Corps seeks comments on Pool 10 study
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is seeking comments on the draft Environmental Assessment, or EA, for the Bedload Sediment Collector Pilot Study in Clayton County, Iowa, and Grant County, Wis.
Pool 10 encompasses the Mississippi River from Lock and Dam 10 in Guttenberg upstream to Lock and Dam 9 at Lynxville, Wis.
The purpose of the proposed action is to evaluate the feasibility of conducting channel management using passive bedload sediment collection systems. Instead of dredging, these systems would remove sediment from the river as it passes over the system.
The proposed action is to temporarily install, operate and remove a bedload sediment collector system in Pool 10 of the Upper Mississippi River near McMillan Island, about three miles north of Guttenberg near Glen Haven, Wis., to evaluate its use in channel maintenance. The system would be tested multiple times to evaluate how the system operates under different river flow conditions. Ideally, the tests would encompass low, medium and high flow ranges, which may each have different sediment transport characteristics.
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 of Engineers 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 Sept. 19. Questions and comments concerning the project should be directed to Aaron McFarlane, Corps biologist, at aaron.m.mcfarlane@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.
