Corps seeks comments on plan to temporarily lower Mississippi River elevation near St. Anthony Falls

St. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is seeking comments on a plan to briefly lower the Mississippi River elevation between the Upper and Lower St. Anthony Falls dams to facilitate inspections of critical infrastructure at these facilities.

The Corps is proposing to lower the river by 12 feet to an elevation of 738 feet to facilitate the inspections. The tentative period for the inspection is scheduled to occur sometime between September and November, dependent on weather and river stages. The Corps will provide exact dates closer to the actual drawdown. The entire process of drawdown, inspection and refilling would last eight to 10 days before the pool is returned to the normal operating elevation of 750 feet.

As a part of the planned inspections, the Corps released a draft Environmental Assessment, or EA, and is seeking public comments until July 25.

The draft EA describing the project and the environmental impacts is available to the public and can be viewed and downloaded on the St. Paul District website at: www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Home/PublicNotices.aspx.

Questions on the project or comments on the draft EA can be directed to LeeAnn Glomski at 651-290-5595 or LeeAnn.M.Glomski@usace.army.mil. Please address all formal written correspondence on this project to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, ATTN: Regional Planning and Environment Division North, 180 5th St. E., Suite 700, St. Paul, MN 55101.

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