ST. PAUL, Minn. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is seeking public comments on the Marsh Lake Ecosystem Restoration Project, near Ortonville, Minnesota.
The Corps is seeking comments on recent revisions to the project design pertaining to fill activities involving public waters. Specifically, the updated changes require the use of temporary fill material being placed in the river during construction. The Clean Water Act Section 404 comment period begins Feb. 25 and ends Mar. 28.
Project details can be found at: http://www.mvp.usace.army.mil/Home/PublicNotices.aspx. Questions or comments on the project should be directed to David Potter, Corps biologist, at 651-290-5713 or david.f.potter@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, 180 Fifth St. E., Suite 700, St. Paul, Minnesota 55101-1678.
The Corps is providing $7.6 million to fund the project, in partnership with the Upper Minnesota River Watershed District, as its non-federal sponsor, and other external stakeholders such as the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. The Corps’ Headquarters announced the funding when they released their Work Plan Feb. 9.
The Marsh Lake project involves restoring the environment by improving waterfowl habitat and aquatic species in the area. The restoration plan includes rerouting the Pomme de Terre River to its historic channel, constructing a drawdown structure and a fish passage at the Marsh Lake Dam and breaching the abandoned fish pond at the dam. At less than 5 percent of the average cost for a habitat restoration project of this size, this project is expected to provide significant return in environmental and habitat restoration benefits.
The nearly 600 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 2015 $100 million budget, nearly 1,600 non-Corps jobs were added to the regional economy as well as $155 million to the national economy. For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.
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