News Release
| Release Number: | 01-043 |
| Dated: | 4/12/2001 |
| Contact: | Heidi Y. Helwig, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.--Before the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers performs urgently needed bank protection work in Grants Pass, Ore., it is asking for public review and comment on the proposed work. The purpose of the proposed work is to prevent further erosion of an embankment adjacent to the City of Grants Pass Water Treatment plant. The embankment is severely undercut and in imminent threat of failure. The water treatment plant would be significantly damaged if the bank fails.
By law, however, the Corps cannot perform the needed work until it is evaluated under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and until a draft environmental assessment addressing the impacts of the work has been reviewed by members of the public.
The proposed work would consist of constructing a sheetpile wall along about 200 feet of the Rogue River beginning at river mile 105 in Grants Pass. The wall would be placed near the low water elevation. Above the sheetpile and along the embankment, the Corps proposes to construct a "bioengineered" slope protection, which would consist of installing a honeycombed fabric in which native plants would be planted.
For more information about the proposed work, or to request a copy of the draft environmental assessment for the work, call Steve Stevens at (503) 808-4768, e-mail him at steven.j.stevens@usace.army.mil or write to: District Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineer District, Portland, Attn: CENWP-PM-E, P.O. Box 2946, Portland, Oregon 97208-2946. Comments must be received by April 25, 2001 and should refer to Public Notice No. CENWP-PM-E-01-0, "Rogue River Bank Protection."