News Release
| Release Number: | 05-100 |
| Dated: | 7/12/2005 |
| Contact: | Heidi Y. Helwig, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.—The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will host a public meeting July 21to discuss the process for developing a Dredge Material Management Plan (DMMP) for future maintenance dredging on the Lower Willamette River federal navigation channel.
The meeting will be held in the Port of Portland Commission Room at 121 N.W. Everett St., in Portland from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Thursday, July 21. The document’s purpose is to outline maintenance activities for the next 20 years for the currently maintained 40-foot deep federal navigation channel.
This is the first public information meeting on this project. The meeting will feature a presentation about the DMMP development process followed by a question and answer session. Future public meetings will provide updates and details regarding the development of the DMMP and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), as well as opportunities for public comment on DMMP and EIS planning.
The DMMP and EIS will address dredging methods and disposal options for dredged material; economic justification; cultural and environmental impacts; channel maintenance requirements; engineering studies; potential beneficial uses for dredged material; and contain a base, least cost, plan that is technically feasible and environmentally sound.
The Corps is coordinating development of both the DMMP and the EIS with a number of agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Division of State Lands and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
The Corps is responsible for developing DMMP’s for all Corps dredging projects nationwide in accordance with the National Dredging Policy. Once completed, the Willamette River DMMP will lay out an environmentally sensitive, cost effective, and technically feasible system for maintaining the Willamette River federal navigation channel over the next 20 years. The DMMP will comply with all applicable state and federal statues and regulations. Federal funding to complete the DMMP for the Willamette River navigation channel is authorized under the Rivers and Harbors Act.
The Willamette River federal navigation channel is 11.6 miles long and extends from the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette rivers to the Broadway Bridge. The navigation channel, which must be regularly dredged to 40 feet for barges and ships to safely access the 49 publicly and privately owned marine terminals on the Willamette River, is a critical link between the region’s businesses and their national and international markets. In 2004, 1,161 ships and barges docked at Willamette River terminals, helping support the region’s 40,000 maritime industry jobs.