News Release
| Release Number: | 04-090 |
| Dated: | 5/13/2004 |
| Contact: | Public Affairs Office, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.-On May 13, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers denied LTM Inc., DBA Umpqua River Navigation, a Department of the Army permit for proposed work in the Umpqua River in Douglas County, Ore.
The proposed work involved removal of 181,000 cubic yards of sand and gravel annually from the Umpqua River for commercial use. The applicant proposed to use a barge-mounted clamshell dredge to remove the aggregate material and perform the initial processing, washing, sorting, on an adjacent barge. Process water would have been discharged into the river. LTM, Inc. also proposed to operate the dredge 10 months out of the year, five to six days a week.
"After carefully review of the permit application and proposed work, the Corps determined the project would have unacceptable adverse impacts to the river and associated waters of the United States," said Lawrence Evans, chief of Portland District's Regulatory Branch, Corps of Engineers. "We also believe there are available alternatives, which do not have such adverse impacts. For this reason, the Corps does not find this project to be beneficial to public interest."
The Corps based its decision on several findings to include: the volume of material to be removed is unsustainable and could lead to adverse changes in aquatic and riparian habitat and the project would cause detrimental changes in the channel morphology and overall dynamics of the channel and its tributaries.
The Corps is encouraging the applicant to review the Corps' decision and findings, seek less-harmful alternatives and revise their current scope of work for future consideration.
"The Corps of Engineers Regulatory Program plays a key role in protecting our nation's aquatic resources under the Clean Water Act," said Evans. "We carefully weighed the various public interest factors and could not, in good conscience, issue a permit for work that could have such adverse impacts to the river. We realize denying this permit may affect the local community, but the Corps has an obligation to protect the nation's aquatic resources. We are not denying all dredging activity in the river, just the project proposal submitted to us in the permit application we received."
For a copy of the Corps' Environmental Assessment and Statement of Findings, which describes the Corps' decision in detail, please write to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CENWP-OP-GP (Teena Monical), 1600 Executive Parkway, Suite 210, Eugene, OR 97401-2156 or call (541) 465-6877.
The Department of the Army regulatory program is one of the oldest in the federal government. Initially it served a simple, straightforward purpose: to protect and maintain the navigable capacity of the nation's waters. In 1972, the Clean Water Act was signed into law and the Department of the Army was directed to administer Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which pertained to the regulation of certain activities undertaken in waters of the United States.
The permit evaluation process includes a public notice with a public comment period. Application for complex projects may also require a public hearing before the Corps makes a permit decision. In its application evaluations, the Corps is required by law to consider all factors involving the public interest. These may include environmental concerns, economics, historical values, fish and wildlife, aesthetics, flood damage prevention, land use classifications, navigation, recreation, water supply, water quality, energy needs, food production and the general welfare of the public.