News Release
| Release Number: | 02-153 |
| Dated: | 9/5/2002 |
| Contact: | Matt Rabe, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.-The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will host a public hearing in Astoria, Ore., to take comments on its draft supplemental report for the Columbia River Channel Improvement Project.
The hearing - an opportunity for the public to formally comment on the draft Supplemental Integrated Feasibility Report and Environmental Impact Statement - will be held Tuesday, Sept. 10, at Columbia River Maritime Museum, 1792 Marine Drive, Astoria, Ore.
The hearing will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. An hour-long open house, which begins at 5 p.m., will precede the public testimony session.
The public comment period for the draft supplemental report officially began July 12, with the filing in the Federal Register. The report is available at https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/. The formal comment period closes Sept. 15, 2002.
In addition to providing testimony, the public also can submit written comments. Comments should be mailed to: Commander, USACE-Portland, Attn: CENWP-PM-F (CRCIP), P.O. Box 2946, Portland, OR 97208-2946.
Comments and testimony received during the comment period will be considered as the Corps finalizes the supplemental report, which is due out later this fall.
The Corps' proposal includes deepening the federal navigation channel between the Pacific Ocean and Vancouver, Wash., by 3 feet. Additionally, the Corps plans to implement nine restoration features for aquatic and wildlife species. About 56 percent of the existing navigation channel would need to be dredged under this proposal. The remaining portion is already deeper then the proposed depth.
In 1994, the Corps' Portland District began the feasibility study to evaluate improvements to the Columbia River federal navigation channel. The study's non-federal sponsors are the six lower Columbia River ports - Portland and St. Helens in Oregon, and Longview, Kalama, Woodland and Vancouver in Washington.
The purposes of the proposed project are to improve transport of goods on the navigation channel by improving the channel's ability to handle deep-draft vessels and to provide ecosystem restoration for fish and wildlife habitats. The need for navigation improvements has been driven by the steady growth in waterborne commerce, and the use of larger and more efficient vessels to transport bulk and containerized commodities. As the use of deep-draft vessels grows, so do limitations created by the existing channel dimensions. The existing 40-foot channel prevents many of the larger vessels from transiting the river at full capacity.
Following consultations for threatened and endangered species with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Corps updated its original report on the Columbia River Channel Improvement Project. The Corps developed new costs, reexamined the benefits and the benefit-to-cost ratio, and updated the report with new information that has become available since the report was issued in 1999.