ST. PAUL, Minn. -- ST. PAUL, Minn. –The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is seeking public input on its draft Environmental Assessment, or EA, for proposed repairs for the Harpers Slough Habitat Rehabilitation and Enhancement Project in Pool 9 of the Upper Mississippi River, near Lansing, Iowa.
High water events in 2018 and 2019 caused damage to some of the project features. The proposed repairs include making repairs to breached and eroded sections of three newly constructed islands, replacing damaged berms for an emergent wetland and dredging up to four backwater areas for habitat.
To ensure the long-term stability of the repairs and improve project resiliency, design modifications from the original project design would be included. It is anticipated the proposed repairs would have minor, short-term adverse effects on air and water quality and noise, and long-term beneficial effects to terrestrial, wetland and aquatic habitat.
Construction would tentatively begin in spring 2021 and be completed within two years. Repairs are estimated at $6.2 million dollars.
This project is part of the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Program, which was authorized by Congress in 1986 for addressing habitat rehabilitation, systemic monitoring and research on the Upper Mississippi River. Construction of the original Harpers Slough project was completed in 2017 and involved new islands, emergent wetlands and backwater fish habitat designed to address general degradation of habitat quality.
The draft letter report and EA describing the project and environmental effects is available to the public and can be viewed and downloaded from the St. Paul District website at: https://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Home/Public-Notices/.
Questions on the project or comments can be directed to David Potter, project biologist, at 651-290-5713 or david.f.potter@usace.army.mil. Please address all formal written correspondence on this project to the St. Paul District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, ATTN: Regional Planning and Environment Division North, 180 5th St. E., Suite 700, St. Paul, MN 55101.
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