News Release
| Release Number: | 99-102 |
| Dated: | 11/23/1999 |
| Contact: | Heidi Y. Helwig, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.— The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is evaluating a permit application from Metro to perform erosion control work along the Columbia Slough at St. Johns Landfill in Portland, Ore. The purpose of the requested work is to repair failures to the levee separating the St. Johns Landfill from the Columbia Slough.
As part of its permit evaluation process, the Corps is requesting public review and comment on the proposed project prior to making its determination on whether to issue or deny a permit for the work.
Metro is requesting authorization to excavate with a clam-shell dredge all water-softened debris, fallen trees and roots from about 1,125 feet of bank along the Columbia Slough before placing 1 foot of crushed rock and riprap along the slope. Metro would further stabilize the slope with erosion control mats, topsoil and about 5,000 native bushes and trees. The slope also would be seeded with native grasses.
If the permit is issued, the applicant would be required to adhere to special conditions, which include: use only clean, durable riprap; minimize turbidity and perform in-water work within the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife preferred work period, which is between June 15 and Sept. 15 in this area each year; protect against future erosion; mitigate for any activities that adversely affect fish or wildlife or the harvest of same; and assure the proposed project does not interfere with the public’s use of the navigable waterway.
For a copy of the Corps’ Public Notice, which describes the proposed project in detail, please call Judy Linton at (503) 808-4382, or access the notice on the Corps’ Internet site at http://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/op/g/Regs/Pub_bull.htm.
Written comments should reach the Corps by Dec. 17, 1999, and should be mailed to: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attn: CENWP-OP-GP (Judy Linton), P.O. Box 2946, Portland, Oregon 97208-2946. Comments also may be sent via e-mail to judy.l.linton@usace.army.mil.
The Corps also is soliciting input from federal, state and local agencies and officials, Indian tribes, and other interested parties to help permit reviewers consider and evaluate the impacts of this proposed project on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and other public interest factors.
The Corps will issue or deny the permit under Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899 and Section 404 of the Clean Water Act.
A Water Quality Certification, as required under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act, also will be needed from the State. Also, because fish species listed under the Endangered Species Act are in the river, the Corps will enter into consultation with the National Marines Fisheries Service. A permit will not be issued or denied until the consultation process is completed.