ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is seeking comments on the draft Environmental Assessment, or EA, for the Orwell Dam maintenance project in Otter Tail County, Minnesota.
The project consists of routine dam maintenance that includes replacing a Tainter gate chain, pressure washing the Tainter gate and completing small concrete repairs, and relief well rehabilitation. To complete this maintenance, Orwell Lake will drawdown in early fall and the stilling basin will be dewatered. A stilling basin is a structure that reduces the speed and turbulence of water before it continues downstream.
A final determination on the draft EA will be made following a 30-day public review period. A copy of the EA can be viewed and downloaded from the St. Paul District website at: https://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Home/PublicNotices.aspx. The Corps is conducting a review of the environmental effects in accordance with the National Environment Policy Act.
Comments on the draft EA should be submitted no later than August 2. Questions and comments concerning the project should be directed to LeeAnn Glomski, Corps biologist, at LeeAnn.M.Glomski@usace.army.mil. Please address all correspondence on this project to the St. Paul District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Attention: Regional Planning and Environment Division North, 332 Minnesota Street, Suite E1500, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55101-1678.
All comments received will be made available to the public to include the possibility of being posted on a publicly accessible website. Individuals are requested not to include personal privacy information, such as home addresses or home phone numbers, in their comments, unless they do not object to such information being made available to the public.
Owned and operated by the Corps of Engineers, the 71-year-old dam was constructed in 1953 with a height of 60 feet and a length of 1,344 feet at its crest. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dam Safety Program uses a risk-informed approach to manage its portfolio of 694 dams, with public safety the number one priority.
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