News Release
| Release Number: | 05-039a |
| Dated: | 3/9/2005 |
| Contact: | Heidi Y. Helwig, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore. – Three public agencies will jointly host a public hearing next month to discuss plans for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continued maintenance dredging of the Columbia River federal navigation channel from River Mile (RM) 3 through RM 192. The hearing was requested because public meetings held earlier were poorly attended.
The hearing, hosted by Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ), Washington Department of Ecology (WDOE) and the Corps, will begin with sign-in at 5:30 p.m. and the hearing at 6 p.m., Tuesday, April 12, at the Port of Vancouver located at 3103 Lower River Road in Vancouver, Wash. If traveling northbound on I-5, take Exit 1C and head west to the Port of Vancouver. If traveling southbound on I-5, take Exit 1D and head west to the Port of Vancouver.
At the hearing, ODEQ, WDOE and Corps representatives will invite members of the public to comment on the Corps’ plans to remove material in the main 40-foot Columbia River navigation channel between RM 3 at Ilwaco and RM 192 at the Dalles Dam, and in various side channels along the Columbia River. The dredging work is required to maintain the channels at their federally-authorized depths. More information about the Columbia and Lower Willamette navigation project can be found on the Corps’ web page at https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/.
The proposed work is being coordinated with federal and state agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, Washington Department of Ecology, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Washington State Historic Preservation Office, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, and Oregon State Historic Preservation Office.