Update Jan. 6: The Water Resources Development Act of 2020 was signed into law Dec. 27, 2020. As a result, we have paused the review period of the draft report released last month to update it to reflect the new legislation. The updated draft report will be posted within 14 days. The comment period will be extended.
ST. PAUL, Minn. –The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is seeking public input from now until Feb. 16, 2021, on its recently completed draft disposition study for the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam.
After evaluation and comparison of alternatives, the tentatively selected plan is the complete disposal of the property combined with a monetary incentive for expediting the disposal. The plan also recommends Congress deauthorize the project, ending the Corps’ primary navigation mission at the Upper St. Anthony Falls Lock and Dam and all other secondary missions to include recreation.
The purpose of the disposition study is to determine whether or not continued operation and ownership of this lock by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the federal interest, and, if not, provide supporting information for deauthorization of the project purposes and disposal of the property. The study examined several options ranging from continuing operations as they are now and turning the entire facility or portions thereof over to other federal, state or local entities. The study was initiated in 2018 after the closing of this lock to navigation in 2015.
The draft report and environmental assessment describing the study 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 or comments on the report and environmental assessment will be accepted through Feb. 16, 2021, and should be directed to Nan Bischoff, at 651-290-5426 or MplsLocksDisposition@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.
The St. Paul District navigation program provides a safe, reliable, cost-effective and environmentally sustainable waterborne transportation system on the Upper Mississippi River for the movement of commercial goods and for national security needs.
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