News Release
| Release Number: | 99-104 |
| Dated: | 12/7/1999 |
| Contact: | Heidi Y. Helwig, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.--The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is evaluating a permit application from Ross Island Sand and Gravel Co., (RISG) requesting a five-year dredging permit. 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.
RISG is requesting a five-year permit to remove up to 900,000 cubic yards of material a year from the Ross Island lagoon in the Willamette River. Sand, gravel and rock would be removed by dredge for processing and commercial sale.
If the work is permitted, RISG would work only in an area north of a 100-foot-wide buffer zone that separates designated filling and dredging areas. Upland mining is expected in about 7 acres of the north bank of the lagoon. Also, buffer areas have been established around existing eagle nest and heron rookery areas within which dredge and fill activities have been prohibited or restricted.
RISG also is requesting authorization to place up to 4.5 million cubic yards of clean fill material, such as unused aggregate material, to reclaim land at Ross Island to specifications outlined in the RISG conditional use permit issued by the City of Portland in 1981.
If the work is permitted, the applicant would be required to adhere to the following special conditions: protect against future erosion; minimize turbidity; take actions to prevent dredged material from returning to the waterway and; mitigate for any activities that adversely affect fish or wildlife or their harvest.
For a copy of the Corps of Engineers' 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 offices by Dec. 27, 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, 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 and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. A permit will not be issued or denied until the consultation process is completed.