Corps releases draft environmental assessment for Lake Ashtabula drawdown increase near Valley City, N.D.

ST. PAUL, MINN. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, released a draft environmental assessment on a proposed change to the Baldhill Dam Water Control Manual that would allow increased drawdowns at Lake Ashtabula, near Valley City, N.D., April 3.

The assessment is available for public review until May 12.

The Corps of Engineers is proposing to modify the existing water control manual. The modification would change the maximum allowable drawdown elevation from 1,257.0 feet to 1,255.0 feet. The purpose of this change is to reduce the flood risk for Valley City.

The environmental assessment and additional information can be viewed and downloaded from the Corps’ website at: http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Missions/CivilWorks/Environment/EnvironmentalAssessments.aspx.

Comments can be sent to Megan McGuire at the Corps of Engineers, Megan.K.McGuire@usace.army.mil, or 180 E. 5th St., Ste. 700, St. Paul, MN 55101-1678. Persons submitting comments are advised that all comments received will be available to the public, to include the possibility of posting on a publicly accessible website. Commenters 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. For more information, contact Megan McGuire at (651) 290-5990.

The nearly 700 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, employees working at more than 40 sites in five upper-Midwest states serve the American public in the areas of environmental enhancement, navigation, flood damage reduction, water and wetlands regulation, recreation sites and disaster response. Through the Corps’ Fiscal Year 2011 $175 million budget, nearly 2,800 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $271 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.

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