News Release
| Release Number: | 05-009 |
| Dated: | 1/24/2005 |
| Contact: | Mike McAleer, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore. -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued a public notice outlining its plans to maintain the Columbia River federal navigation channel from River Mile (RM) 3 through RM 192.
The maintenance includes the main 40-foot navigation channel between Ilwaco and Portland, the barge channel from RM 106.5 through 192, and various side channels along the Columbia River. The channel passes through Clatsop, Columbia, Multnomah, Hood River and Wasco counties in Oregon, and Pacific, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, Clark, Skamania and Klickitat counties in Washington.
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.
Public comments are taken as part of the public notice process, and written comments will be accepted until Feb. 22, 2005. In addition, the Corps will hold informational meetings in Vancouver, Wash. and Astoria, Ore., Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 to discuss the maintenance plans.
The Corps, Washington State Department of Ecology (WDOE), and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ORDEQ), will host the first meeting from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 31, at the Port of Vancouver located at 3103 Lower River Rd., Vancouver. The second meeting will be from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 1, at the Columbia River Maritime Museum located at 1792 Marine Dr., Astoria.
The proposed maintenance is required to maintain the project channels at their federally authorized depths by periodically removing restricting shoals consisting of naturally occurring sedimentary material. For this action, up to five feet of advance depth maintenance dredging will be accomplished in the 40-foot federal navigation channel; up to two feet of advance maintenance dredging will be accomplished in all other channels. At selected high volume shoal areas in the 40-foot channel, up to 100 feet of advance width maintenance dredging may occur.
To obtain a copy of the Corps' Public Notice, reference number NWPOP-CLA-F05-001, please write to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: CENWP-OP-CW, P.O. Box 2946, Portland, Ore., 97208-2946, or call Jon Gornick, project manager, at (503) 808-4341. 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 jon.m.gornick@usace.army.mil . The Public Notice is available on the web at https://www.nwp.usace.army.mil/op/n/projects/clw/docs.asp . All comments must include the Public Notice reference number.
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 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, WDOE, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Washington State Historic Preservation Office, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, ORDEQ, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, and Oregon State Historic Preservation Office. -30-