News Release
| Release Number: | 02-155 |
| Dated: | 9/10/2002 |
| Contact: | Matt Rabe, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.-The much-anticipated report of the independent technical review of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' economic analysis for the Columbia River Channel Improvement Project has been released to the Corps and the public today.
The report is available on the Corps' website at www.nwp.usace.army.mil/issues/crcip/pubs.htm.
It is too early to say how the economic analysis will change as a result of the panel's review.
"We know there will be changes based on what we heard during the panel's briefing in August. We just don't know what those exact changes will be," said Col. Richard W. Hobernicht, district engineer for the Corps' Portland District. "We will know more as we digest the contents of this report just released to the Corps and the public today."
While the panel made some good points on how the economic analysis can be improved, they also pointed out where certain assumptions on both the cost and benefits side of the equation were reasonable and valid. The Corps will review and consider all the comments received from the panel.
"We respect the opinions of all the panel members and will consider their individual and collective comments as we finalize this report, which will be available later this year," Hobernicht said.
The Corps convened a technical review panel in August to determine whether the assumptions, methodology, and conclusions of the Corps' economic analysis of the benefits and costs of deepening the Columbia River federal navigation channel to 43-foot channel and completing nine ecosystem restoration actions are reasonable.
The Corps' proposal is to improve navigation along the 106-mile length of the Columbia River navigation channel from the mouth of the Columbia River to Portland/Vancouver. Only about 54 percent of the navigation channel needs to be deepened; the rest of the channel is naturally deep enough.