the source has suitable materials.  For a contractor to use pre-approved contractor-furnished borrow, they must reach an agreement with the site owner(s) and compensate the owner for the material used from the site, based on that agreement.  Reaching the agreement and compensation of the landowner are the responsibility of the construction contractor, which is why the pit is referred to as “pre-approved contractor furnished.”  The determination of suitability for a proposed contractor furnished borrow source typically requires four months to complete once geotechnical and environmental information is submitted to the government. For additional information on the geotechnical testing requirements and the environmental investigations needed please see our contractor checklist. The time required for this process does not include any additional time taken by owners of potential sites to provide any additional information needed for determination of suitability. Geotechnical Completeness Review and Determination The submitted geotechnical investigation will be reviewed to determine whether all of the required information has been submitted.  The review and determination are based on evaluation of the number and location of sampling locations, depth intervals sampled, and reporting of results for required tests.  If deficiencies are found during the review, these are identified and information is provided to applicant on what additional information is needed.  Once any additional required information has been received, the site is then evaluated to determine the suitability of the material at the proposed borrow site. Environmental Completeness Review and Determination The submitted documentation of environmental clearances will be reviewed to determine whether all of the required information has been submitted.  The review and determination are based on the completeness of the required reports and presence or absence of required approvals and permits.  If deficiencies are found during the review, these are identified and provided to site owner.  Once any additional required information has been received, the site is then evaluated to determine whether the site has the required environmental clearance. Geotechnical Review and Determination of Suitability Once the Corps has determined that the Geotechnical Investigation is complete, the submitted data are reviewed to determine that the proposed site meets the requirements of our soil boring factsheet.  Once the site has been determined to be a source of suitable material, the site owner will be notified.  Review and Determination of Environmental Clearance Once the Corps has determined that the submitted information on Environmental Clearances is complete, the submitted data are reviewed to determine that the proposed site meets the requirements of applicable environmental laws and regulations.  Once the site has been determined to be environmentally cleared, the site owner will be notified.  Individual Environmental Report To comply with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the results of the Environmental Clearances and a description of the proposed federal action are compiled into a draft Individual Environmental Report (IER), which is then made available for public review and comment.  IERs are being completed for the hurricane projects in the New Orleans, Louisiana area under an alternative NEPA arrangement implemented in March 2007.  For additional information on the alternative arrangements please visit nolaenvironmental.gov.  After considering the information in the draft IER and any public comments, the New Orleans District Commander may make a decision to proceed with the proposed Federal action.  If a decision is made to proceed with the proposed action the report is finalized, documenting the decision of what the impacts would be if the proposed action is constructed and a plan to address any of the impacts that are unavoidable  This process typically requires 60 days. Additional time may be required if public comments result in issuance of a revised report and an additional public comment period.