News Release
| Release Number: | 04-221 |
| Dated: | 12/8/2004 |
| Contact: | Diana J. Fredlund, 503-808-4510 |
PORTLAND, Ore.-The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is evaluating a permit application from Clatsop County Public Works to dredge under existing ferry ramps in Westport Slough near Westport, Ore.
The project would involve dredging about 400 cubic yards of sediment from under the ramp and boarding floats to maintain public safety.
The ramp and floats would be removed to allow for excavation. Excavated material would be transported to an approved in-water work site adjacent to the main channel of the Oregon side of the Columbia River, near river mile 42.5. Three log vanes, consisting of untreated timber piles, would be installed at the confluence of Plympton Creek and Westport Slough between the channel bottom and the mean high water mark. The vanes would detour sediment from depositing under the ramp.
Upon project completion, new steel or wooden piles would be installed and the floats and ramps would be replaced.
As part of its permit evaluation process, the Corps is requesting public review and comment on the proposed project before making its permit decision.
For a copy of the Corps' Public Notice 2003-00754, which describes the proposed project in detail, please write to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CENWP-OP-GP (Karla Ellis), P.O. Box 2946, Portland, OR 97208-2946 or call (503) 808-4377. A copy of the public notice, including photocopies of supporting drawings, is posted on the Corps' Internet site at https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/op/g/notices/200300754.pdf.
Written comments must reach the Corps by Dec. 30, 2004, and should be mailed to the above address. Send e-mail comments to Karla.G.Ellis@usace.army.mil. Comments must reference the Public Notice number.
The Corps also is soliciting input from federal, state and local agencies and officials, Indian Tribes, and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed activity on endangered species, cultural resources, water quality, general environmental effects, and other public interest factors.
The Corps will evaluate the permit request under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act for discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States.
The Corps will evaluate the permit request under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, for work in or affecting navigable waters of the United States, and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act for discharge of dredged or fill material into waters of the United States.
Also, because the proposed project may affect an endangered or threatened species or its critical habitat, the Corps will initiate consultation with the NOAA Fisheries, under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973. A permit for the proposed activity will not be issued or denied until the consultation process is complete.
he proposed project is not located on property registered in the latest version of the National Register of Historic Places. This notice has been provided to the State Historic Preservation Office.