News Release
| Release Number: | 02-010 |
| Dated: | 1/10/2002 |
| Contact: | Matt Rabe, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.-The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers today announced it will hold a public hearing to take written and oral testimony on its proposal to maintain the federal navigation channel at the mouth of the Columbia River (MCR).
The public hearing, co-sponsored by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Washington Department of Ecology, will begin at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 12 at the Red Lion Inn, 400 Industry St., in Astoria, Ore.
The Corps also will host an open house prior to the hearing at 6 p.m. at the same location to give the public an opportunity to talk one-on-one with Corps officials.
To obtain a copy of the Corps' Public Notice on the MCR maintenance dredging proposal, reference number NWPOP-CRA-F02-001, please write to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: Operations Division, P.O. Box 2946, Portland, Ore., 97208-2946, or call Eric Braun, project manager, at (503) 808-4348. Written comments on the proposed work should be mailed to District Engineer, U.S. Army Corps of Engineer District, Portland, P.O. Box 2946, Portland, Oregon 97208-2946, or e-mailed to eric.p.braun@usace.army.mil. All comments must include the Public Notice reference number and should be mailed to the Corps by Feb. 22, 2002.
Maintaining consistent depths in the navigation channel is essential for the safety of ships navigating the Columbia River, a major import and export route important to the region's economy. The authorized federal navigation project at the mouth of the river is 2,640 feet wide with the north 2,000 feet -55 feet deep (Mean Lower Low Water [(MLLW]) and the south 640 feet -48 feet deep (MLLW). These depths are achieved by removing naturally occurring shoals with a hopper dredge. Up to five feet of allowable overdepth dredging is performed to ensure authorized depths for a longer period between dredging operations. Dredging is performed on an annual basis with an average of 4 million to 5 million cubic yards dredged each year.
The Corps considers the clean sand dredged at the MCR project an important resource and uses as much of the dredged material as possible for beneficial uses. Therefore, the Corps will place as much of the sand as practical in sites that keep it in the littoral system. Disposal options create a balancing act, however, as the Corps must meet conflicting objectives, including minimizing potential wave impacts, adverse environmental impacts and interference with navigation, while striving to retain sand in the system.
The proposed dredging work is being coordinated with federal and state agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, the Washington Department of Ecology, and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.