ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, will be revising its recently published draft Mississippi River Pool 6 dredged material management plan based on the comments it received during its public comment period that ended April 10.
The district does not have an anticipated completion date at this time but will publish a revised draft for public comment once complete.
After reviewing comments to the draft plan, Corps officials believe the best path forward is to reevaluate the draft plan to determine if there are more options available for the permanent placement of dredged material within the area. Corps staff plan to continue working with their federal, state and local partners to identify additional opportunities in the coming months.
While the draft plan is being reevaluated, Corps staff will rely on currently approved plans to maintain the Mississippi River navigation channel within Pool 6. This will most likely include additional material being placed on the Corps’ Homer upland placement site, located south of Winona, and the 1-acre upland placement site located on Latsch Island. Initial forecasts indicate at least 40,000 cubic yards of dredged material will need to be removed from the channel this year. The exact number will fluctuate due to constantly changing river conditions.
Bob Edstrom, St. Paul District project manager leading the planning effort, believes that “the additional time will help the Corps, and the communities, find solutions that are reasonable for everyone. These plans are difficult but necessary to ensure commodities such and Midwest grains can be shipped quickly, safely, and with the least cost compared to alternate transportation methods.”
The public comment period, which originally began Feb. 4, was extended 30 days to ensure the public had more time to understand the draft plan and to provide comments. Corps of Engineers officials held a public meeting to discuss the draft plan Feb. 11. The draft plan outlined the transportation and land requirements to permanently place dredged material removed from the Mississippi River in Pool 6 for the next 20 years. Pool 6 is a 14.4-mile stretch of the river from Lock and Dam 5A, in Fountain City, Wisconsin, to Lock and Dam 6 in Trempealeau, Wisconsin.
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Release no. 20-042