News Release
| Release Number: | 02-175 |
| Dated: | 10/24/2002 |
| Contact: | Heidi Y. Helwig, 503-808-4510 |
Portland, Ore.-From a fisheries standpoint, mirroring the goals of the Clean Water Act, passed by Congress in 1972, "has very significant positive effects," said Jim Buck, operations manager for the Rogue River Basin Project in Southern Oregon.
For example, a temperature control tower at the Lost Creek Reservoir on the Rogue River "provides cooler or warmer water to benefit fisheries than would happen naturally throughout much of the year," he said. A similar tower is now under construction at the Corps' Cougar Dam on the South Fork of the McKenzie River.
Jim Beal, who oversees operations at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Fern Ridge Reservoir Project Office near Eugene, Ore., agrees. "It's the activities in resource stewardship that are really making the difference in improved water quality," he said.
"The restoration projects that we've undertaken-riparian habitat projects, fish and wildlife program efforts-have had direct impacts on water quality," Beal said.
During the past 30 years, the Corps has mirrored the goals of the Clean Water Act - restoring and maintaining the integrity of the Nation's waters and other natural resources - in various ways.
In fact, the Corps operates its multiple purpose projects in the Rogue, Willamette and Columbia river basins as much for water quality as for hydropower, navigation or fisheries improvement.
The Corps' most positive impacts to water quality, however, are more likely realized by engaging in a host of restoration and improvement activities on a daily basis throughout the year. As the manager for the lion's share of the Willamette Valley's unique upland prairie that still exists today (less than 1 percent of the original prairie), Beal knows first hand the importance of protecting and improving natural resources before they're gone.
With the Fern Ridge Marsh Restoration Project, for example, the main purposes were to improve fish and wildlife habitat and encourage the growth of more emergent wetlands plant species while reducing the growth of the invasive Reed canary grass. Constructing dikes within the Fern Ridge Reservoir helped create two shallow ponds to support emergent wetlands covering 320 acres. A side benefit of this project and others like it, however, is improved water quality. The water is purified as it flows through the vegetated areas, Beal said.
Another environmental restoration project in the Willamette Valley is currently under construction in Amazon Creek, also near Eugene. The Corps' team of engineers and fish and wildlife biologists worked collaboratively with people from a number of other city and local agencies to protect and restore nearly 400 acres of wet prairie along Amazon Creek, making it one of the largest environmental restoration projects of its kind, improving the water quality for fish and wildlife. Construction will be completed this year including adding trails to provide public access to the margin of the restored area and environmental education facilities to interpret the restored habitat for users.
Not all water quality improvement projects, however, occur in rural areas. The Columbia Slough environmental restoration project in Northeast Portland, for example, will improve water quality conditions in an urban setting.
Now, the Columbia Slough's stagnant water provides conditions for severe algal blooms and poor water quality for fish. The answer to improved flow, in a nutshell, is to deepen the main stem's meandering channel, create some wetland benches and replace undersized or deteriorated culverts in neighboring sloughs, said Doug Putman, project manager for the venture. Those actions are now underway and should be complete by the summer of 2004. The project is a joint venture among the Corps, City of Portland and the Multnomah County Drainage District No. 1.
The Corps also meets the goals of the Clean Water Act by improving water quality specifically for fish and by protecting the integrity of existing bodies of water in the United States through issuing or denying permits under Section 404 of the act. Before passing a decision on a permit application, Corps regulators consider how water quality might be affected by the proposed action, as well as what impacts might occur to species protected by the Endangered Species Act.
Accomplishing these varied missions is a delicate balancing act for obvious reasons: everyone needs water, but often for different or even opposing reasons. In an effort to create more balance between developments and natural systems, the Corps has developed seven national environmental operating principles (EOPs). The underlying goal is to protect this nation's natural resources-especially water-as metropolitan areas continue to expand through the construction of new communities and facilities.
"Really, everything we do has an indirect impact on water quality," Beal said. "Everything the Corps is doing in the environmental stewardship and regulatory arenas is where the real work is being done to improve our quality of water and where the benefits are being accrued."
--30--
Editor's note: photographs of the environmental or fisheries projects mentioned in this release are available upon request. Also, a copy of the Corps' seven Environmental Operating Principles follow for your use and information.
Environmental Operating Principles
1. Strive to achieve Environmental Sustainability. An environment maintained in a healthy, diverse and sustainable condition is necessary to support life.
2. Recognize the interdependence of life and the physical environment. Proactively consider environmental consequences of Corps programs and act accordingly in all appropriate circumstances.
3. Seek balance and synergy among human development activities and natural systems by designing economic and environmental solutions that support and reinforce one another.
4. Continue to accept corporate responsibility and accountability under the law for activities and decisions under out control that impact human health and welfare and the continued viability of natural systems.
5. Seek ways and means to assess and mitigate cumulative impacts to the environment; bring systems approaches to the full life cycle of our processes and work.
6. Build and share an integrated scientific, economic and social knowledge base that supports a greater understanding of the environment and impacts of our work.
7. Respect the views of individuals and groups interested in Corps activities; listen to them actively, and learn from their perspective in the search to find innovative win-win solutions to the Nation's problems that also protect and enhance the environment.
-30-